A different kind of Oktoberfest

Aleem Ladak, has quite a record of doing something a little different. Like his decision that at first puzzled his family: to specialise in Fermentation Science in his degree course and then follow up with a Masters in Brewing at McGill University in Montreal. PHOTO | NATION

What you need to know:

  • But Aleem can certainly claim to be the man who brought the Oktoberfest to Kenya. He did so first in 2010 — and, until this year, it has been very much a huge but single Brew Bistro party.
  • But this October, the parties are spread out around 30 of the restaurants and bars who are regularly supplied with the draft beer of the Big Five Breweries – the partner outlets.
  • Tonight, by the way, it’s the turn of the Pampa Churascaria in Lavington. And then on October 31, there will be the bus pub crawl.
  • You can park your car at Brew Bistro and take to one of the buses that will call at 15 places, as a shuttle service. You can have drinks on the buses too; they will have bars onboard and hostesses – like the service in the air!

Do you fancy a beer bus crawl?

You can do that in Nairobi on October 31, the Friday evening ... Or should I say the Friday night – because the bus will run from 5 p.m. till 5 a.m. on Saturday morning.

“I wanted to do things a little different,” said Aleem Ladak, when I went to chat with him – and share a beer — at his Brew Bistro and Lounge in Nairobi last Saturday afternoon.

Aleem has quite a record of doing something a little different. Like his decision that at first puzzled his family: to specialise in Fermentation Science in his degree course and then follow up with a Masters in Brewing at McGill University in Montreal.

“Actually, I began brewing beer when I was an undergraduate,” Aleem said. “It was cheaper than buying it. And I got a taste for it – for the brewing, I mean!”

ACROSS THE WORLD

Aleem’s “Big Five” Breweries wasn’t the first micro brewery in Nairobi – the Sierra Brewery down Mombasa Road was.

But he must be the first one from Kenya to win a silver medal in the Global Craft Beer Awards, in Berlin, which were organised by the Global Association of Craft Beer Brewers.

He certainly wouldn’t claim to be a founder of the Oktoberfest.

That honour goes to whoever it was who organised the first event in Munich, Bavaria, to celebrate the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen – way back on October 12, 1810.

These days, the annual Munich Oktoberfest can boast to be the world’s biggest fair. It is certainly the world’s biggest booze-up.

In recent years, this German event has been attended by over six million people who down over six million litres of beer.

Now, Oktoberfest events are held in cities across the world.

But Aleem can certainly claim to be the man who brought the Oktoberfest to Kenya. He did so first in 2010 — and, until this year, it has been very much a huge but single Brew Bistro party.

But this October, the parties are spread out around 30 of the restaurants and bars who are regularly supplied with the draft beer of the Big Five Breweries – the partner outlets.

In all these places, you can enjoy a Happy Hour, sample some suggested beer and food pairings, and have discounts on the Big Five Beers.

And there are some special Oktoberfest seasonal brews. Let me tell you about a few of them, as described on the Big Five Breweries website.

Caramel Pils, a golden colour Pilsner with subtle caramel and honey notes, medium bitterness and a well rounded malty character; Hefeweizen, a typical German style unfiltered wheat beer, top fermented with a cloudy appearance, with complex flavours of ale, very fruity and a little spicy in aroma, particularly of clove & banana; Kristallweizen, a filtered wheat beer, which is smoother and cleaner tasting, without the distinct yeast flavours and aromas of a Hefeweizen; Märzen, a copper coloured lager that was traditionally brewed in March and aged until early autumn for consuming at the Oktoberfest – smooth, medium-bodied, slightly malty beer with a mild hop bitterness.

TAP NIGHTS

Also, at all the outlets you can try five signature beer cocktails, all made with the award winning Simpils lager. Here are the five:

The Big 5 Shandy – the simplest of them, mixed with Sprite and chilled with ice cubes.

The Beerito is a swirl of mint, lemon chunks, white rum – and, of course, the lager and ice cubes.

The Caipbeerinha is, again, with white rum, lemon wedges, sweet n’ sour mix, Frangelico (optional) and sugar.

The Beer Margarita is with tequila, triple sec, sweet n’ sour mix. Lastly, the aptly named Snakebite, where the Simpils lager is mixed with cranberry juice and apple sour.   

I tried the Snakebite when I went for the chat with Aleem. It’s very tangy and crisp. I had no idea you could do so much with beer!

So there are 30 Oktoberfest parties – tap nights – in the 30 different places around Nairobi this month.

Tonight, by the way, it’s the turn of the Pampa Churascaria in Lavington. And then on October 31, there will be the bus pub crawl.

You can park your car at Brew Bistro and take to one of the buses that will call at 15 places, as a shuttle service. You can have drinks on the buses too; they will have bars onboard and hostesses – like the service in the air!

One very important thing to mention (though it deserves an article on its own) is that a significant portion of the proceeds — Sh10 for every litre of beer sold during the Oktoberfest — will go towards a scholarship fund to support 50 youngsters from the slums through secondary school and beyond.  

You can learn more about this scheme, and the whole Oktoberfest programme, from the website, www.thebigfivebreweries.com.