Cedar Springs Brewing Company Hosting 10th annual Starkbierfest

Cedar Springs Brewing Company is bringing German tradition and community spirit together today with its 10th annual Starkbierfest, a spring festival centered around strong bock beers, live music and outdoor celebration.

Starkbierfest is one of the five traditional festival seasons in German beer culture. Typically held in early March as an indoor festival, it marks the release of bock beers ahead of Lent. Historically, strong beers played an important role during the Lenten season, when monks are said to have relied on hearty brews for sustenance while fasting.

At Cedar Springs Brewing Company, that tradition has grown into a popular annual event in the heart of downtown Cedar Springs.

This year’s celebration is taking place in the brewery’s 12,000-square-foot outdoor beer tent, where guests can enjoy live German music from Rudi Tegethoff as well as live rock music from Trixie Tang. Featured beers for the event include the Küsterer Pale Bock Cask and the Küsterer Doppelbock.

“It’s a way to celebrate the season, release our bock beers, our strong beers,” said Cedar Springs Brewing Company owner Dave Ringler.

Ringler said Starkbierfest also reflects the brewery’s desire to embrace German-inspired traditions in a way that fits Cedar Springs.

“Obviously, we’re the Red Flannel Town, so we’re not going to do Oktoberfest, so we wanted to have a little bit of a Germanic festival,” Ringler said.

Along with the specialty beer releases, the event includes what Ringler described as a “sausage party,” featuring a couple of Michigan-made specialty brats not normally served by the brewery.

“It’s a fun time,” Ringler said. “It’s a time to celebrate community a little bit. Listen, we have an outdoor beer tent, we have a ‘sausage party’ where we release a couple of Michigan-made specialty brats we don’t normally serve.”

For Ringler, the event is about more than beer. It is also about bringing people together as winter gives way to spring.

“It’s a great time to celebrate community, and a great time to recognize spring here in beautiful downtown Cedar Springs,” he said.

Starkbierfest runs from 2 to 9 p.m. today and is expected to draw a large crowd.