For Those Of You Who Just Can’t Get Enough Of Oktoberfest

This year, it seems like everyone is throwing some sort of Oktoberfest celebration (or, in some cases, more than one). So in order to stand out in a crowded field, a restaurant really has to do something special.

Which is why McGillin’s Old Ale House decided to make their own beer for the occasion.

And to celebrate for an entire month straight.

So here’s what’s happening at McGillin’s. For starters, they have a new collaboration beer on tap called, appropriately, Oktoberfest. They worked with Fordham and Dominion Brewing in Delaware to create the malty marzen with German and Czech hops and Vienna malt.

They started pouring on August 29 (the official start of their Oktoberfest festivities) and will keep serving it (along with a variety of other Oktoberfest beers from Sly Fox, Lancaster, Stoudt’s, Beck’s and Warsteiner) until things wrap up on October 1. Same thing with the kitchen. They’re going to be featuring German foods every day from now until the start of the actual October–stuff like mussels steamed in Oktoberfest lager, lots of sausages, grilled pork loin with sweet-and-sour cherry sauce, braised cabbage, apples and potato dumplings and Kasebrotchen Chicken, which is chicken breast, topped with brown mustard and sharp cheddar, baked and served “Himmel Und Erde” (potatoes sautéed with apples and bacon) plus red cabbage and German cheese toast.

I could actually go for some of that Himmel und Erde right now…

Anyway, all this will be going on throughout the month of September, culminating on October 1st with the Midtown Village Fall Festival. I’ll let the folks from McGillin’s explain how that’s going to go:

McGillin’s Oktoberfest observance will culminate on Saturday, October 1 at the Midtown Village Fall Festival. The tavern will transform tiny Drury Street into a Beer Garden, complete with live entertainment, German beers and foods. Outdoor performers, face painting, a street fair featuring neighborhood restaurants, galleries, boutiques and bookstores and entertainment will enliven Midtown Village, from Walnut Street to Chestnut Street and 12th to Juniper.

So yes, for those of you out there who own more than one pair of lederhosen or really just can’t get enough of Bavarian harvest festivals, this is all very good news. And for the rest of us? Any excuse to drink more beer and eat more potatoes is a good thing, so we’ll see you there.

McGillin’s [official]