Fasching and Bock Fest
It was a chilly day in New Ulm for the Bock Fest but that didn't keep the crowds away. Held at the Schell Brewery, the fest was the party place for the younger crowd. The beer was great and the food wasn't too bad but really not worth the long line and the freezing fingers. There was an old-time band but we didn't fight the crowd to get close enough to hear them.
The gathering at Turner Hall for Fasching had quite a different ambience: warm and friendly with great food and a reasonably-sized crowd. An old-time band played and we could even get close enough to see their faces.
Bock is traditionally brewed in the fall at the end of the growing season and stored ("lagered") all winter to be enjoyed in the spring at the beginning of the brew season. Bock is a strong full-bodied lager made with lots of malt.
Contrary to urban legend, bock is not brewed from the "dregs" left from the cleaning of the fermentation barrels in the spring.
Fasching is a centuries-old pre-Lenten German tradition culminating in Tolle Tage (Crazy Days) and finally, the last day Fastnacht or in French, Mardi Gras. In Europe, elaborate parades often take on a "counter-government" tone. Floats and marchers displaying large caricature heads often lampoon regional and national politicians. But in new Ulm, the fools are Narren, scary creatures in wooden masks and curious costumes.
Jeff Lonto, author of Legend of a Brewery, submitted the following review. If you would like to comment or post your review, email webmaster@MinnesotaStuff.com.
SATURDAY AFTERNOON IN NEW ULM
by Jeff R. Lonto
www.studioz-7.com
There's always a good time to be had in the unique town of New Ulm, Minnesota, with German-flavored festivals throughout the year featuring bratwurst smothered in sauerkraut, full-bodied beers and plenty of polka music.
We took a somewhat abbreviated trip to the Grand Old Town February 25, stopping at Bockfest on the grounds of the August Schell Brewing Company, a celebration of the brewery's rolling out of its famous bock beer, and at the Fasching Festival held at Turner Hall.
There was a wintery chill in the air but that didn't stop hundreds from coming to the outdoor celebration at the brewery. The sun was bright, there was very little snow on the ground, but there were people everywhere. Once you got in, after a rather long walk from the parking area to the brewery grounds, you purchased tickets at a booth to be exchanged for the food and drink they were serving. But there were separate stands for the food and for the beer and the organization wasn't the best. If you wanted a beer and a brat together, you had no choice but to wait in a long, crowded line for one, and then wait in another long crowded line, up to 25 minutes, for the other. Meanwhile it was sometimes hard to tell where the line actually began, with groups of people simply standing around talking and other groups of people coming through. Overall, it was basically a "standing in line in the cold" fest.
Among the crowd that was there, along with old-timers from town and beer drinkers of different stripes from around the region, there was an abundance of college-age kids who were already plenty beered up by 12:30 in the afternoon. We didn't stick around long enough to see just how rowdy they ended up getting.
From there we drove into another part of town for the Fasching Festival. A totally different scene there. It was indoors, for one thing, in the warm, cozy surroundings of Turner Hall. A polka band played on stage to a full house of patrons, many decked out in authentic German costumes. In a corner near the entrance, Dennis Brown, the grandson of the legendary Whoopee John Wilfhart sold interesting books about the concertinist along with CDs and even some DVDs.
There were plenty of things happening at the all-day event but we just stuck around long enough to have a delicious lunch in the bar, with beef sandwiches, brats, kraut, hot German potato salad and a really good apple strudel. Great food and no mile-long lines populated with rowdy college students.
New Ulm has festivals and celebrations all year long that are worth attending. When you're there, check out the great old-time buildings throughout the city, the quaint little shops and the all-around friendly atmosphere.
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