This Is My Blood: Hofbräu Oktoberfestbier

This beer probably should've been the one that I use as an excuse to talk about Oktoberfest, instead of the Shiner this past week. Not only would this have been opening weekend of the actual Oktoberfest (if it wasn't cancelled), but also, Hofbräu Oktoberfestbier is one of the actual beers that are allowed in Oktoberfest. It satisfies the two criteria (brewed in München, and follows Reinheitsgebot).

I wasn't too impressed with the beer—it had that "import stink," a phrase that is never appropriate in any other context besides beer tasting—plus it was the least malty Oktoberfest beer I've ever had, which made it feel cheap. But maybe that's the point. There are so many of these beers sold every year at Oktoberfest that they probably can't put care and effort into each and every pint.

Like I said last time, it's doubtful that we'll ever make it to the actual Oktoberfest, but you know what would've been cool? Visiting the Hofbräuhaus in Las Vegas, which was right down the street from us when we lived there in 2012. Like all Las Vegas institutions, it was probably a plastic facsimile of the actual thing, but still, it would've been a lot closer to the authentic Oktoberfest experience than I've ever experienced. But we never made it (too busy doing Ass Juice shots at Double Down).

I am neither in Germany nor in Las Vegas right now. I'm stuck in Philadelphia for reasons that extend beyond COVID (though we are going to be headed up the Poconos for a couple days in two weeks, and leaving the kids behind, which I'm very much looking forward to). Since I'm here, I might as well check out as many of the six-pack stores as I can before the year ends and I never have another beer ever again (ha).

Here's the actual lede: I went to Bottle Bar East for the first time in 2020 to buy a six-pack. This is not the first time in my life I've been there, of course—I used to spend my weekends in Fishtown, all up and down Girard and Frankford. You'd be more likely to find me across the street at Fishtown Tavern, but we did occasionally make it to Bottle Bar for some of these excellent grilled cheese sandwiches.

The best part about Bottle Bar was that you could grab any beer from their craft beer fridges and bring it back to your table while you were eating. I've enjoyed strolling up and down beer fridge aisles long before I started This Is My Blood, so it was always a thrill to have a large selection at my disposal, 100s of different beers to wash down a buffalo chicken grilled cheese.

So it was a little sad to get to the Bottle Bar and find it mostly shuttered. Sure, they had those table platforms in the parking spaces out front, and I'm sure they get bumping in the evening, but during the day it was just a dude behind the counter and a few refrigerators and a dark dining room and silence. (This was because of COVID, obviously, but it's interesting to think about how often I use COVID as an excuse to be sad and nostalgic about this kind of thing—as if I'd be able to ditch the kids and hang out at Bottle Bar even if it was safe to do so.)

Anyway... another disappointing thing I discovered is that Bottle Bar's beer selection is not as impressive as I remembered. This observation comes with the caveat that I only think that because of how many times I've gone through this process this year, ya know, getting to a beer store, walking up and down, slowly building the six-pack. I've gotten to the point where I need as many beers as possible to make the job as easy as possible, and when a place like Bottle Bar East has like 35% of the selection as something like IGA, it's disappointing. That's all. 

 

If you go to Bottle Bar without having blogged about beers for the past 265 days, it's safe to say that these will not be your complaints. You'll be able to compose at least one satisfying six-pack from this selection. And you'll even get the 10% discount if all six are different beers, which mitigates the fact that the beers are expensive (possibly more so than any six-pack store I've been to this year). But I can't in good faith give Bottle Bar the seal of approval. Not until I get some of that grilled cheese again, anyway.

NOTES

BEER: Hofbräu Oktoberfestbier

GENRE: Märzen Lager

ABV: 6.3%

BREWED BY: Hofbräuhaus München

LOCATION: München, Germany

PURCHASED AT: Bottle Bar East

PAIRED WITH: TV—it used to be that beers were consumed at dinner mostly, but more and more often Pam and I have been drinking beers after the kids go to bed

GRADE: 2.5 pukes out of 5

BEER COUNT: 362