Oktoberfest beer festival in Germany

Beer in Rus' was highly respected, as it was considered a ritual and sacred drink It was drunk at the birth of a child and at christenings, at weddings and when moving to a new home, after funerals and during other rituals commemorating ancestors In epics, the intoxicating drink was mentioned as a source of strength: in order to become a hero, Ilya Muromets needed to “drink strong beer” It was brewed on peasant farms and at monasteries, but with the introduction of a special tax under Ivan III, as well as duties on malt and hops, this branch of the economy by the beginning of the 16th century began to decline The traditions of original Russian home brewing have practically not survived to this day The same cannot be said about Germany, where the intoxicating drink is part of the national culture, a symbol of Bavaria and other federal states Therefore, every year in the second half of September the Oktoberfest Beer Festival is held in Munich The first celebrations with free drinks and horse racing took place in 1810 in honor of the marriage of the heir to the Bavarian throne, Ludwig I, and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen All residents of Munich were invited to the meadow, located outside the city limits, to celebrate the wedding of the crowned persons The festivities, which included treating his subjects to beer, were so fun and joyful that Ludwig I ordered that Oktoberfest be celebrated annually Over time, competitions and farm exhibitions of thoroughbred horses and bulls appeared in the festival program Carousels and other attractions were installed for the holiday, and in 1881 a giant chicken fryer was opened, which had no equal in the whole world The tradition of celebrating Oktoberfest was interrupted only during the First and Second World Wars Since 1950, the festival has been held in the capital of Bavaria every year Part of the 2-week holiday is not only beer tasting in huge tents standing in the open air The celebration takes place with performances by brass bands, folk ensembles and other creative groups The festival traditionally opens with a costumed procession that moves 6 km to the main celebration site and iconic point - Teresa's Meadow Beer as a low-alcohol drink has long been consumed by Christian monks during Lent They called it liquid bread, capable of replacing food during abstinence from nourishing and tasty food Beer was first mentioned as a kind of “barley juice” in German chronicles of the 8th century AD It was at this time that the drink began to be produced in southern Germany Gradually, cooking traditions began to spread throughout the country and beyond During the same period, German beer entered Switzerland through the Abbey of St Gall, which legalized its supply from the city of Geisingen, located in Baden-Württemberg In Rus', by this time, the brewing of an intoxicating drink from malt with the addition of molasses, wormwood, berry mixtures, roots and fruits of some plants, which were later replaced with hops, had long been established It added bitterness to the beer and was a natural preservative, preventing rapid souring Initially, yeast was not used to brew the drink Fungi were introduced into the wort by insects, blades of grass and dust, and entered in other natural ways This type of cooking was called air fermentation in Rus' In Germany, traditionally, the drink was prepared using 4 main ingredients: hops, yeast, malt and water This rule was enshrined in the “Law on the Purity of Beer,” which appeared in 1516 thanks to the Bavarian Duke Wilhelm IV In 1919, it began to operate throughout the country Today, German ale and lager are rightfully considered the purest and most delicious drinks in Europe and beyond There are hundreds of brands and producers registered in Germany that brew beer for sale within the country and for export The lands are proud of their own recipes for brewing top- and bottom-fermented intoxicating drinks Among the many brands, the most popular include Weizenbier, Altbier, Kölsch, Dunkel, Gose, Rauchbier, Helles and Pilsner These and other beers of varying strengths and densities are tasted by drink lovers during Oktoberfest