Eeron Bagany, Iron Bagan, [1] or Iron Bagany [2] is an Ossetian beer festival which takes place annually in Northern [3] and Southern Ossetia in autumn. [3] The festival lasts a day and can be regarded as a kind of Oktoberfest. [3] [4]
Ossetian brewing culture can be traced back to descriptions to be found in the Nart sagas, which contain an aetiological legend recounting the discovery of beer. According to the legend "a warchief saw a bird in the forest that ate some hops and immediately fainted. The chief took the hops home and told his wife, the wise matriarch Shatana, what had happened. She mixed the hops with ground malt, and added water to brew the first ever batch of Ossetian beer." [3]
Differing from the ordinary beer, the Ossetian beer is "significantly less intoxicating", has no foam, ranges from color dark brown to black, and is brewed without technology. [3] It is traditionally brewed by the "oldest woman in the family". [3]
During the festival, the beers which are brewed by the locals are tested by the judges choosing the best brewer. [3]
Ossetia is an ethnolinguistic region located on both sides of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, largely inhabited by the Ossetians. The Ossetian language is part of the Eastern Iranian branch of the family of Indo-European languages. Most countries recognize the Ossetian-speaking area south of the main Caucasus ridge as lying within the borders of Georgia, but it has come under the control of the de facto government of the Russian-backed Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania. The northern portion of the region consists of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania within the Russian Federation.
The Ossetians are an Iranian ethnic group who are indigenous to Ossetia, a region situated across the northern and southern sides of the Caucasus Mountains. They natively speak Ossetic, an Eastern Iranian language of the Indo-European language family, with most also being fluent in Russian as a second language.
South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked state in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated population of just over 56,500 people (2022), who live in an area of 3,900 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi), on the south side of the Greater Caucasus mountain range, with 33,000 living in the capital city, Tskhinvali. Only Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, and Syria recognise South Ossetia as a sovereign state. Although Georgia does not control South Ossetia, the Georgian government and the United Nations consider the territory part of Georgia.
Pale lager is a very pale-to-golden-colored lager beer with a well-attenuated body and a varying degree of noble hop bitterness.
Beer is a major part of German culture. German beer is brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot, which permits only water, hops, and malt as ingredients; and stipulates that beers not exclusively using barley-malt, such as wheat beer, must be top-fermented.
Kitchener–Waterloo Oktoberfest is an annual nine-day festival in the twin cities of Kitchener–Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Based on the original German Oktoberfest, it is billed as Canada's Greatest Bavarian Festival, and is the second-largest Oktoberfest in the world. It is held every October, starting on the Friday before Canadian Thanksgiving and running until the Saturday after. Estimates indicate that the event attracts roughly 700,000 visitors to Waterloo Region, Ontario every year.
A beer festival is an event at which a variety of beers are available for purchase. There may be a theme, for instance beers from a particular area, or a particular brewing style such as winter ales.
The Oktoberfest is a two-week festival held each year in Munich, Germany during late September and early October. It is attended by six million people each year and has inspired numerous similar events using the name Oktoberfest in Germany and around the world, many of which were founded by German immigrants or their descendants.
The Oktoberfest is the world's largest Volksfest, featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival. It is held annually in Munich, Bavaria. It is a 16- to 18-day folk festival running from mid- or late-September to around the first Sunday in October, with more than six million international and national visitors attending the event. Locally, it is called d’Wiesn, after the colloquial name for the fairgrounds, Theresienwiese. The Oktoberfest is an important part of Bavarian culture, having been held since the year 1810. Other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest celebrations that are modeled after the original Munich event.
Ossetian mythology is the collective term for the beliefs and practices of the Ossetian people of the Caucasus region, which contains several gods and supernatural beings. The religion itself is believed to be of Scythian origin, but contains many later elements from Christianity, like the Ossetian gods often being identified with Christian saints. The gods play a role in the famous stories about a race of semi-divine heroes called the Narts.
The Administration of the temporary administrative-territorial unit on the territory of the former South Ossetia Autonomous District, shortly known as the Provisional Administration of South Ossetia, is an administrative body that Georgia regards as the legal government of South Ossetia. The administration was set up by the Georgian government as a transitional measure leading to the settlement of South Ossetia's status. The area lies within the territory of the former South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast which was abolished by the Georgian government in 1990. Since then South Ossetia has no autonomous status within Georgia.
Russia–South Ossetia relations refers to the bilateral relationship between Russia and the Republic of South Ossetia, a disputed region in the South Caucasus, located on the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Lager is beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "lager" comes from the German for "storage", as the beer was stored before drinking, traditionally in the same cool caves in which it was fermented.
Akhsarbek Khadzhimurzayevich Galazov was a Russian scientist and politician. Galazov was born in Pravoberezhny District, at the time part of the Soviet Union. He served as president of the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania (Russia) from 1994 until 1998. In 1938 his father Hadzhimurza Ilyasovich was illegally detained by the Soviet government and several years later died in prison.
Ossetian cuisine refers to the cooking styles and dishes of the Ossetians.
Leonid Kharitonovich Tibilov is a South Ossetian politician who served as the President of South Ossetia from 2012 to 2017 after winning the 2012 South Ossetian presidential election.
A seasonal beer is a beer that is typically brewed during or for a particular season, holiday or festival period. Many breweries and microbreweries produce seasonal beers. Seasonal beers may be produced when fresh ingredients are available during various seasons, per climatic conditions during the time of the year, and also as a tradition. Furthermore, seasonal beer is produced based upon seasons, holidays, festivals and events.
Assianism is a modern Pagan religion derived from the traditional mythology of the Ossetians, modern descendants of the Scythians of the Alan tribes, believed to be a continuation of the ancient Scythian religion. The religion is known as "Assianism" among its Russian-speaking adherents, and as Watsdin (Уацдин), Ætsæg Din, Æss Din, or simply Iron Din by Ossetians in their own language. It started to be revived in a conscious and organised way in the 1980s, as an ethnic religion among the Ossetians.
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