By: Alex M

As summer comes to an end, and the leaves change shade, we are brought to one of the biggest cornerstone events of autumn, Oktoberfest! Thrown annually in Munich, Germany, beer enthusiasts across the globe travel to experience the world’s biggest beer festival, paired with a traveling carnival, performances, games, food, and so much more. This tradition has been going strong for over 200 years now, and you better believe that enthusiasts who cannot travel to Munich will find their own way to celebrate from home, but something has changed since the birth of this titanic event.

Cannabis, once outlawed by both government and conventional society, is quickly becoming one of the most celebrated substances across the globe, rivaling that of beer (if you don’t believe that, look no further than Denver’s 420 Fest). Whether you’re a fan of one, or the other, or both, it feels like a disservice not to celebrate them together this fall. Whether our beer selection is a light summer ale or a deep amber malt, think of these few strains of cannabis as pairings to their flavors and sensations. No matter what drink you pick this Oktoberfest, there is a strain of cannabis to couple it!

A No-Brainer: Fernway Honey Crisp x Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest Märzen!

This selection will immediately make sense to those who have had the pleasure of trying either. There is perhaps no beer more essential to Oktoberfest than Märzen. Its full body and sweet undertones are not only a staple of the Oktoberfest flavor, but the amber tones, fluffy foam top, and near-royal Hacker-Pschorr insignia all become an embodiment of fall itself. And there aren’t many cannabis products that share these qualities more than Fernway’s Honey Crisp.

Unlike many other products, Fernway infuses their flower with terpenes to create flavors so specific you may confuse them for their real-world counterparts. Honey Crisp, a sharp, juicy, and sweet selection, has completely nailed the sensation of biting into a fresh fall apple, lightly burnt by the cool air of late October. Paired with an Oktoberfest Märzen, it will be impossible not to celebrate the changing winds of autumn with vigor, wonder, and maybe a hint of nostalgia!

(It is worth mentioning that Honey Crisp is a go-to pairing for any fall beer. Whether a classic Märzen, a Sam Adams Oktoberfest, or Shipyard Pumpkinhead, the combination is enough to turn the fuzzy brown memories of autumn back to vermillion red.)

Dessert for Dinner: Wedding Cake x Guinness Stout

Have you ever gone out to dinner, and after accidentally flipping to the last page of the menu, found that all you really want to order is the Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake?

Haven’t we all! Dessert can be one of the most anticipated meals of our day, our week, our month, but as wonderful as it is, it can be quite precarious. Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake is pretty sturdily labeled as a dessert, but what about a muffin? Some may only need complimentary mint for dessert. Others prefer a cup of coffee. Others prefer the dark, heavy, yet oh-so-smooth pour of a Guinness Stout. Commonly labeled a full meal in liquid form, there isn’t another beer that can be more accurately described as a dessert, and what better strain of cannabis to pair it with than a certified classic?

That would have to be the infamous Wedding Cake, also known as Triangle Mints #23, as well as Pink Cookies in Canada. As a heavy-hitting Indica-hybrid, this strain already works as a three-course dessert, but paired with the dark and heavy finish of a rich Guinness Stout, you may create an experience akin to that of trying your first bite of Black Forest Gateau. Wedding Cake should not be hard to find as it is offered by several brands and companies, but the right grow and cut can make all the difference in making this dessert combo the bright shining star it can be.

Taste of the Sweet Life: Superflux Grapple Pie x Lord Hobo Boom Sauce Double IPA

There is something about experiencing the best product an industry has to offer that lightens up our day and gives us the realization that true greatness is possible. To those familiar with the New England IPA world, Lord Hobo’s Boom Sauce Double IPA remains a juggernaut in its field for good reason, and nothing is truer of Superflux’s Grapple Pie, two products that prove just how much hard work is really worth.

Picture yourself perched on a private balcony bar. The city is just close enough for its lights to sprinkle the horizon at sunset. It’s late. You’ve been working your hand to the bone all year. In need of some relief, you grab a Boom Sauce from the cooler and a top-cut nugget of Grapple Pie. You can smell the intricately fruity terps interacting with the smoky clouds of hops, both floating behind your tongue in a slow dance. There is a great power to their blows, but within them, stillness. Rest. It may be back to the grindstone tomorrow, but tonight, you realize you are living life to the fullest. These two heavyweights continue to be strong components of their fans’ luxury occasions, and either together or separately, you might be able to find something truly special within them.

And For Our Trip Down Memory Lane: Slurricane x Coors Banquet

For many of us, our first memories of beer and cannabis did not start with craft brews and luxury flower treated with the same time and attention as a century-old whiskey. One could even argue that those who did may have missed out on memories that are often taken for granted. Smyth’s Slurricane is a perfect example of a strain that brings those memories back.

I have spoken to many different people about their experiences with Slurricane, and one thing often remains the same. It takes them back. From customers to budtenders, to managers, to cultivators, so many have said that this strain brings them back to their first days smoking cannabis, stumbling upon that first eighth that made them go, “Woah.” Earthy, thick, and straight to the point, this balanced Indica represents a time when life was simpler, when finding good bud only happened when you were lucky. And Coors Banquet, tasty, direct, and unequivocally a staple of so many first-time experiences with beer, could not make a better pairing to stroll down memory lane with. After 150 years, Coors Banquet is still brewed exclusively in Golden, Colorado, with Rocky Mountain Spring water, and for quite some time, you could not find it anywhere east of the Mississippi River. Now distributed in most states, it is still celebrated by many as a rarity, with the memory of its beginnings still intact.

So, sit back, take in those old sensations, and ponder whether that sweet, simple, one-of-a-kind nostalgia of beer and bud was really accidental. Was it simply the random combination of time and place, or was it handcrafted to be a memory you can never truly forget?

Happy Oktoberfest!