DENVER — Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to celebrate Oktoberfest in Denver this weekend and next, but behind the steins of beer, some brewers are bracing for a problem they can't control: Colorado's ongoing drought and a warming climate.
Now in its 56th year, Denver Oktoberfest bills itself as the city's oldest and largest Oktoberfest celebration, drawing more than 350,000 people over its six-day run.
The festival takes place along Larimer Street between 20th and 22nd streets in the Ballpark neighborhood, with weekends running Sept. 18-20 and Sept. 25-27.
Beyond bratwurst, pretzels, and beer, the festival features live music, dancing, costume contests, keg bowling, the Long Dog Derby wiener dog races, and a late-night silent disco.
The tradition dates back to 1969, when Fred and Hertha Thomas, who owned two shops on Larimer Square, tapped a keg and served pretzels and radishes in front of their café to honor one of their favorite traditions. The event has grown into one of the largest Oktoberfest celebrations in the country.
MORE INFO: How the drought is impacting Colorado's beer industry
But poor weather conditions are changing how key beer ingredients grow. A lack of water can cause grain to develop higher protein content and can alter the bitterness of hops, forcing brewers to tweak their recipes to keep their beer tasting the same year after year.
Bill Eye, co-owner of Bierstadt Lagerhaus in RiNo, said brewing beer is a water-intensive process from start to finish.
"In a small brewery, you use five to six gallons of water to make a gallon of beer between all the cleaning and everything else," Eye said. "We're a water-heavy industry for sure."
This year's dry conditions haven't hit local breweries hard yet, according to Eye, but he said that could change if drought years continue to stack up.
"Not a lot of water this year. It hasn't really set in and affected the breweries just yet," Eye said. "I can imagine that if it turns out that we have a few of these in a row, there'll be all kinds of restrictions."
Eye said brewers are expected to produce a consistent product every year, regardless of how their raw materials are affected by weather.
"Beer makers are kind of expected to make their beer taste the same every year, and alter their process to kind of meet the raw ingredients," Eye said. "If the hops didn't get enough water, and that's another problem, or grain didn't get enough water, can be high in protein, or the bitterness can be different in the hops, and we just have to adjust our recipe to kind of reflect those raw material differences."
Bierstadt Lagerhaus imports most of its hops from Germany, a region facing similar climate pressures.
"Things that never used to get 100 degrees in Germany are now getting to be 100 degrees," Eye said. "It will definitely change our raw ingredients and how we have to make beer."
Charlie Hoxmeier, an assistant professor of food and fermentation science at Colorado State University, said poor yields this year won't hit breweries immediately, but the effects could arrive within a couple of years.
"For a lot of farmers and maltsters, they'll have a back stock or a supply from previous years," Hoxmeier said. "But that means that eventually, in the next two years or so, they're going to have to deal with this, and it's going to roll down to the brewers in the sense that the supply is going to be greatly reduced because the quality was so poor, and that means the price is going to go up."
For now, Eye said sustainability is becoming a bigger part of the brewing conversation in Colorado, a state where water use is closely tied to multiple industries.
"It will drive the brewers to get better with their technique and be more sustainable with their water use for sure," Eye said. "Colorado — you know, just between beer and the ski industry, we need the water."
As Oktoberfest celebrations continue in Denver, brewers like Eye say keeping the tradition alive means adapting behind the scenes, one batch at a time.
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