We might not be in Munich, Germany, but anyone looking to channel their inner Deutsch identity can find Oktoberfest celebrations all around Northwest Philadelphia.
Despite its name, the majority of the annual festival typically occurs in September and wraps up by the first weekend of October, so some local breweries have already hosted their celebrations. Attic Brewing Company’s Funktoberfest, for instance - where the Germantown brewery held its free day-long music festival for the fourth year on Sept. 28.
Still, plenty of opportunities for specialty beers on tap with a touch of German cuisine remain.
Chestnut Hill Brewing Company has two beers for the occasion. Mighty Pumpkin is brewed with pumpkin roasted with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pumpkin spice is added three different times throughout the brewing process. Chestnut Hill Festbier, an Oktoberfest-style lager, is an interpretation of the iconic lager beer served at the Munich festival. It is lagered for two months to create a smooth maltiness and finishes off with a subtle noble hop character.
Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant in Chestnut Hill is featuring an Oktoberfest menu complete with starters, entrées, and a dessert, along with an Oktoberfest beer on draft through Oct. 6. Customers can start with a spinatsalat, or baby spinach salad, or have a bratwurstbrotchen, or bratwurst egg roll. Entrées include a schlachtplatte, or grilled butcher’s plate with multiple types of meat, a jaegerschnitzel with pork, and huhnerschnitzel with chicken. For those with a sweet tooth, the kasekuchen, or German cheesecake, is available for dessert. The Oktoberfest lager at Iron Hill includes notes of dried fruit, bread, caramel, and spicy hops. Customers can try it on draft or buy 16oz four-packs. Plus, if you fill up a 22oz mug with Oktoberfest beer, the mug can be brought home for an additional $12.
Cheshire Brewing Company in Elkins Park will also be serving some Oktoberfest delicacies, including kielbasa sandwiches and soft pretzels. Cheshire’s Oktoberfest beers include a Märzen lager from Workhorse Brewing and a German lager from Troegs.
In addition to serving various German foods and beers, some local breweries are getting in on the Oktoberfest action by participating in festive events.
In East Falls, Wissahickon Brewing Company will host its own Oktoberfest celebration on Oct. 12 starting at 1 p.m. Two beers will be featured during the festivities: Oktoberfest, a traditional Märzen lager with notes of toasted pretzels and a touch of sweet malt, and Kölsch, a German-style ale. Local food trucks 2 Street Sammies and Babalouie BBQ will be on site with Oktoberfest-themed menus.
New Ridge Brewing Company in Roxborough has a specialty menu with items such as a sausage sandwich, pork schnitzel, and eggplant schnitzel. There will also be two featured beers on draft and in four-packs – the Festbier (a traditional Oktoberfest) and Horror Business (a pumpkin ale with actual pumpkin, vanilla bean, and fall spices). Horror Business is a particularly popular attraction, considering its inclusion in Food Network’s list of the best pumpkin beers of 2023.
Both of these beers will be available at Roxtoberfest, Roxborough’s Oktoberfest-themed street fair on Oct. 5. New Ridge Brewing Co. will be the beer sponsor of the event and will be serving beer and boozy lemonade in three tents set up along Ridge Ave. In a non-Oktoberfest aside, New Ridge is the beer sponsor of the Lincoln Mill Haunted House in Manayunk for the third year. From now through Halloween weekend, visitors can get spooked and then regain their composure with a cool pumpkin ale.
Lederhosen may not be required at any of these breweries, but they’re strongly encouraged. Prost!
