German Beer Fests? Consider Erlangen

I thought I would take a break from all the serious topics that I usually write about. This posting is about one of the most pleasant topics imaginable. A real German beer fest. When I was stationed in Germany in the late 1960s, I became introduced to the greatest beverage man ever invented-German beer. For those of you beer drinkers who have never been to Germany, you don't know what real beer is. And for those who have tried various kinds of imported German beers in the US-you don't know what real German beer is.

The most famous beer fest in Germany is, of course, Munich's Oktoberfest. Every year, the city attracts about one million visitors from all over the world to partake in the festivities. What a lot of people don't realize is that countless towns in Germany have their own annual beer fest-not just in October-but in other months when the weather is good. One such beer fest is held every spring in the northern Bavarian town of Erlangen. It is not only older than the Oktoberfest, but is considered one of Bavaria's (indeed Germany's) top beer fests.

Erlangen is a university town about 20 kilometers north of Nuremberg in the Middle Franconian region of Bavaria. It is also a co-hqs, along with Munich, of the Siemens Corporation. At present, the city has a population of about 100,000. It is a pleasant town, not in the touristic sense of Heidelberg or Munich, but a great place nonetheless.

I must admit at this point that I am highly biased about Erlangen. I spent over 2 years there in the late 1960s as a US Army soldier. Those two years were a formative time in my life; thus, I have returned many times over the years, and, in 2005, published a book on the history of the city.

Let me give you some background on the beerfest itself (called the Bergkirchweih in German). While the Munich Oktoberfest originated in 1810, Erlangen's beerfest dates back to 1755, making it the oldest in Germany. (Actually, until the 20th century, Erlangen was one of Germany's leading beer production cities.) Every year during the Whitsuntide period (late May-early June), the city holds its Bergkirchweih for a 12 day period. The site of the fest is on the northern edge of the town, an area called the Burgberg. The fest grounds are located at the foot of a hilly area bearing the above name. In the old days before refrigeration, Erlangen's breweries cooled their brew in caves dug into the sandstone sides of the hill.

During the fest, a special festbrew is prepared by the local breweries and served from the cave entrances. There are also several food stands with chicken, sausages-and, even an entire ox roasted daily each day. For entertainment, there is a tent with German traditional music and more modern music for the younger crowd, which is played near the benches where people also eat and drink.

Whereas Munich's Oktoberfest is noted for rowdy behavior and public drunkeness, the Erlangen fest is more subdued and suitable for the entire family-notwithstanding isolated incidents as would be expected. In addition, I recently learned from a German-American colleague, whose family is from Munich, that the Oktoberfest, due to the drunkeness problem, has resorted to serving watered-down beer, with special tents with real beer reserved for Munich's own denizens. Not so in Erlangen. The beer is a little stronger than normal and better tasting. Erlangen has two local brews, Kitzmann and Steinbach, but also serves Tuecher, which is Nuremberg's main brewery. In addition, the original recipes from a couple of now-defunct Erlangen breweries are brought back just for the fest. One other advantage is that you can get hotel reservations in or near Erlangen without much trouble-unlike Munich, which is impossible.

Although the fest ends at 11pm, the crowd only has to walk a short distance to the main street pubs where the fun continues into the wee hours. In short, if you are planning a trip to Germany, would like to attend a great beer fest-without all the hassles associated with the Munich Oktoberfest, you can't do any better than Erlangen. This year's fest runs May 8-19, 2008.