It's still technically summer, but hints of autumn can be seen and felt throughout Cayuga County. The air is getting cooler, the foliage is getting brighter, and the beer is getting darker. "Fall is elite," said Marc Schulz, co-owner of Prison City Brewing in Auburn.
"The nights are 50 degrees and you're sleeping with the windows open," he told The Citizen. "You wake up the next morning, throw on a flannel, but you're also wearing shorts and sandals." Another hint of autumn is approaching in Oktoberfest.
The two-week celebration in Munich, Germany, runs Sept. 21 through Oct. 6.
Though it started in the early 1800s to commemorate the wedding of the prince of Bavaria, Oktoberfest today is an occasion for many internationally to welcome the change of seasons — and the malty style of beer that shares the celebration's name. Many of the county's breweries mark the occasion by brewing Oktoberfests of their own. So The Citizen asked them about theirs, as well as other beers the fall season brings.
"It's an official seasonal change in brewing," said Mark Grimaldi, co-owner of Aurora Brewing Co. in Ledyard. "It's like the first time you make a soup.
It's a warm embrace." Prison City Brewing's Oktoberfest. The style of beer known as Oktoberfest is actually called a Märzen, an amber lager with a medium to full body and a toasty, mildly sweet flavor.
Another beer synonymous with the celebration is the Festbier, which is more golden in color and lighter in taste. Both are straightforw.
