Swiftwater Brewing's Oktoberfest embraces local and community

Third annual Oktoberfest celebration goes down Saturday at the South Wedge brewery.

Note: This content is made possible through a partnership between Swiftwater Brewing and the Cleveland Prost.

It’s the time of year when seemingly every brewery or bar or restaurant hosts some version of an Oktoberfest celebration. Throw a few German-style lagers on draft, maybe put a sausage or two on the menu, and you’re good to go.

But Andy Cook, owner/brewer at Swiftwater Brewing in Rochester’s South Wedge neighborhood, has always believed in going above and beyond. If something is worth being done, it’s worth being done well (or better than anyone else does it).

He’s certainly demonstrated through his years as co-organizer of the Rochester Real Beer Expo and the Swiftwater-Mortalis Luau, the tiki-fueled beer fest at Ontario Beach Park that pulls in some of the most lauded and hyped breweries in the country.

That’s why Swiftwater’s upcoming Oktoberfest, which runs from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday at 378 Mt. Hope Ave., will feature traditional German sausages and sides from Rochester institution Swan Market, accordion-fueled biergarten music from Marianna Gonzalez (if you haven’t experienced Marianna, you haven’t enjoyed Oktoberfest properly in Rochester), a rotating selection of fresh lagers, and enough good vibes and conviviality to fuel an epic party.

Photo: It’s lager in a stein. What more do you need to know?! Photo by Kaylin Schafer/Swiftwater Brewing.

This list is just nutty — Frequentem Brewing (both a Marzen and a Festbier!), Strangebird Brewing, Other Half Brewing, K2 Brothers Brewing, Aurora Brewing, Mortalis Brewing, Brewery Ardennes (I am really excited to try this Belgian-inspired brewery’s take on a German classic), Iron Tug Brewing, Prison City Brewing, Faircraft Brauhaus, Wayland Brewing, Autark Brewhouse, Stoneyard Brewing, Sager Beer Works, and Wood Kettle Brewing.

I am especially excited to see two Buffalo-area standouts, Wayland and Autark, available on draft in Rochester. That’ll be a rare treat.

There will also be a cask of Swiftwater’s Festbier that rested for a little bit in a Black Button whiskey barrel. It’ll be poured directly from the barrel. And to top it off, you couldn’t have an Oktoberfest event without at least one German classic. In this case, you can enjoy a stein of Ayinger’s iconic Oktoberfest. Attendees are encouraged to bring their favorite steins to the event. “We saw some really fun ones last year,” Cook offered. Swiftwater is also selling one that can be refilled at a discount, both at the event and throughout the year. (It used to host weekly stein nights and now patrons can bring their steins with them every time they visit the brewery.)

Four beers will be available on draft in the parking lot biergarten. And Cook expects they’ll rotate through them pretty quickly. It’s safe to assume you’ll get a brand new draft list every one to two hours.

Cook drew inspiration from the lively Oktoberfest at the former Tap and Mallet pub on Gregory Street, also in the South Wedge. That Tap and Mallet Oktoberfest was buzzing with activity and Cook remembers jumping behind the bar to lend a hand in filling steins.

“It felt like we just left the taps open for at least an hour as we helped the bartenders catch up,” Cook fondly recalled. “We had a blast. The firkin (cask) we did that year sold out in like 45 minutes — 11 gallons of beer gone in 45 minutes. Especially for a cask beer, that was super exciting.”

Really, Cook said, the brewery is just looking for an excuse to pour cask beers as often as possible.

When Tap and Mallet closed at the end of 2021, Cook asked Tap and Mallet co-owner Joe McBane if Swiftwater could take over hosting the event. McBane gladly obliged and Swiftwater is now hosting its third annual celebration. When McBane and business partner Casey Walpert opened The Sheffield the following year in Brighton, they realized they didn’t have the space to host a huge party. Enter Cook and Swiftwater.

Tap’s event featured mainly German imports. Cook has taken a bit of inspiration from that and morphed it into something that’s uniquely Rochester. It’s wild to think that just five years ago, you couldn’t possibly host an event like this. That’s because our local scene didn’t feature the quality and supply it now showcases. Plainly said, we didn’t have a lot of local craft lagers. And what we did have, it kinda sucked. That’s no longer an issue, something that Cook finds endlessly exciting. More than 93 percent of the beers were brewed within 70 miles of the South Wedge.

There will be a giant tent in the parking lot. Under the tent, you’ll find those long communal tables you’d find at any German biergarten. Cook loves how these tables encourage community and encourage strangers to strike up a conversation.

“I just love that German beer hall vibe,” Cook said. “It’s fun to throw it in our parking lot. There are lot of Oktoberfest events in Rochester. I like that we’ve been able to build ours up as a local brewery showcase. I am super excited about that.

“I am really excited to celebrate the fact that so many local breweries are now making really good, clean lagers.”

Swan Market is completely in control of the food experience, Cook said. They’ll offer a few different sausage options, as well as a sausage platter with traditional sides. I’m not gonna lie, I am always excited for a German beer brat, but Cook’s mom Penney whipped up a huge batch of her extra tangy and crispy naturally fermented sauerkraut. Penney drove up from the Cook family farm in Cayuga County to contribute.

And stay tuned for more exciting happenings at Swiftwater. It’s hard to believe, but the brewery will celebrate its 10th anniversary in January. I am excited to see what Cook and crew cook up.