For our weekly feature Moveable Feast, John Birge and Minnesota Monthly's Rachel Hutton talk about where to go and what to eat in Minnesota.
Tomorrow is the biggest Oktoberfest in the state, in New Ulm, Minn., which is what John and Rachel discuss this week.
Ground zero of the New Ulm Oktoberfest is the Schell's Brewery, which is the second-oldest family-run brewery in the country (the first is Pennsylvania's Yuengling). Except for a brief break during Prohibition, Schell's has been brewing German beer since 1860, and if you're not able to make the Oktoberfest celebration, you can break out your lederhosen and stop by for a tour, which are given daily during the summer and on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays during the rest of the year.
Schell's is best known for its Pilsner — a light, delicate beer that's received many craft beer awards. But Schell's also does bock beers, rye beers and lots of seasonally changing brews, including a new experimental sour beer. A couple Rachel likes in the summer are the grapefruit-flavored radler and the crisp Goosetown, a Gose-style beer spiced with coriander and a hint of salt.
If you get hungry after your beer drinking, Veigel's Kaiserhoff in downtown New Ulm is an old-school German eatery with bratwurst, landjäger, German potato salad, sauerkraut balls, and — surprisingly — great ribs.
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