Five Facts of Oktoberfest and Oktoberfest Beers Fri, Dec 02, 22 Oktoberfest is the oldest and widest celebrated beer festival in the world, regardless if you’re attending a festival or just a backyard beer party with friends. Learn some facts about not only the fest, but also the Oktoberfest beers served: you’ll probably be surprised about some of these. 1. Oktoberfest Lasts for Over Two Weeks (And Doesn’t Start in October) Most modern holidays and celebrations have the same duration: 1 day. Not so with Oktoberfest. Depending on how the weekday and weekends fall, it runs from 16 to 18 days, ending on the first Sunday of October (or German Unity Day, whichever comes first). These means the majority of the celebration occurs in September, starting on the 15th or later. 2. Oktoberfest is Celebrated All Over the World (And We Mean All Over) Oktoberfest is obviously celebrated in Germany, most famously in its traditional place in Munich where the whole festival started in 1810. Since then, it has spread across the world (mostly through German immigration), including to some unlikely places. Here are a few examples: Brazil: The Oktoberfest of Blumenau is considered the third largest Oktoberfest celebration in the world. China: Due to a German colonial period, the Chinese city of Qingdao sees over 4 million in attendance each year. Sri Lanka: Each year at the Colombo Hilton sees Oktoberfest with 500 to 600 attending each night. United States: The biggest celebration in the US is in Cincinnati, Ohio and is known as “Oktoberfest Zinzinnati”. 3. Oktoberfest Was Brought to the US by the “Dutch” Oktoberfest started moving beyond the borders of Europe around the 1950 and 1960 with the wide spread of German immigrants and the popularity of microbreweries. Oktoberfest celebrations in the United States started in Pennsylvania with a group of German-speaking immigrants known as the Pennsylvania Dutch. This was a collection of people from southwestern Germany, along with Dutch, French, Moravian (Czech Republic), and Swiss immigrants. Their label of “Dutch” came from a mispronunciation of the word Deutsch, the German word for “German”. 4. All Beer Served at Oktoberfest is Made Locally and to Specifications You can’t serve just any beer at Oktoberfest: in fact, all the beers served at the Munich Oktoberfest comes from one of six breweries. The reason for this is all beer served at the event must be brewed within the city limits of Munich. The crafting of the beer must conform with the Reinheitsgebot (literally “purity order”), which among other things requires the beer to only be brewed with water, barley, and hops. These laws date back as far as 1516. 5. Traditional Oktoberfest Beers have Gone from Dark to Golden All beers served at Oktoberfest (known as Oktoberfestbier) are lagers. But the kind of lager has changed dramatically since the first Oktoberfest. Traditionally these beers are called Märzen, as they were brewed during March and fermented over the summer months. This produced a “dark brown, full-bodied, and bitter” beer: a dark lager. By 1872, an amber-red Vienna lager was the favorite at the celebration, and modern Okoberfestbeir is a pale lager, though darker versions are sometimes made, mostly for importing. If you’re looking to try local brews, national favorite, and imported beers (from Munich or elsewhere) at your Oktoberfest, stop by Julio’s Liquors. We’ve got a massive beer section, along with kegs of all sizes and contents. Want to see if your favorite beer is in stock? Contact us.
