Berryville, Virginia (CNN) - Travis and Joyce Miller might have the most fragrant garage in the Shenandoah Valley.

The heady scent of hickory wood wafts from their rural home on Virginia's busy Route 7, catching the attention of hungry commuters who might expect to find a grandma tending the hearth or, even better, a pitmaster roasting a hog on the side of the road.

What's cooking, though, is something a little bit sweeter (sorry, grandma): It's Falling Bark Farm hickory syrup.

Never heard of hickory syrup? Neither had the Millers until a few years ago when a chance Internet search turned up mentions of it.

In 2011, they showed up to the farmers market in nearby Purcellville, Virginia, with 48 bottles of their new science project - "which we felt was a little bit risky," Travis says.

Read more at the all-new Eatocracy.com

The scene is a familiar one: women and men decked out in traditional dirndls and lederhosen while they swig steins of beer to the toe-tapping tune of oompah bands.

Must be Oktoberfest, right? Über wrong.

Starkbierzeit, loosely translated as Bavaria's "strong beer festival" and literally translated as "strong beer time," is the lesser known but notably stronger of the sud-soaked events for Müncheners. This year, Starkbierzeit began March 9 and runs until March 25.

Read the full story on CNN Travel: "Munich's 'other' beer festival"