Beer of the Week: VolksLager

Allow me to share a pearl of wisdom from my many years as a professional journalist covering the beer industry: lederhosen are expensive! My wife and I recently returned from an epic excursion to Munich to attend the mother of all beer festivals, Oktoberfest. This being a beery bucket-list event, we wanted to go all out and outfit ourselves in traditional garb. For me, that meant lederhosen, checkered shirts, a brimmed hat to house pins culled from various tents visited during the fest and even real-deal Bavarian-style shoes. I have never shopped and accessorized so much, nor spent so much of my hard-earned money on clothing for the express purpose of drinking beer. Each time I clicked “purchase” and watched my grand total rise I reminded myself that, while the apparel was for this one-time event, there would be many opportunities for me to don trachten, as San Diego County breweries put on numerous German-themed, lager-soaked celebrations each year come Oktoberfest season. The next such occasion will take place this Sunday, October 15 at My Yard Live Beer Co., when the San Marcos brewpub holds its annual Volkswagen Oktoberfest. A two-toned festival celebrating Deutsch beer, cuisine and automotive transports, it’s one of the county’s more unique O-fest affairs and will include this week’s featured beer, VolksLager. Bolstered with lightly bready, toasted malt complexity yet as easy-drinking as a lighter-bodied lager, it’s as well-suited for the festival season as my new, ornately embroidered leather shorts!

VolksLager is one of my favorite annual releases that we have at My Yard Live. This beer is brewed once-a-year to coincide with our Oktoberfest event, which includes all the nostalgic Oktoberfest offerings of live oompah music and German food, but also a classic Volkswagen car show featuring 60 classic VWs, which makes it arguably the most unique Oktoberfest in North County. VolksLager is a traditional German-style fest bier that has a nice balance of malt character and a pronounced hop presence from a hop bill made up exclusively of German Noble hops.“

Ben “Shaggy” Blaney, Head Brewer, My Yard Live Beer Co.