On the street

Amana Colonies Oktoberfest

Nicole

I told a friend who recently moved here from out of state that I was headed to Oktoberfest in Amana - specifically, to Millstream Brewery to ask people about their favorite kind of beer. "I didn't know the Amish drank," he said. "They don't," I replied. "The Amish live in Kalona, not Amana."

My friend isn't the only person mixing this up. Teresa Albert, a Homestead resident who owns the brewery, says it happens all the time. "I don't know how we can get it through people's heads, but we just keep telling them," she said with a laugh.

Albert tells me that the Amana Colonies were settled 151 years ago by a group of Germans who broke off from the Lutheran church. They called themselves the Inspirationists, and their settlement was "the Community of True Inspiration," a.k.a "The Amana Society."  

Today, though, aside from the cool historic architecture of the shops and restaurants, the colonies are a modern community. Residents use electricity, allow people to take their photographs and travel in cars, not buggies. And, unlike the Amish, they have beer. (Millstream brewed 100 barrels of its seasonal Oktoberfest this year, and each barrel holds 31 gallons of beer. They expected to go through a whopping 40 to 60 barrels of beer over the weekend.)

Albert's theory on the confusion that Amana sort of sounds like Amish. I'm sure having the "Am" in common is a lot of it, but I also think it has to do with artisan aspect of both communities. The Amish are known for their quality workmanship when it comes to building things and quilting, and people associate Amana with hand-crafted goods, like Amana furniture or blankets and clothing from the woolen mill. Plus, both places sell great cheese, jellies and other tasty homemade foods.

I found another theory online, at www.amanacolonies.com. The writer attributes the confusion to the fact that the Amish and Amana's founders settled 50 miles from one another in roughly the same time period, 1846 and 1855, respectively. Their religious beliefs were different - conservative in Kalona, more liberal in Amana - but both groups spoke dialects of German.

Well, that's enough history for a Saturday. I'm off to watch the Hawks.

Check out On the Street in Monday's Gazette to see what Oktoberfest attendees consider their favorite beer.

And tune in next week, when co-host Carly Weber will be at Pumpkinfest in Anamosa. Oh, great . . . Anamosa. Now don't get THAT confused with Amana and Amish.

 

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