The Fall Classic

30 Oct

Cheers!

The Fall Classic by Corliss Buenavida

If you live in Los Angeles or Toronto or are any kind of baseball fan then you know the fall classic is here. In fact, here in Toronto you can’t get away from it and even the most casual fan has been whipped into frenzy.

This 2025 edition of the grandly titled World Series truly has a more worldly nature with a Canadian team vying for the big prize for the first time in 32 years and a slew of Japanese impactful players.

Many a prognosticator said the match-up between the Blue Jays and Dodgers was to be a David versus Goliath fight with countless expecting a sweep by L.A. after their quick work in the National League Championship Series. I guess they forgot David won that biblical battle!

At the time of this publishing, the Jays are up 3 games to 2 heading home with two chances to clinch it. The Dodgers will have their best starter on the mound in game 6 so it can quite likely come down to a game 7 finish.

Someone I know who was fortunate to work closely with the Blue Jays for over 35 years has said he sees this series as more of a ‘Team of Destiny’ versus a ‘Team of Dynasty.’ Like many others close to the game, he says he has never seen such a ‘team’ effort and cheerful camaraderie especially in this era of personal stats to garner big contract dollars.

Whatever results come from the last game or games it will go down as a series for the ages with all kinds of big performances already from superstar sluggers like Shohei Ohtani and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and outstanding pitching feats from Japanese great Yoshinobu Yamamoto and until recently unknown rookie Trey Yesavage.

All right, enough about baseball.

I want to talk about the real fall classic, something you can enjoy while watching the World Series and has been around a lot longer than the World Series, Märzen Oktoberfestbier!

Märzen beer has its origins in 16th century Bavaria where laws prohibited beer to be brewed in summer when high temperatures could cause beer to go off in the brewing process. Märzen or ‘March beer’ was brewed, then allowed to lager (age) in ice and straw filled cellars until autumn. No wonder an Oktober festival was created to celebrate finally tapping these long awaited kegs!

The traditional brewing style continues using modern techniques creating malty lagers with a medium to full body which may vary in colour from pale through amber to dark brown. More recently Festbiers are generally lighter in nature.

Märzens are right up there among my favourite beer styles so I am delighted each year at this time when our local (and not so local) craft brewers put their various products on the market.

You will notice a common motif in many of the labels through the use of the blue and white checkered Bavarian flag imagery.

Muskoka Brewery, just over a couple of hours north of Toronto, does a stein sized can, but my go to product (in fact, I just stock piled a few in my beer fridge) is ‘Midnight in Munich’ Märzen Amber Lager from Guelph Ontario’s Wellington Brewery.

I suspect I will be popping a can or few while watching the Jays take on the Dodgers before the champagne is popped.