Prost!

Just in time for Oktoberfest, members of the Rotary Club of Fair Lawn had a presentation of the history of beer and a home brewing.  David Colin, a local Rotarian and avid home brewer came to the Club to give Fair Lawn Rotarians a taste of beer’s history.  David traced beer to even before medieval times, however modern brewing is mostly associated with Bavarian brewers of 1841. 

(Brew Master Daivd Colin and Glenn Stubaus)

The genesis of Munich’s Oktoberfest from an informal horse racing affair to its current international brew fest was also discussed.  Oktoberfest started out as a decidedly informal affair, probably sometime in the fifteenth century.  The brew was the Bavarian’s summer beer and the fest was the Bavarians’ excuse to polish off any leftover summer beer in the fall. Over the course of time, this event has grown; its greatest transformation can be traced back to October 12, 1810 when Crown Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese of Saxony-Hilburghausen.  To allow commoners to partake in the ceremonies, the noble couple decided to organize a grand wedding party for its subjects on some grazing land outside of Munich city gates.  Some 40,000 happy Bavarians showed up for fun and the rest of history with 1.75 million gallons of beer freely flowing and oompah-bands playing in the background as 400,000 sausages are devoured.