You asked - we answered. Alesong is keeping the lager flowing with the tapping of our Festbier* and the kitchen is keeping it fest-ive with a traditional bratwurst.

Lager and bratwurst special available all weekend (alongside the rest of our delicious brews and menu offerings). Dirndls and lederhosen not required… but strongly encouraged.

Live music on Sunday from 4-6pm. Jake Jernigan takes the stage with another guitarist from the University of Oregon School of Music & Dance jazz program. Jake is not only one of our stellar Server & Beer Educators at Alesong, but he is also a phenomenal musician, so come out to hear him jam with his friend! 

Matt shares details about Festbier 2025

*So, what are Festbiers, exactly? Let Professor Matt give some history:

Oktoberfest is, of course, the fall festival that originated in Munich that celebrates the wedding of Prince Ludwig to Princess Terese in 1810 and is still celebrated every September in Germany.

Oktoberfest the beer, was purportedly first served at Oktoberfest in 1818 and probably was just a rustic dark lager.  It wasn't until 1841 when the Oktoberfest beer was dubbed by Spaten brewery. 

In the 'olden' days, when I started brewing (circa 2001),Oktoberfest beer was synonymous with Marzen lager.  In fact, most beers labeled Oktoberfest will be Marzens, however, only the six breweries within the limits of Munich are allowed to call it Oktoberfest.  They are:

• Spaten

• Paulaner

• Augustiner

• Hacker Pschorr

• Lowenbrau

• Hofbrau Munchen

Marzenbier is a German amber lager style traditionally brewed in March (März) to be cellared and aged in cool caves until autumn, serving as the original Oktoberfest beer. Characterized by its amber color, full body, and malty, toasty, and sometimes sweet flavor profile with moderate bitterness, this lager typically has an alcohol content of around 5.6–6.3%

So what is Festbier?

Festbier is the pale, modern lager served today at the official Oktoberfest in Munich, characterized by a clean, bready malt profile and moderate hops.

Basically, in the 70s, Paulaner brewery introduced a lighter, easier drinking German lager and the festbier was born.  The idea is, drink a less filling beer, order another. Capitalism! 

As our own craft lovers drink less malty amber beers and more crisp and bitter lagers, you'll see more craft brewers in the US introduce a Festbier over a Marzen.  However, the darker, maltier Marzens are still made and loved by many this time of year.

We hope you enjoy a pint of our Festbier…or two.

Prost!
-Matt