Appleton's Octoberfest gets its own beer

One of the main draws for the estimated 100,000 people who pack downtown Appleton every year for Octoberfest is beer.

This year, the thirsty patrons will have the opportunity to get a taste of something extra special.

Organizers of the annual Octoberfest block party have teamed with Wisconsin Distributors and the Wisconsin Brewing Company for a specially brewed beer just for this year's event. The celebration begins Sept. 26 with License to Cruise and continues Sept. 27 with a full-day slate of live music, arts and crafts, food and drinks.

Octoberfest executive director Susan Vanden Heuvel said Wisconsin Distributors pitched the idea and her committee saw it as a game-changer.

"We're very excited to have our very own beer and that it's produced right here in Wisconsin," Vanden Heuvel said. "Octoberfest is truly the largest one-day festival in the state of Wisconsin so we are very excited to bring this to all of the fans that attend the event."

The Verona-based Wisconsin Brewing Company put together the Octoberfest lager, named Magic Marzeniac. A total of 150 half-barrels were produced.

"It's going to have a nice dark amber hue to it in terms of color," said Wisconsin Distributors import, craft and specialty manager Ryan Wessley. "It has a really good sessionable drinkability to it, which is what we wanted to achieve. ... We gave a lot of the attributes we were looking for and (Wisconsin Brewing Company) knocked it out of the park for us."

The name for the 6 percent ABV brew is both a nod to Appleton's ties to legendary magician Harry Houdini and the centuries-old Märzen-style lager.

The beer will debut at the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce's monthly business connection event Tuesday at the Appleton Yacht Club. The informal "after-hours" event runs from 5 to 7 p.m. and is free for chamber members and $20 for the general public.

For the rest of the month, Magic Marzeniac will be available at 31 Appleton bars and restaurants, mostly downtown, including Bazil's, Anduzzi's, Jim's Place, Cleo's, Fox River House and Milwaukee Burger Company.

Tap takeover events will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 11 at the Bar and from 8 to 10 p.m. Sept. 25 at Houdini's Escape Gastropub. Anduzzi's also will host an Oktoberfest-themed Beer Society of Wisconsin social hour at 5 p.m. Sept. 24.

The brew then will be on tap at all beer stations Sept. 27, as will Wisconsin Brewing Company's Bleeding Heart and American IPA (and the usual offering of domestics).

"We really wanted to make the beer a celebration for the entire month of September," said Wisconsin Distributors marketing manager Tricia Schwartz.

Here are the Appleton bars and restaurants that will have Magic Marzeniac available throughout September:

• Bazil's
• 10th Frame
• Anduzzi's
• Appleton Beer Factory
• Bad Badger Sports Bar
• The Bar
• Chadwick's
• Scuba's Pourhouse
• Jim's Place
• Appleton Yacht Club
• Dr. Jekyll's
• Rookies Sports Bar
• Ambassador
• Wooden Nickel
• Cleo's Brown Beam
• Fox River House
• Clubhouse inside Radisson Paper Valley Hotel
• Jack's Apple Pub
• Emmett's
• Mill Creek
• The Durty Leprechaun
• Spats
• Houdini's Escape Gastropub
• Pullman's at Trolley Square
• Greg's Bar
• Union Jack
• Image's
• Milwaukee Burger Company
• Gather Americana Restaurant
• The Red Ox Seafood and Steakhouse
• CU Saloon

— Shane Nyman: 920-993-1000, ext. 240, snyman@postcrescent.com or on Twitter @shanenyman