Oktoberfest - Torrington (2024)
6:00 PM, Saturday, 21 September 2024
WEATHER: 66°F; HUMIDITY 78%; PRESSURE 30.02"; WIND SPEED NE 3-MPH; CLOUD COVER 36%; VISIBILITY 13-MI.Today marks the beginning of a sixteen-day long Oktoberfest. So, Prost! Ich wünsche Ihnen ein frohes Oktoberfest, or in English, Cheers! Happy Oktoberfest to you.
Maßkrugstemmen
Unfortunately, as we were just starting to gear-up for what would have been the 4th Annual Torrington Oktoberfest on the 28th, we were informed that it has been canceled. Such a shame, it was always a great time, and we’re so sad with the loss of our autumn beer festival.
How would we ever celebrate in this situation? We went to… Bad Dog Brewing Company in Torrington! The brewery was a designated location for one of about a dozen qualifying rounds to the 2024 Connecticut State Steinholding Final which they, coincidently, will also be hosting on 19 October 2024.
The Maßkrugstemmen, as it's called in the native language, is, according to the United States Steinholding Association, a “traditional Bavarian strength contest in which competitors hold a full one-liter beer stein out in front of their bodies with a straight arm, parallel to the ground. You go as long as you can and the last person holding with good form is the winner.”
How it Started; How it Finished
The winner of this qualifying round, seen in the blue shirt, had a time exceeding 6:43. Since the runner-up dropped out at that time, he didn’t have to continue any longer.
He will represent us in the State Championship next month. Will he win again? We will be there to cheer him on regardless.
Humorous: the two-man band that was playing there that evening participated. I hope the guitarist was able to strum his instrument after all that strain on his arm!
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A 1-Liter dimpled glass stein with handle weighing approximately 3-lbs. must be used. Steins used for each competition should be of the same brand and style, and should be provided by the establishment hosting the competition to ensure consistency.
The stein must be filled with liquid up to the 1L line marked on the stein.
The stein must be gripped by the handle.
The thumb may not rest on top of the stein handle; it must rest on the other fingers.
The pinkie finger may be held outside of the stein handle. If positioned outside the handle, it may touch the stein handle, but it may not touch the body of the stein.
The stein must be gripped such that the front (the side of stein opposite the handle) faces directly away from the competitor, extending in parallel with the arm.
Limited arching of the back is permitted, however only minimal leaning is acceptable. In the vertical plane, the competitor's elbow must never cross behind the back of the ankle of either foot, and the competitor's armpit must never cross in front of the hips or toes of either foot.
Significant leaning to the left or right side is unacceptable. The upper torso may not be noticeably angled to the competitor's left or right side, and the line between a competitor's shoulder blades should remain close to parallel to the ground.
The stein must be held out directly in front of the competitor, not out to the side. The line between a competitor's shoulders should remain close to perpendicular with the arm holding the stein.
The arm holding the stein must remain close to parallel with the ground and from a side view should remain close to perpendicular with the line of the torso from the neck to the bottom of the rib cage. The arm holding the stein must be extended straight with no bending at the elbow.
The arm holding the stein must remain separated from the chest and torso of the competitor. The chest and torso may not be used to support the arm.
The off-hand should remain at the competitor's side and may not touch or support the stein or the arm holding the stein. The off-hand/non-holding arm may be held in a straightened position against the competitor's side but may not otherwise be used to brace or support the competitor's torso.
Competitors may not contact any other structures, objects, or people during the competition.
Competitors must stand within their personal area and may not move more than is necessary to make adjustments ensuring proper form during the competition.
If any amount of the liquid filling the stein spills or drips off of the stein, the competitor is immediately disqualified, regardless of the number of strikes otherwise assigned. NOTE: During outdoor competitions or in humid conditions, judges must take care to differentiate between dripping resulting from condensation or sweat, and dripping resulting from spillage.
I couldn’t find any video of the 2023 Connecticut Finals that took place down at the infamous Two Road Brewery, but the Men’s National competition posted their video here:
The Venue
Bad Dog Brewery is one of the most beautiful breweries in the state, both inside and out. The “Preserving History” page on their website should be read before a visit to really appreciate all they have done to honor the old fire-house they occupy, and they also go over the process of how they renovated the building as well. Additionally, the new fence they put up in the back courtyard blocks a lot of the urban-view and asphalt to create a chill and relaxed environment.
While everyone was inside for the competition, I briefly slipped out for a peaceful moment to myself.
I’ve been to the Bad Dog at least seventeen times that I can prove with a picture taken there. Most of those visits were highlighted on an old website of ours, but I’ve tried to recreate those now lost posts on our other blog, Day Trippin’, by at least putting up the picture(s) from those visits; it’s hard to remember context. A webpage with those currently posted visits grouped together is found at:
https://www.coleychi.social/day-tripping/tag/Bad+Dog+Brewing+Company
Canceled Town Festival
As far as the officially canceled Oktoberfest in town, this is what we know:
Even though we had eagerly purchased tickets again for 2024, attendance or revenue had been declining since it’s inauguration year, three-years prior:
“In past events; 2021 we sold 400 tickets, 2022 we sold 350 tickets and 2023 we sold 300 tickets, and although this is a downward trend, we could’ve probably managed with 250 tickets sold but at this point we cannot take a chance that will reach that.
Unfortunately, this is a very expensive event to host, it’s never really been a fundraiser for our organization, but more of a give back, as breaking even was still acceptable, but a several thousand dollar loss cannot be...
We will reevaluate this event for next year and try to get a better understanding if there’s enough community support to keep moving forward with it.”
Maybe they will be back at some point; who knows what the future will bring.
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We had attended all previous festivals in Torrington, see posts: Oktoberfest - Torrington (2021); (2022); (2023). We have also been to two hosted by Harpoon Brewery in Boston, Massachusetts. See posts: Oktoberfest - Harpoon (2019); (2022).
Driving times are approximate:
Torrington = 0 h, 0 m.
Hartford = 0 h, 45 m.
Tolland = 1 h, 0 m.
New Haven = 1 h, 0 m.
New London = 1 h, 30 m.
NYC = 2 h, 0 m.
Boston = 2 h, 30 m.
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