Cypress & Grove Brewing Co. will be hosting its second annual Oktoberfest from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13.
Being of a German-American background, co-owners Anna Heineman, Gary Heil, Patrick Burger and Sally Adkins wanted to host a traditional Oktoberfest to honor their heritage. Heineman describes Oktoberfest as a “gathering of the neighborhoods.”
She added that “It’s more of the gathering of lots of different breweries, lots of different people coming together to celebrate each other, community, fall ⎯ good things.”
Originally, Oktoberfest started off in Germany as an extravagant wedding celebration after Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen in the early 1800s.
The people of Munich celebrated the royal wedding by spending multiple days drinking beer, watching horse races and devouring feasts.
Now the event takes place annually around the world, but the largest Oktoberfest is still held in Munich, Germany. The original Munich breweries craft the beer while locals and travelers dress in traditional lederhosen and dirndls.
Heineman’s husband, Gary Heil, a microbiologist at UF, crafted three authentic beers specifically for the upcoming Oktoberfest that have a German slant to them, according to Heineman.
The brewery will be serving “Bavarian Lager,” a light, Munich-style German lager ($5 a pint), “Cherry Weizen,” a light wheat beer made with cherries and tart ($6 for 10 ounces) and “Hefeweizen,” a classic German wheat beer with banana, clove notes and a hint of bubble gum ($5 a pint).
Starting at 4 p.m., the brewery will host Masskrugstemmen, a Bavarian stein-holding competition to see which contestants can hold a one-liter beer the longest. First, second and third place winners will be given T-shirts and free pints of beer.
From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., the Klezmer Kats, a large Jewish klezmer band that specializes in Eastern European folk music, will be performing live in the brick room.
John Pilgrim, owner of Mayflower Cellars, is known for crafting high-quality sausage made from locally sourced meat. Pilgrim created a German-inspired menu for the event this weekend, including “Pork Bratwurst” ($8), “Pecan Smoked Beef Knockwurst” ($8), “Chicken Currywurst” ($8), “Vegan Currywurst” ($7), “Beer Cheese” ($1) and pretzel buns ($2).
LEJ Pretzel Co. will be making pretzels for the event as well.
For non-alcoholic drinkers, the brewery will be serving their seltzer called “Red Hibiscus soda” on tap. The drink has a sweet-and-sour taste. There is no admission fee and guests are welcome to bring their own food as well.
“I love the traditional German themes of looking back to ancestors and carrying on a tradition that’s been around for a really really long time,” Heineman said.
Cypress & Grove Brewing Co. is located at 1001 NW 4th St.
