Clandestine Brewing Oktoberfest 2019

Clandestine Brewing (980 S. 1st St., San Jose) has crafted quite the beer list for their Oktoberfest celebration this weekend, beginning today, Fri., Oct. 4 through Sun., Oct. 6.

• Fri.: 3-11pm
• Sat.: 12-11pm
• Sun.: 12-9pm

On tap are 15 German-style beers, plus an IPA:

• BND (Hefeweizen)
• Pils Off! (German Pilsner)
• Kölsch I Could (Kölsch)
• Elsie’s Marzen (Märzen)
• dOrt (Dortmunder Lager)
• Hacktoberfest (Festbier)
• V (Vienna Lager)
• Ctrl-Alt-Del (Altbier)
• Codename: VW (Helles Weizenbock)
• Brush Pass (Roggenbier)
• Olallieberry Undercover (Berliner Weisse)
• BigNose Mybock (Maibock)
• Dark Cipher (Dunkelweizen)
• Agent Provocator (Dopplebock)
• Hokus Smokus (Grätzer/Grodsiskie)
• C-Rations IPA

Come dressed in your Lederhosen or Dirndl for a discount on beers.

Commemorative 1/2 liter steins can be purchased on Evenbrite or at the brewery.

Food will be available for purchase from Wren Foods on Friday and Saturday:

• Fri. (5-9pm): Beer Braised Brisket Sandwiches with bacon onion jam, havarti cheese, horseradish cream, brioche bun served with fries.
• Sat. (4-9pm): German-style dinner plate – Choice of grilled Bratwurst (with house-made mustard) or Chicken Schnitzel (served with or without creamy mushroom sauce, Jägerschnitzel style) both served with German-style potato salad and sweet & sour braised red cabbage.
• Pretzels will be available throughout the weekend.

Additional information is available at the event’s Facebook page.

Leading up to the Oktoberfest event, Clandestine recently shared some interesting and informative notes regarding German wheat beers and Pilsners via social media, which I’ll share below, along with their descriptions of the beers on tap at Clandestine throughout the weekend.

Prost!

~Andy

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‘Wheat has been a popular German brewing ingredient for centuries; however, after the passage of the German Beer Purity Law (Reinheitsgebot) in 1516, brewing with wheat was made illegal except with a Royal Warrant. The Dukes of Bavaria exploited this loophole and monopolized the brewing of Weizenbier (Wheatbeer) at their Munich Hofbrauhaus (Royal Brew House) for over 300 years. In 1872 Hofbrauhaus lessee Georg Schneider was able to purchase the right to brew with wheat from King Ludwig II, sparking a country-wide boom of new wheat brewery construction and the redevelopment of existing breweries. Today, Weizenbiers account for some 30% of German beer consumption.’

‘Clandestine’s BND Hefeweizen (literally ‘Yeast Wheat’) is inspired by the complex, malty wheat beers of Bavaria. Brewed with a decoction mash, BND is possessed of all the key attributes of the style, exploding with banana and bubblegum esters and clove-like phenols. To complement the complex flavors of the wheat and yeast interaction, only a small amount of Noble hops are added. The resulting beer is full-bodied, yet refreshing and without bitterness.’

“While Pilsners originated in the city of Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, they originally used top fermenting yeast. It wasn’t until their Bavarian neighbors introduced them to bottom fermenting lager yeast did they make the Pilsners we know today. Brewers used caves to ferment using lager yeast at lower temperatures which resulted in clarity and longer shelf-life.’

‘Pilsen has very soft water and as such, Czech Pilsners are slightly sweet and have biscuit and bready aromas. Their German cousins are adapted around the different German water mineral content. They are drier and crisper with more lingering bitterness along with a more pronounced Noble hop aroma from later hop additions.’

Clandestine’s Pils Off! is a ‘classic German Pilsner, a crisp straw colored lager made with all German malts and hops. Our delicious German Pils, light, hoppy and highly flavorful.’

‘Today, a true Kölsch is brewed only in Cologne or the immediate area, but beers inspired by Kölsch are brewed all over the world. Clandestine’s Kölsch I Could is brewed with the same spirit as its German cousins – It is a subtle, malty, clean, crisp ale that has been lagered to reach peak flavors.’

Elsie’s Marzen – ‘This malty and smooth German lager was the creation of our good friend Scott Satterthwaite and won a gold medal at the 2017 National Homebrew Competition. Brewed in the German traditon, Elsie’s Marzen has a red/brown color that welcomes in the fall season. Named after the brewer Scott’s 107 year old grandmother, Elsie from Chelsea was famous for her fresh baked soft pretzels, and this beer is a tribute to her. We are honored to collaborate with Scott to faithfully reproduce this gold medal winner AGAIN for our Oktoberfest 2019.’

dOrt – ‘A German Dortmunder Export style lager. This is a light gold colored lager that is a little higher in alcohol than a German Pilsner but also retains a nice Pilsner malt flavor and aroma with a pleasant hoppiness.’

Hacktoberfest – ‘Our German style festbier. This German light lager is a flavorful version of the beers served in the Munich Otkoberfest tents.’

V – ‘Our Vienna Amber Lager which most of you already know well – it is finally back on tap! A Vienna (Amber) Lager inspired by our love of a couple Mexican amber lagers. Vienna Lagers all but disappeared from their European origins being replaced by the more popular lighter colored Lagers (Pilsners) or richer Lagers (Mäzen, Dunkel). However, the Vienna Lager tradition lives on in Mexico to this day.’

Ctrl-Alt-Del – ‘Inspired by the classic altbiers of Düsseldorf’s Altstadt (Old Town), Clandestine’s Ctrl-Alt-Del is a cool fermented, amber ale that has a great balance of malt and bitterness complemented with the characteristic spicy/floral Noble hops aroma.’

Codename: VW – ‘A classic German Helles Weizenbock. VW is a deceptively dangerous beer which amps up the clove and banana flavors of a Hefeweizen along with a much higher ABV. As with most German styles of beer, the goal is to achieve balance so even with the increased flavors of clove and banana, there should be a minimal increase in sweetness so that the beer remains deceptively easy to drink.’

Brush Pass – ‘A German rye beer made with a Hefeweizen yeast to provide some banana and clove notes. A little spicy character from the rye malt is a nice finishing touch.’

Olallieberry Undercover – ‘A kettle sour, Berliner-Weisse style ale made with 30lbs/BBL of ‘Olallie’ blackberry from Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville. This is a low in alcohol but extremely refreshing and enjoyable sour beer.’

BigNose Mybock – ‘Clandestine’s BigNose MyBock is a well-hopped, strong golden lager that showcases the short list of German malts used to brew it. A clean, crisp lager despite its alcohol content, BigNose is a tribute to the traditional beers of Bavaria. Despite the additional hops over a Bock, this is a malty draft that is never astringent.’

Dark Cipher – ‘A dark version of a Hefeweizen, this beer combines the maltiness of Munich malt with banana and clove notes coming from the yeast.’

Agent Provocator – ‘Doppelbock is usually released according to the Lenten calendar as it was traditionally drank by monks during their period of fasting. It is a rich, bready, and full flavored dark beer with a strong alcohol punch and focus on malt complexity.’

Hokus Smokus – ‘Inspired by the Polish Grodziskie smoked wheat ale. Grodziskie (also known by the German name Grätzer) is a historical blonde ale featuring large amounts of oak smoked wheat malt and low alcohol. Our version also features an addition of cherrywood smoked barley to complement the oak smoked wheat malt.’

C-Rations – ‘An IPA brewed in the West Coast style with all ‘C’ hops: Columbus, Centennial and Citra.’