Oktoberfest at Spuyten Duvyil and Mission Dolores

Oktoberfest is in full swing and their are plenty of opportunities to drink our German beers from traditional gravity kegs.

Where: Spuyten Duyvil, 359 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn
When: Saturday, 4 October

Dust off those lederhosen and shake out those dirndls because Spuyten Duyvil is hosting their annual Oktoberfest. From 12 pm onwards they'll be featuring all 8 of our Franconian gravity kegs along with some other German drafts. 

Gravities 

• Weissenohe Monk's Fest - traditional festbier
• Weissenohe Altfränkisch Klosterbier - märzen
• Weissenohe Bonator - doppelbock
• Weissenohe Bio Classic Export - organic export
• Weissenohe Bonifacius - dunkel
• Bayer Theinheim Landbier - zwickel
• Mönchsambacher Unfiltered Lager - kellerbier
• Löwenbräu Buttenheim Kellerbier - landbier

On draft:  

• Freigeist Hoppeditz - doppel sticke alt brewed with smoked malt
• Freigeist Geisterzug Gose - brewed with spruce branches
• Monarchy Münchhausen - Münsterland-style altbier
• Monarchy Preussen Weisse - north German weissbier brewed with ginger and juniper

They will also have a selection of German bottles and wurst.  

Where: Mission Dolores, 244 4th Avenue, Brooklyn
When:  Saturday-Sunday, 4-5 October

From 2-8 pm on both Saturday and Sunday, Mission Dolores will be holding their annual Oktoberfest with sausages from Brooklyn Bangers. On each day they'll tap a gravity keg; one day it will be Weissenohe Monk's Fest and the next it will be Bayer Theinheim Landbier.

Gravity Kegs Pouring on Friday, 3 October

End the work week and ease on into the weekend with some Franconian goodness.

Where:   Beer Culture, 328 W. 45th Street, Manhattan

Head to midtown for a mug of Mönchsambacher Unfiltered Lager, a smooth kellerbier from the tiny family-run Brauerei Zehendner in Burgebrach.


Where:  The Owl Farm, 297 9th Street, Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the place to be for some Altfränkisch Klosterbier, a traditional märzen from the Weissenohe Brewery.

It's German Gravity Keg Season!

Real Lager. That's what the Shelton Brothers are bringing to NYC this week and into October. We're talking 20 liter gravity kegs - unfiltered, unpasteurized traditional Franconian goodness, dispensed without artificial pressure or preservation of any kind. This is the way beer was enjoyed everywhere in the world until modernization/refrigeration/(insert curmudgeonly catchphrase here) made everything sterile and safe to consume! Just kidding. You're safe.
A few of our favorite serious beer joints will be featuring these beauties over the next three weeks or so. But kicking it off this weekend you can find some of these gravities at the following locations:
Saturday, 27 September - Bondurants
303 E. 85th Street

• Weissenohe Monk's Fest
• Weissenohe Bonifacius Dunkel
• Mönchsambacher Unfiltered Lager

Saturday-Sunday, 27-28 September - Oktoberfest at Dirck the Norseman
17 N. 15th Street, Brooklyn

• Weissenohe Monk's Fest
• Weissenohe Altfränkisch Klosterbier
• Weissenohe Bio Classic Export
• Weissenohe Bonifacius Dunkel
• Bayer Theinheim Landbier
• Löwenbräu Buttenheim Kellerbier

Thursday Tap - German Bocks

This week's Thursday Tap at Jimmy's No. 43 is a double-header featuring 2 gravity kegs from the Weissenohe brewery in Franconia in northern Bavaria. Starting at 5 pm, Jimmy's will tap 2 spring bocks:  the Virtac Bior, a 7% spiced bockbier brewed from a medieval recipe, and Bonator - a malty 8.2% doppelbock named for the missionary St. Bonifatius (or Boniface), the patron saint of Germany.


The Weissenohe monastery was founded in 1050 and brewing on the grounds began shortly thereafter. The monastery buildings and land were sold to the Winkler family in 1803 but the brewery still exists (along with the chapel) and beers are still made using the traditional and time-consuming double-decoction method.


Jimmy's No. 43 is located at 43 E. 7th Street.

Shucktoberfest

This Saturday, Bierkraft will be hosting an oyster shuck and cask beer fest in their backyard and they'll be pouring 4 Franconian gravity kegs along with some wet-hopped cask beer from local breweries. The weather is supposed to clear up so come on out for some bivalves and bier.

The list (subject to change):

• Kraus Hirschentrunk
• Sauer Rossdorfer Urbräu
• Weissenohe Monk's Fest
• Mahr's Hell

When:  Saturday, 20 October, 12-11pm
Where:  Bierkraft, 191 5th Avenue, Brooklyn
What:  pay-as-you-go

Thursday Tap - Gravity Keg of Weissenohe

Tonight, the featured Thursday Tap at Jimmy's No. 43 is a gravity keg of Klosterbrauerei Weißenohe Altfränkisch Klosterbier. Urban Winkler, the brewer at Weissenohe, is the man who drives around Franconia, picking up all of these wonderful unfiltered gravity kegs for us. He also sends us some of his own gravity kegs. The Altfränkisch Klosterbier is a 5% full-bodied amber lager.

The Weissenohe brewery dates back to 1050 when Benedictine monks founded the monastery along a stream. The called it Weissenohe - "along the white stream" - because of the high concentration of limestone in the water, which proved to be great for brewing. In 1803, due to a shortage of monks, the monastery closed and the Winkler family took over the buildings and grounds and still maintain the chapel and the brewery. Urban brews in the traditional fashion, using the time-consuming double-decoction method which provides for a supremely malty beer.

Thursday Taps are tapped at 5pm. Jimmy's No. 43 is located at 43 E. 7th Street. 

Oktoberfest at Jimmy's No. 43 & Brouwerij Lane

It's midway through Oktoberfest which means that it's time to break out some Franconian gravity kegs! If you've ever been to Bamberg or any northern Bavarian village, then you're familiar with these naturally carbonated kegs that sit on top of the bar, dispensed with the help of that mysterious friend - gravity. Many of these beers are only poured in the town of the local brewery but, thanks to Klosterbrauerei Weissenohe's Urban Winkler, we bring a varied selection to the US each year. A limited amount just arrived in NYC and they're starting to appear a local bars beginning this weekend.

When:  Friday, 5 October - Sunday, 7 October
Where:  Jimmy's No. 43, 43 E. 7th Street
What:  pay-as-you-go

All weekend long, Jimmy's No. 43 will be pouring Franconian gravity kegs. They'll be tapping 2 kegs at a time over the weekend. Drop by for a few mugs or stay for the special $20 dinner:  3 wurst, German potato salad, and 2 mugs of gravity keg beer.

The list: 

• Mahr's Ungespundet
• Mahr's Unfiltered Pils
• Mahr's Hell
• Bayer Theinheim Landbier
• Niklbrau Michala Kellerbier
• Weissenohe Unfiltered Pils  
• Weissenohe Altfrankisch Kloster
• Weissenohe Monk's Fest
• Weissenohe Classic Bioland
• Lowenbrau Buttenheim Keller  
• Aufsesser Festbier
• Kraus  Hirschentrunk
• Sauer Rossdorfer Urbräu

When:  Saturday, 6 October 12-10 pm
Where:  Brouwerij Lane, 78 Greenpoint Avenue, Brooklyn
What:  pay-as-you-go

Brouwerij Lane will be pouring kegs of Mahr's Hell and Bayer Theinheim Landbier at their day-long Oktoberfest celebration. And Jim Barnes, aka Bocky, from Pretty Things will be spinning the tunes. All day. Expect some polka, schlager, Heino, krautrock, Weimar cabaret, and more. But no Falco. 'Cause he's Austrian.



What are Franconian gravity kegs? Check out Brother Daniel as he bikes through the Franconian countryside with Ray Deter:

Oktoberfest at Spuyten Duyvil

While the traditional Oktoberfest celebrations in Munich are over with, Spuyten Duyvil keeps the party going with their annual Oktoberfest this Saturday, featuring German gravity kegs from Franconia, in Northern Bavaria.

When:  Saturday, 22 October, 12 pm onwards
Where:  Spuyten Duyvil, 359 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn

Gravity kegs are unfiltered, unpasteurized, and naturally carbonated. They are typical of beers that are served in the beer halls and kellers of Franconia and have much more character than many of the beers from the rest of the country.

The 20 liter kegs are tapped and poured directly from the bar.

The beers:

- Mahr's Ungespundet

- Mahr's Unfiltered Pilsner

- Mahr's Hell

- Mahr's Bockbier

- Weissenohe Monk's Fest

- Mönchsambacher Unfiltered Lager

- Bayer Theinheim Landbier

- Löwenbräu Buttenheim Kellerbier

There will also be regular kegs of other German beers including Mahr's Saphir Weiss - a wheat beer brewed with a hefty dose of Saphir hops - and Weissenohe Monk's Fest, a classic version of the malty märzen style, brewed using the traditional decoction mashing technique.

To learn more about the beers and kellers of Franconia, check out our video of Brother Daniel's visit from a few years ago (part 1 of 3):