Hoist a beer and sausage and celebrate! Oktoberfest has become an international phenomenon, and plant-based meats make it easy for vegans to join the fun. Dig into our best recipes using plant-based sausage, plus a few tips on choosing a vegan beer.
Oktoberfest started in 1810 in Munich, Germany, and now it’s enjoyed all over the globe. In fact, Oktoberfest is the world’s largest folk festival, attended by more than 6 million visitors in Munich alone. It includes various foods, feats of strength, and old-fashioned competitions like tree climbing, stein holding, and, of course, beer drinking. The traditional Oktoberfest beer is a full-bodied amber brew, also called Märzen because it’s brewed in March with a slightly higher alcohol content so the beer will last until fall.
Like most beers, the classic Oktoberfest beer from Paulaner Brewery is vegan. But did you know that some beers are not? Brewers occasionally use milk or other animal products. To turn beer from cloudy to clear, various “fining” agents are sometimes used, including isinglass (fish collagen) and gelatin (usually pork collagen), dried egg whites, and casein (milk protein). But don’t worry, most beers are vegan, including of course our Wicked Twisted Wheat beer collab with Finnegans in Minneapolis and our Wicked Pale Ale beer collab with SALT brewery in the UK.
Curious whether one of your favorite beers is vegan friendly? Here’s a big, searchable list, including wine and spirits, at Barnivore.
And what goes best with beer at Oktoberfest? Sausage of course! For us, that means juicy, savory, plant-based links with a satisfying snap when you bite into them. That was our goal when we developed our Wicked Little Brats and Chorizo Style Sausages.
Click this link (ha!) to find out more. You can use them in any recipe calling for vegan sausage, including some of our favorites below. While you’re at, cook with the beer you’re drinking too. Prost! That’s German for Cheers!
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