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Now in its eighth year, the German Christmas Market (or Christkindelmarkt) has become a well established part of Leeds’ festive season. Opening in mid-November and taking over Millennium Square until 20th December, it’s a regular post-work and weekend haunt for many of the city’s residents.
Sure, there’s a funfair, some nice little stalls and a few fairground games to play, but here at Boozeflash we’re only interested in one thing - the Frankfurter-Scheune, or German bierkeller (beer cellar, if you need it spelling out).
We’ve obviously heavily researched the bierkeller by popping down for a few after work drinks - glühwein, German lager, German wheat beer, German dark wheat beer - but we thought the best way to find out more about it would be to speak to a real German. That real German was one Aki Lowenthal, the manager of the bierkeller.
“I think on a good day we get up to 20,000 people in the market,” says Aki, every inch the bierkeller manager from the hat and fancy waistcoat to the massive stein (that’s a big beer mug to you and me). “On Friday evenings it gets so full here.”
Apart from escaping the rain, a big attraction in the tent is, as we may have already mentioned, the booze. “We have glühwein, cherry wine, raspberry wine, roasted apple punch and German beer - Paulaner,” says Aki. “The most popular drink is probably the beer, then the glühwein and the hot chocolate. When it’s more than 10 degrees outside, people drink beer, and when it’s less than 10 degrees, its mulled wine - or glühwein. In Germany it’s just the same. They’re very traditional German drinks.”
And, as we all know, beer needs food to go with it, and the bierkeller serves that up to. “The most popular food is sausage,” says Aki, “the spicy sausage, cheese sausage and the traditional pork roast.”
Although the bierkeller is now a big part of Christmas in Leeds, it’s not really much of a German tradition, at least not at Christmas. “At Christmas time, we don’t really have beer halls like this. We have one in Berlin, but only small stalls elsewhere, not as big as this. This is probably the only Christmas Market beer tent like this in the world. There’s none this size in England, Germany or Austria - only in Leeds. This is more like Oktoberfest inside… outside it’s a Christmas market, in here, it’s Oktoberfest.”
The drinkers of Leeds will be pleased to hear that we are, apparently, capable of good behaviour after a few German beers or glühwein. “I think the people in Leeds are good drinkers,” says Aki. “When they are drunk we have no problems here, they are merry, happy, not aggressive. They have fun, go out and say ‘thank you for the good night’ - it’s a good atmosphere every night. People love the German mugs, the stein. Steins are good. A lot of people put them in their bag and take them home. That’s why we have a £3.50 deposit so that they bring it back. A lot of people take them, though.”
And what about the manager himself, what does he drink? “Mostly on the day I drink coffee. When I’m not working, my favourite drink is beer. Not the wheat beer. Many people in Germany now prefer the wheat beer and the lager, but for me, lager from the draft is the best. Only from the draft. Its fresh everyday and it’s a good beer. When it’s running from the barrel it’s the best, when it’s standing for two or three days it’s not so good.”
We’ll be remembering his tip next time we pop down for some Bavarian booze.
Until 20 December. Christkindelmarkt, Millennium Square
Posted on Friday 27th November 2009
TG
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