Bavarian beer selection at Whitefish Oktoberfest is the real deal

Jürgen Knöller, owner of the Bayern Brewing in Missoula, is supplying traditional German beers for the Great Northwest Oktoberfest in Whitefish and will be accompanied by his iconic sidekick, Walter, a handsome St. Bernard.

Twenty-five years after Knöller was born in Bavaria, Germany, he graduated as a master brewer and found himself in Missoula, working as the brewmaster at Bayern Brewing. He bought the company four years later and, after 40 years heading up the brewery, is planning to retire next year. 

His successor will be Cologne-born Bayern brewmaster, Thorsten Geuer, who has been working with Knöller for 25 years. 

“In my eyes, a brewery should span for more than just one generation,” Knöller said. “I've never worked for a brewery that was less than 400 years old.” 

His strong ties to Bavarian tradition and mastery of fine German beers are a boon to the Oktoberfest celebrations in Whitefish. It doesn’t hurt that Knöller is a big fan of the local event. 

“It is really the only true Oktoberfest that we have in the whole state,” he said. “There's nobody that can put anything like that on, like what the chamber and Kevin Gartland have created over the last umpteen years is extremely unique.” 

The tent, and stein holding and log sawing competitions are highlights. Knöller also likes the contemporary, big band music, not all classic German Oompah, a style he said is barely heard, even Munich.  

“It’s just extremely entertaining with people dancing on the tables,” he said, adding another facet of the fest he enjoys. “What I like a lot about it is that it is family oriented. The Whitefish Oktoberfest is open to everyone.” 

There was a time when beer enjoyed at Oktoberfest had to be made by breweries in Munich. Fest beers had to be a lager, follow the purity law and come in certain strengths. Light beers were taxed at a lower rate than stronger brews. 

Reinheitsgebot, the German purity law of 1516, is the first food law established and states that beers are made of malt, barley, yeast, hops and water. 

Beers at Bayern have been being brewed for so many years, he refers to them as time capsules. He makes Bayern Pilsener the same way he made it 40 years ago with the same ingredients. 

“We have time capsules that exactly follow the process of those breweries,” he added. “There’s a lot of love and there is a lot of tradition behind it, and there are a lot of stories behind it. Every single beer has a story and has a reason why it is this way and why we didn’t change it. 

Bayern beers Oktoberfest, Doppelbock, Celebration Pilsener, Maibock and St. Walter Hefeweizen, are “diehard identical clones” of traditional German beers.  

“When I came over here, I brought different elements from different traditional Bavarian breweries to Montana and continued the legacy and the honor of my old colleagues,” he said. “Bayern St. Walter Bavarian Hefeweitzen, a few years ago, was No. 3 in the world.” 

An assortment of Bayern brews from Missoula will be on tap in the tent at Depot Park along with Hofbräuhaus beers from Bavaria. 

“It's fantastic and I love having the direct comparison from, basically, two German brewers – one here and then one overseas at the same time,” he said. “I think that gives it a really nice touch. 

“People have a chance, firsthand, to see that we do know what we are doing and that what we do is legit,” he said. “It's not hearsay. It's not what I learned in a book. No. It is the real thing.” 

Knöller recalled a story about a German fest that illustrates a facet of the celebration that Whitefish does not have. He said a full, one-liter stein weighs 5 pounds. When women farmers worked as waitresses at several of the fests in Germany, some of them could haul up to 19 at a time. 

Finally, he encourages everyone not to drink and drive. 

“Have fun. Be merry,” he said. “Just don’t drive.” 

Reporter Julie Engler can be reached at 406-862-3505 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at whitefishpilot.com/support.

    Bayern Brewing Masterbrewer Jürgen Knöller's pup, Walter, and his namesake brew. (Photo provied)
  

    Masterbrewer Jürgen Knöller, owner of Bayern Brewing, brings traditional Bavarian beer to the Whitefish Oktoberfest. (Photo provided)