Barrel aged Oktoberfest?

All I can say is...but WHY?????

 

Traditional English casks made for beer are the high point in coopering. They had to be built extra strong, as they had to hold carbonated beer. They would definitely not be pitch lined and were made with Baltic or French or Hungarian oak (American white would never be used). And they weren't charred on the inside--they were made as smooth as possible so as not give any critters a place to hide. The key (as @zid says) was to make something that wouldn't add any flavor to the beer. And with shorter term storage that was how the system worked. For stale (aged) beers stored in larger casks or big tuns, the key ingredient was Brettanomyces (British fungus) which always did find a place to hide and gave stock ales and porters and stouts the characteristic flavor. But flavor of the wood was never ever desired.

There are breweries in the UK (and maybe one or two coopers left) that still use traditional wooden casks and a group in the UK that celebrates these beers--the SPBW (Society for the Preservation of Beers from the Wood).

I'm taking a beercation to Germany next year and one of my goals is to drink as much beer from wooden kegs as possible.

 

If I remember correctly, I think I've heard of many German beers presented as if they are from a wooden keg, but are actually sitting in plastic(?) with wood surrounding the plastic keg for aesthetics only. I'd appreciate any corrections from anyone if I am misrepresenting this.

 

This is correct. I've had it served that way here in the US (still a great beer, mind you--always good to have a fresh keg of German Oktoberfest, whether in fake wood or not). I think that some places in Dusseldorf still serve alt from wooden casks, definitely still available in Bamberg and smaller places in Franconia and I believe still somewhat available in southern Bavaria.