The main event in Munich may have been cancelled, Cloudwater is keeping the Oktoberfest vibe alive in Manchester and London.
From Monday, 27th September, until Sunday, 24th October, the brewery will honour all things lager at its two tap rooms — Unit 9 in Manchester and 73 Enid Street in London. Throughout the same period, its Manchester city centre pub, Sadler’s Cat, will also be running its own Katoberfest celebration.
Cloudwater has brewed four German-inspired beers especially for the festival. These are: Märzen (an elegant, malty lager, traditionally brewed for Oktoberfest); Schwarzbier (a roasty dark lager); Weisse (a creamy, yet refreshing wheat beer); and Hopfenweisse (a fruity, heavily-hopped wheat beer).
The four beers will be available at all three venues during the festival, alongside a stunning selection of guest lager that will include German classics from the likes of Hofbräu, Ayinger, and Schneider Weisse. They’ll also be pouring a selection of outstanding modern lager from acclaimed US brewery Green Bench and four of the UK’s most-acclaimed producers: Braybrooke, Donzoko, Lost and Grounded, and Utopian.
Traditionally-made pretzels will be on offer at both Unit 9 and Sadler’s Cat, to provide the perfect food pairing. Sadler’s Cat will also be offering commemorative Katoberfest glassware, available for customers to take home.
Each venue will be running a series of more focused events and tastings as part of the month-long celebration. At Unit 9, this includes guided beer flights, where a member of the team will guide you through a selection of the lager they have on tap, giving insight into the brewing process. They will also host Edinburgh-based brewery Donzoko on 1st October and Devon’s Utopian on 14th October for events that will give drinkers the chance to meet the makers and enjoy their beers.
As part of Katoberfest, Sadler’s Cat will host a ‘classic v modern’ showdown on 2nd October, when they’ll put a selection of traditional German lagers up against interpretations from UK craft breweries to see which drinkers prefer. They’ll also be running a German natural wine showcase throughout the month.
At 73 Enid Street, drinkers will be able to enjoy a guided tasting of Lost and Grounded beer, each paired with crisps and pickled eggs to bring a British pub twist to a lager tasting, and a ‘meet the maker’ event with Utopian, when its beer will be paired with British charcuterie and cheese.
• For full details on all of these events, head to cloudwaterbrew.co/oktoberfest
