Prinz Luitpold and the Oktoberfest

Modern Brewery Age, Sept 8, 2003 by Gregg Glaser

One thing is certain about this year's Oktoberfest in Munich. No beer brewed by the great-great-great-grandson of the man credited with kicking off the first Oktoberfest will be served.

Who is this most unfortunate of brewers? He is HRH Prinz Luitpold yon Bayern, also the great-grandson of the last King of Bavaria, Ludwig II, a member of the royal family of Bavaria, the Wittelsbachs, who have brewed beer for seven centuries. He owns the Konig-Ludwig Schlosbrauerei Kaltenberg, located about 30 miles west of downtown Munich.

Why are the prince's beers barred from the Oktoberfest? That's a longer story.

On October 12, 1810, Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (the great-great-great-grandfather of the current prince), later to become King Ludwig I of Bavaria, married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The royal couple's wedding feast was held in downtown Munich at a large park within the royal grounds (today known as Theresienwiese or Therese's green).

Five days later, the Bavarian National Guard organized a large public horse race for the people of Bavaria, so that they, also, could celebrate the Crown Prince's wedding. This event was successful, so the next year an agricultural festival was organized in early October. As the years went on, additional festivities, such as carousels and beer stands, were added. The first large beer tents appeared in 1896. Thus was born the Oktoberfest.

As it is organized today, the Munich city fathers stipulate that only beer brewed within Munich's city limits may be served at the Oktoberfest. These include the beers of the six Munich breweries: Spaten, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbrauhaus, Lowenbrau and Augustiner. Prince Luitpold's beers, coming from Kaltenberg, are disallowed.

Prince Luitpold has operated the Konig-Ludwig Schlosbrauerei Kaltenberg since 1976. Commercial brewing has taken place at the family castle-brewery since 1872. Another of the prince's ancestors, Wilhelm IV, passed the Reinheitsgebot, the 1516 Bavarian Purity Law that defined and limited beer's ingredients. Another forbear of the prince, Maximillian I, acquired the fight to brew wheat beers in Bavaria, a unique exception to the Reinheitsgebot. With these Bavarian brewing credentials in tow, in the early 1980s the prince met with Munich officials and requested permission to sell his beer at the Oktoberfest. His request was denied.

Munich officials explained to Prince Luitpold that beers served at the Oktoberfest must come from breweries that had a longstanding brewing tradition based in Munich. When the prince explained that his ancestors had a Munich brewing tradition dating to 1260, he was told that the modern brewery must be located in Munich. So, the prince built a mobile brewery that would operate in Munich part of each year. Munich city officials were not impressed and again said, no deal.

The prince wasn't ready to give up. He opened Munich's first brewpub and again requested permission to sell beer at the Oktoberfest. Munich officials came up with another ruling to deny the prince's request. They "clarified" the Oktoberfest rules and told him that in order to sell beer at the Oktoberfest, a brewer had to have continuously brewed in Munich from 1870 to 1970. The prince closed the brewpub.

Still, the prince wouldn't admit defeat. He bet the chairman of Spaten that he'd have his own Oktoberfest tent within five years. The loser would carry a full liter of beer to the winner--30 miles either into or out of Munich. The prince lost the bet.

When it came time to carry his liter of beer to the Spaten chairman, the prince created a parade of 2,000 supporters, including food, music, and a horse-drawn beer wagon. At the gates of the Oktoberfest, the police turned the prince and his fellow revelers away, claiming they were staging an unlawful political demonstration. The prince went to court to prove he had permission to deliver a liter of beer to the Spaten chairman, and won. The liter was delivered, but the prince and his followers were not allowed into the Oktoberfest.

This year, about six million people will visit the Oktoberfest. Prinz Luitpold will not be one of them.