The 2017 Oktoberfest will start in Munich, Bavaria, Germany on the 16th of September at noon Central European Time and will run until the 3rd of October. It is the world’s largest beer festival with roughly six million attendees annually, but it is more than just beer. There is food, carnival rides, and shooting competitions.
There are other Oktoberfest celebrations around the world. The Munich Oktoberfest is the oldest, largest, and the subject of this article.
I went to Oktoberfest in 2016. It was not my first time in Munich, but it was my first time at Oktoberfest. Unfortunately, I missed the shooting competitions, but I drank, ate, and enjoyed myself.
The countdown to the start of the festival is on the website for the festival.
First, a little mood music from the Rockaholix Buam where they sing about Bavaria in the Bavarian dialect to the tune of an Irish drinking song while driving around the Bavarian countryside in an American made pick-up truck flying a pirate flag and flags with the Bavarian coat of arms.
Oktoberfest History
To summarize the Oktoberfest Wikipedia article, the first Oktoberfest was held in front of the Munich city gates on October 12th, 1810. It celebrated the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The location was named Theresienwiese (Theresa’s Meadow) and is commonly known today as Wiesn. The celebration included horse races, food, and drink. The celebration turned into an annual event. As the event grew and became more popular, the festival moved to September to take advantage of better weather. With only a few exceptions due to war and epidemics, the festival has been an annual tradition. This year’s Oktoberfest is the 184th Oktoberfest.
Oktoberfestbier
The most common beer served at Oktoberfest is a Märzen. The style name comes from the fact that the beer was traditionally brewed in March then stored in cellars and caves over the summer. The beer was brewed in March because brewing was prohibited in Bavaria between April and September. Early Oktoberfestbier was darker than modern Oktoberfestbier. The beer’s alcohol by volume will vary from 5.5% to 6.2%.
The Modern Oktoberfest
The modern day Oktoberfest starts in September and runs until either the first weekend in October or German Unity Day (October 3rd) if the first Sunday in October is either the 1st or the 2nd. The festival lasts 16 to 18 days.
The only beers served are beers brewed in Munich that comply with the Rheinheitsgebot. Currently, the brewers who meet those criteria are Augustiner (the locals’ favorite), Paulaner, Spaten, Hacker-Pschorr, Löwenbräu, and Hofbräu.
There are 14 large beer tents and many smaller tents. The tents are torn down and rebuilt each year. The big tents have indoor seating capacities from 1,000 to 8,400 people and many have outdoor seating areas. The smaller tents have indoor seating capacities in the hundreds and most do not have outdoor seating.
Each tent has one brewer’s beer available. Oktoberfestbier is only available in one liter glasses called Maß. The official price list for a Maß of Oktoberfestbier is here. Hefeweizens, where available, come in half liter glasses. There are tents that sell wine, and one of the big tents specializes in wine.
The tents have food available. Each tent has its own menu. A few examples of the variety of food:
• ox at the Ochsenbraterei
• seafood at the Fisch-Bäda
• veal at the Hochreiter’s Kalbsbraterei
• fresh baked goods at Cafe Mohrenkopf
The atmosphere is different in each tent. Locals like the Augustiner-Festhalle. Hofbräu Festzelt is popular with American, Australian, and New Zealander tourists. Bräurosl hosts a gay and lesbian party on the first Sunday of the festival, see Rosa Wiesn, in German only, for more information.
There are also a wide variety of carnival rides and games. The Teufelsrad seems to be rather popular. The goal is to stay on a wheel spinning with increasing speed while the staff try to knock you off the wheel.
Before we talk about the shooting competitions at Oktoberfest, let’s talk a little about guns, shooting clubs, and shooting festivals in Germany.
Gun Laws in Germany
This paper from the Library of Congress has one of the best English language summaries of German gun laws I’ve seen. Germany is not a good place to be a gun owner. This article says the current system traces its roots to 1928. The current system mandates separate licenses for acquiring, possessing, or carrying a firearm. Obtaining a license is not easy. There are storage requirements for firearms. Except for the national registry of firearms, current legislation is implemented by the German states even though the legislation is federal.
According to the registry, there are about 5.5 million legal privately owned firearms in Germany and about 1.4 million legal gun owners. In 2013, Der Spiegel published an analysis of the registry breaking down gun ownership by state. Bavaria has the most registered firearms (1.1 million) but only comes in second on a per capita basis (9.2 per 100 residents). Rhineland-Palatinate has the highest per capita rate of gun ownership (9.7 per 100 residents).
No one knows how many illegal firearms are in circulation in Germany. The Der Spiegel article I linked above includes an estimate of 20 million illegal firearms. In my research for this article, I’ve seen estimates as high as 40 million illegal firearms. Unfortunately, none of the articles I’ve been able to find include a methodology.
Shooting Clubs and Shooting Festivals
There are shooting clubs all over Germany. Many are affiliated with the Deutscher Schützenbund (DSB). The DSB was established in 1861 and reestablished in 1951. The DSB has regional organizations, and clubs are under the regional organizations. Total membership is about 1.4 million. Their English language website is here. Their website has historical information about German shooting clubs from their start until to the Second World War; however, almost all of the history is in German. With some help from Google translate as my German is not good enough to read all the historical information, I will summarize.
German shooting clubs trace their roots to Medieval times. German towns were defended by militia companies armed with crossbows. Over time the companies took on a broader view of protection and defense, and started acting as mutual aid societies. Their practices grew into social events, which over time turned into modern Schützenfests (shooting festivals).
As European armies switched over to firearms, the shooting clubs switched as well. The shooting festivals and clubs began receiving municipal funds. Winning competitions became quite prestigious. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the reliance on shooting clubs for defense declined; however, the clubs’ and festivals’ existence continued. In the mid-19th century, clubs in Gotha, Frankfurt am Main, and Bremen worked on centralizing and standardizing clubs. This work culminated in the founding of the DSB in 1861.
In the late 19th century, with the rise of the German Empire, the DSB declined again. The reason is that competition shooting with military arms grew. The DSB did not allow use of these arms as they wanted to stay apolitical. The DSB stayed apolitical until the rise of the Nazis, whom they initially supported in hopes the Nazis would end the internal disputes and disunity of Germany. On the other hand, the Nazis did not like the DSB and tried to shut it down. The DSB could not show a clear Germanic origin for traditions like shooting birds, and the DSB did not want Nazi paraphernalia at their shooting ranges.
Schützenfests continue today and have spread throughout the world. The oldest in America is in Cincinnati, Ohio. Australia has one near Adelaide, South Australia.
Germany has many, and hosts the largest in the world, which takes places annually in late June to early July in Hanover, Lower Saxony. The 2018 Schützenfest runs from Jun 29th through July 8th. The Hanover Schützenfest opens with a parade of shooters from all over the world, though I’ve read that not all take part in the shooting. According to the festival’s website, in 2017 12,000 shooters took part in the parade. The website says there were 148 million attendees, but based on other sources I think that is a typo. 1.48 million attendees in 2017 is probably the correct number. The festival includes beer tents and carnival rides.
Shooting at Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest is not a Schützenfest, it is a folk and beer festival. However, there are some elements of the shooting festivals at Oktoberfest and it has two shooting competitions. One competition involves air pistols and air rifles. The other uses crossbows.
The first Sunday of the festival, there is a parade of rifleman. After the parade, the shooting competitions may begin. At the end of Oktoberfest, there is a ceremony at the Bavaria statue near the Schützenfestzelt to recognize the Landesschützenkönige (loosely translated as the shooting champion).
The rifle competition is held at the Schützenfestzelt (Shooter’s Party Tent, website here). The competition is run by the Bayerischer Sportschützenbund e.V. (Bavarian Sport Shooting Association, BSSB, German only website). The competition uses air guns at a distance of 10 meters (roughly 11 yards). There are 110 shooting stands in the Schützenfestzelt. I have not been inside the Schützenfestzelt, but supposedly it is possible to watch the shooting. The BSSB’s website says the general public, aged 12 and older, is allowed to take part in the competition; however, only members of the BSSB are eligible to be Landesschützenkönig. The shooting hours are 8 AM through 5 PM on the Saturdays and Sundays of the festival, except the last Sunday when shooting stops at 2:30 PM. Weekdays shooting is on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday between 10 AM and 5 PM. Entry fee for air rifle shooting is 18.50 Euros for adults and 7.50 Euros for students and children. Entry fee for air pistols is 12.50 Euros for adults and 5.50 Euros for students and children. There is prize money available, from tens of Euros to low hundreds of Euros.
The crossbow shooting competition is held in the Armbrustschützenzelt (Crossbow Shooter’s Tent, website here). I’ve been inside the Armbrustschützenzelt, but I could not find where the competition occurs. The Winzerer Fähndl, a crossbow guild, built the original Armbrustschützenzelt after moving out of the Winzerer Fähndl tent. I cannot find much information about this competition beyond that it dates back to 1895 and this brief video.
When You Go
• Book early. When I went in 2016, I looked for hotels in February 2016. Most hotels were already booked.
• The Munich City government has imposed restrictions on AirBNB like services, so be careful if you go this route. Don’t be the person that gets your host in trouble.
• Munich locals agreed with me when I told them my plans: Skip the weekends and go to Oktoberfest during the week. The weekends are too crowded and it is too difficult to get into a tent. If you do go on the weekend, expect the tents to fill up in the early afternoon. The weekdays are much quieter and the tents fill up in evening instead of early afternoon. Note that some tents have family days during the week where families get discounts; however, anyone is welcome in the tent.
• I’ve heard that some tents accept credit cards, but I didn’t see any acceptance of credit cards when I was there. Expect Oktoberfest to be strictly cash-only, and pay as you go.
• It’s OK to stand or dance on the benches, but keep your feet off the tables.
• You can reserve tables in the tents, but only for large groups (usually eight or more people). Reservations fill up early, so like with hotels, reserve early. If a table isn’t reserved and isn’t full, ask if you can join. Most locals will gladly let you join them if there is room for your party. In almost every tent, you won’t be served unless you are seated.
• If you decide to wear a Dirndl or Lederhosen, spend money (a few hundred Euros from what I hear) to get good stuff. Otherwise you will stick out as a tourist. Ladies, the Dirndl apron knot goes on your left front if you are available, the center front if you are a virgin, right front if you are not available, and back if you are a widow or a waitress.
• I didn’t get a car while I was there. I relied on public transit. German public transit is good. The Münchner Verkehrs-und Tarifverbund (MVV, Munich’s public transit system) English language website includes schedules, maps, fare information, and trip planners. There is an U-bahn (subway) station at the Wiesn for the U4 and U5 lines, which is sometimes closed during Oktoberfest due to security concerns. The Hauptbahnhof (Main Train Station) is a fifteen minute or so walk from the Wiesn. All S-bahn lines except the S20 go through the Hauptbahnhof. The S1 and S8 go to the airport. To go from the Hauptbahnhof to the Wiesn, follow the signs. There are signs at the Wiesn which will direct you to both the U-bahn station and the Hauptbahnhof.
• Due to increased security, you won’t be allowed to take large bags into the Wiesn. The Wiesn is now fenced off, and you can only enter and exit at certain points.
• Don’t drink too much unless you want to end up on the Munich Barfs web page or in Youtube videos like this one.
If you go, I hope you have a good time. Oktoberfest is a lot of fun.
Postscripts
For those that like looking at men
I’m a straight guy, so I am a bit clueless about what those that like looking at men are attracted to, but I think the pictures I found of men in Lederhosen won’t work. Instead, have a video of Bavarian Stone Lifting, which does not take place at Oktoberfest.
For those that like looking at women
Enjoy this gallery of women at Oktoberfest.
Editor’s Note: DEG is already deep into the spirit of Oktoberfest, so to speak, so he’ll check in for comments, questions, and general applause on Monday.
There is nothing going like hefeweizen in Germany. The best beer I’ve ever had.
I’ve heard this so many times. I’m not much for traveling, but it makes me want to.
glib trip!
The Inaugural Glibertarians Oktoberfest.
“I am roarer and a rogerer,
A gorger and a puker!”
Don’t forget the Bayerische Brezeln!
Yes, Bavarian pretzels are great.
I think a Glibs Oktoberfest trip is called for. I’ve been thinking about heading back to Munich for Oktoberfest next year.
Glibs are Octoberfest? You’re scaring me.
‘at’
*Polizei muster*
I got Police, but I don’t understand it. Sorry, no speak German.
The police are mustering, in anticipation of the Glibs showing up. The poor fools.
I would suggest that they just hide in their basements like all the rest of the sane Germans once we arrive.
We already know not to fuck with them, Swiss. (Shudder.)
And to take public transit if we even think about drinking.
Riven, it’s been thirty years since I had it in Germany. It’s still a fresh memory. I have a case I’m working on that when I finally win it and get paid I’m going back for hefeweizen to celebrate. For me, it is that good.
Roger that. Very different from any hefeweizen you can get in the States. Kind of heavy, though – best with food.
If you want a good Heffe that you can probably find locally, this one is very nice. It’s typically what I go for here if I’m in the mood for one.
Ayenger Brau-Weisse
Ayinger makes some good stuff. I like their Celebrator.
Spent years trying to find the heffe that my distant cousin, Helmut, introduced me too when I was his guest during a family reunion in Reichebach. This was before the beer explosion when you couldn’t find 100 different beers at the corner convenience store. many years later came across this, the label looked right but the taste was different, still not sure if that was the beer he had. If so they send a different version to the US.
That ones good. I’ve had it several times. Not quite as good as Ayinger, but quite good.
None of the German beers you get here will be as good as it is there, unless you buy it there and bring it back. What I’ve got from there is almost always in 500ml bottles. And so fresh, my god, fucking best beer ever.
One you may be able to find in your area that I’m a fan of is the Sierra Nevada Kellerweis. You may be able to find some good hefe’s at a local brewery as well.
Thanks for the tip, will check it out!
Schneider-Weiss is a classic Hefe. I prefer their dark version, Aventinus (and their Eisbock version of that), but the regular hefe is great.
I thought Robc was a big hefe aficionado?
My buddy’s a huge Hefe fan after being stationed in Germany like dbleagle. He says the ones from BJ’s are pretty good (the brewpub, not the grocery store). Only ones I can recall trying so far are from Left Hand – and those weren’t great compared to their usual quality.
Love Hefes in the summer, porters in the winter.
Weirdly, because I’m not a fan of the rest of their stuff, Widmer Brothers used to make a great Hefe in Portland. All of the odd yeast aromas, great body, fine lace: the works. Not sure if they still do.
Yeah, it’s very good. My wife is in Germany right now, I’m expecting she’ll bring me back some good beers, she always does. I got a couple really good heffes last time and of course some excellent lagers. I should have went. I’m going next time, will make sure it’s during Octoberfest.
You can actually get some good heffes here. Frankenmuth Brewery in MI is the best I’ve had so far.
Having many hefes in Bavaria is on my bucket list
You can get Weihenstephaner and Franziskaner in the US. Both are excellent, and I’ve found they travel well.
*raises glasses*
I’m happy to stick with the Potsdam Oktoberfest. No tourists, just locals, we don’t have to drink that crappy white beer, and people stick to respectable Prussian decorum about how to behave in public. 😉
*narrows gaze*
What do they usually pour then in Potsdam, Sour? I really like Radeburger Pils when I visited Dresden, but I doubt it makes it up to Potsdam.
I thought Northerners looked down on anything Bavarian. Interesting.
/adds Potsdamer Oktoberfest to list of things to do in Germany.
Nice write up.
Seconded.
drittens
Danke Schön!
See, I was going too review a few Oktoberfest varieties and have it sent to the admins in time for October…now I can’t.
*kicks pebble*
Great write-up! I’ve never been but would love to.
I still think you could. 🙂 Was the plan domestic Oktoberfest style beers?
Do it! Oktoberfest is just beginning.
Please do!
I’ll join in the chorus. Please do!
Also note that a few German brewers like Hacker-Pschorr are brewing original Oktoberfestbier. The original recipe was darker than the current beer. You can get Hacker-Pschorr’s original Oktoberfestbier in the US, and it tastes great.
“The most common beer served at Oktoberfest is a Märzen”
Marzen is a good beer. They had a decent one at the brewery in Ellicott CIty a few years back. The best one I’ve had was brewed by Christian Moerlein in Cincy.
Ballast Point has an excellent one out this year.
While living in Rhineland-Pfalz, I kind of got the sense there was a discrete amount of unregistered weaponry present.
I remember someone at TSTSNBN mentioning a common past-time in many parts of Europe is “oiling the garden”. On other words, maintaining the firearms buried in the backyard.
Germany should be broken back up into a thousand smaller countries a la the Holy Roman Empire in order to ensure that their pathological desire to rule Europe is forever crushed and also so that the fun southern Germans don’t have to put up with the bullshit of their stuffy northern control freak cousins.
Also, to ensure that Merkel rules as few people as possible.
I think we should trade the Germans some mulching devices in exchange for some of their beer.
Sure blame Prussia. Up until 1918 you could. But after the 1918 revolution Prussia was in the hands of the SPD and was muddling through okay. A certain you-know-how got his start in the south, and Prussia was the last German region to fall for Nazism. Goebbels pushed the idea of linking Hitler with Frederick the Great (never mind that he was gay and preferred French to German) not the Prussians themselves.
You sound like your namesake.
*dons pointy helmet*
The Bavarians are the only Germans with a sense of humor.
I second the suggestion of letting Germany break up. There is an independence movement in Bavaria.
As for crushing their desire to rule Europe, I’ll note that Bavaria has quite a large economy. GDP per capita is 7th or 8th in the world if Bavaria were an independent country.
Good write-up, but it’s pearls before swine for me. Back when I drank beer, I actually liked Genesee Cream Ale. Now, I drink Redd’s 8% cider or Angry Orchard’s Green Apple.
Genesee is pretty much the worst fucking beer I’ve ever drank, lol. I have a friend, haven’t seen him in years, but we sometimes talk on the phone. A few years ago, he kept telling me that he was drinking Genesee Cream Ale. I told him I’d never heard of it, but set off on an expedition to find it and finally found it in a local store. I think the next day I called him up and left a message laced with obscenity on his phone. Probably would have gotten me banned from Glibertarians.
Redd’s and Angry Orchard are ok. Woodchuck is better, IMHO.
I’ve drunk Gennessee Cream Ale. I’ve had worse.
Yeah I’m old – beer makes me fat… and piss too much. *fondles his bottle of gin*
Same here, but I still love it. Just don’t drink it so much.
“Festzelt” is an obscure word which translates to “Obnoxious yelling which devolves into fistfights then hugs”
1980’s Oktoberfest views
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3VJ4AQHtpM
Despite the exponential growth in the quality of US beer (hat tip to JC) German bier is on another plain of existence. The Munich Oktoberfest is a fun experience, but there are waaay too many drunk Germans puking all over the S-bahn. Go try the smaller fests held in towns all over Bavaria or Germany. Many times the bier surpasses the “big 7″ and the small town atmosphere is a blast.
I lived over three years in deepest darkest Bavaria in Bad Tolz and loved it. The cloistered nuns in a dorf nearby have been supporting themselves by brewing outstanding bier since the 1300’s. If you can find Reutberg (dunkel is my favorite year round, seasonally double bock) in the US you can taste the shadow of the quality of small breweries. Bevmo and others stock it sometimes in bottles. The export isn’t as fresh as having your beirman delivering a fresh case to your door each week. Ahhh memories.
Riven, I recommend visiting Germany it is full of history, good to great regional food and bier. Their wines leave me cold though. I recently visited again and walked the Roman fortifications near Frankfurt and Koln and enjoyed a nice meal -and bier- overlooking the Limes” and a fort established during the reign of Antonius Pius.
I have failed to see this exponential growth in the quality of US beer. We went from shitty lagers to shitty IPAs. Americans are dumb when it comes to beer, they’ll drink anything. I remember back when I was a kid, there was only Bud, Miller, Pabst, etc, all horribly inferior lagers. Nothing has changed except that now you can put 10x the price for a horrible bitter IPA, but it probably comes in a coor bottle and has a really cool name. Even Brazil makes better beer than the US. A lot of their lagers (which are pilsners) are superior to any American lager. Not German level quality or even close, but still better.
See, that’s because you’re in Baltimore, erstwhile home of Natty Boh and Carling Black Label (what a tradition!). Spend some time in Wisconsin, then try telling me that American beers are shitty.
Here in northern IL, Swiss and I cooked through half a dozen different world-class local beers last night, and there were at least seven more on tap that we didn’t get to before my liver protested. And between him and me, we have a couple decades of first hand experience in the best beer regions in Europe.
Yeah, I only just started drinking beer a few years ago and I’ve found quite a wide variety to enjoy – and there are a LOT of breweries between C’ville and Richmond – some excellent locals including Devils Backbone and Apocalypse (gotta make it to the brewery sometime soon).
To be honest, OMWC, the best beer I’ve had in the USA was in Frankenmuth, MI. But I still challenge anyone to show me a lager brewed here that will touch a good European lager. I keep hearing about this, but every time I try one, it just turns out to be another run of the mill IPA.
Let me know next time you’re in the area.
I’m pretty close to there right now, but unfortunately I don’t have much time. I’ll be near Ft. Wayne again in Nov though.
Hyperion, try any of the following:
Brooklyn Lager
Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold
Great Lakes Elliot Nest
Uinta Baba Black Lager
Victory Prima Pils
Oskar Blues Little Yella Pils
Oskar Blues Pinner
I’ve ranked them (from memory from lowest hop levels to highest), and stuck with ones that I believe are available in your area.
Sixpoint Crisp
Damn it… just put the Crisp underneath the Pinner. Then it doesn’t look so broken.
I find this to be incorrect, based on a limited sampling of Brazilian beer tasted here. Although Eisenbahn is awesome. We make fantastic beer in the U.S.; it’s just that we also make a large amount of beer, both with pretensions of grandeur and without, and you have to sift through that pool to find the gems.
True Lambics and Trappists are some of the few styles where I don’t think the US has equaled Europe yet. (But see places like Lost Abbey and Russian RIver) Maybe a true Pilsen Pilsner?
You should branch out a bit. The US makes some good beer. Hell, DuClaw is down the road from you.
I am convinced its the water, since that is mostly what is in beer. I think this is also the reason the west coast brews here on the east coast are shittier when they open a brewery in NC (Oscar Blues, New Belgium, Sierra Nevada)
I preferred the Cannstatter Volksfest and Frühlingsfest in Stuttgart over Munich. Much more German and fewer Brits/Aussies/Italians there. And the Polizei seemed to be much more laid back in Stuttgart as well.
My wife’s company often reserved a table at one of the tents for the Volksfest, and my wife was assigned the job of divvying up the beer tokens. They wanted to limit the number of drinks that their employees had, so they limited it to 3 or 4 tokens per person. Which meant my wife had a whole stack of them left over. Since she was busy watching the coworkers, she delegated responsibility to me to take care of the extra tokens (20-30 of them). I managed to work my way through 6 or 7 of them (we only stayed two hours or so), and I was just wandering around, giving them away to random people. I quickly became VERY popular…
Thanks for the info, I’m stealing this and saving it in my travel wish list.
Thanks! I will add those to the list as well.
For those that like looking at men
If it makes you feel better, I have broad tastes and cannot manage to find anyone that everyone will agree on.
I got broads in Atlanta
I’m the same with women. Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. I can’t even really tell you what sexy is, I just know it when I see it. Variety is the spice of life, no?
Thanks! Though I set a high bar for myself. I won’t have succeeded until I inspire a Manly Monday.
My family was stationed in Munich when I was a kid before the US got the fuck out because the Wall came down and I remember going to an Oktoberfest. Lots of people, and in the beer tents really good food (roast chicken, pork knuckle, bretzen and these sliced white radishes with a little salt). I’ve been to Munich since as an adult (not during Oktoberfest, but did some damage at Augustiner Keller) and this whole post makes me nostalgic
McGraw Kaserne? My kids started school at Flint Kaserne. We were there when the wall came down. Exciting days, but a deep hole in the stomach since nobody new what was going to happen the next day. When it became apparent that this was the end game of the Cold War you could hear, and definitely perceive, the collective sigh of relief and surprise.
Me too… I was at Oktoberfest 1986. Fond memories of a boozy ride home on the S-Bahn.
***Germany is not a good place to be a gun owner. This article says the current system traces its roots to 1928.***
You know who else was involved in German politics in the late 1920s?
I’m saddened that I didn’t see more “You know who else” comments. I thought about having a betting pool for how many “You know who else” comments this article would.
I also set up a cultural appropriation joke too.
Sigh.
Maybe I should have linked to one of these pictures of Hitler in Lederhosen with the caption, “You know who else liked Lederhosen and Bavaria?.
One of my fav beers from the last time I was gifted some from Germany. It’s not Erdinger, that was just my new glass.
Dark Wheat
One of the Heffes, nice and unfiltered cloudy.
Heffe
The little one on the right is my wife’s coke.
2 beers and a coke
I love beer glasses, would like to have both of these, but the one on the right…
Beer glasses today in Berlin
All excellent pictures! Thanks!
OT: Should you be able to sue the state of Ohio?
Heffeweisen also gives you an opportunity to screw with a less beer educated friend. After I returned from Germany to much wailing and gnashing of teeth my next unit had several people with German experience and several without. While training at Ft Huachuca we got to drinking many many Heffe’s. At one point we described the cloudy color of the beir to the yeast and I decided to pull my Tm SGT’s leg and tell him he couldn’t sleep with his wife for a week otherwise he would give her a years infection. The following Wednesday I get a call from his wife commanding that I tell her husband that I was pulling his leg and they could enjoy marital relations (well more accurately “This dumb shit can F+ck me.”). I did as asked, luckily he had a good humor about it since he was the jumpmaster in a couple of days.
“The following Wednesday I get a call from his wife commanding that I tell her husband that I was pulling his leg and they could enjoy marital relations (well more accurately “This dumb shit can F+ck me.”). ”
Well, it’s good to hear you friend has a good wife.
sometimes when very drunk i would insist corned beef was made by force-feeding corn to cattle (*sometimes from both ends). every now and then someone would actually believe me.
I like unfiltered beers. If you’re fan, also try this. I don’t typically like cider, but this stuff is like a really good mead, elixir of the gawds.
J.K. Scrumpy Hard Cider
I checked out the women of Oktoberfest link and was shocked, SHOCKED, I tell you at the huge number of poorly poured biers. (The large number of very attractive women I found uplifting.) The glass should have exactly one liter of beir with the ambrosial liquid up to mark and the head above the mark. That is why those exacting Germans either have a change in the glass at the right point or a line with “0.5 L” at the correct point.
This is even more important at Oktoberfest since you are paying a hefty mark up in price to drink there. The news is reporting 13 Euro for a beir at the Fest versus 1.6 Euro from a local package store or ~4-5 Euro at a non-fest gasthaus.
Keep in mind, it’s Germans, make sure the beer wenches are not peeing in your beer. Which Americans will not be able to detect by taste alone.
The official prices are €10.60 to €10.95 for a Maß (liter).
If you go to the Bavaria Statue (I’d link but then the comment would be in moderation), you can climb up and look down on the Theresienwiese where the Oktoberfest is held. I was in Munich in the summer and we saw the Wiese mostly empty as they were readying the place for Oktoberfest. Beware, however: the statue is a very tight fit. There’s one point where the clearance is 130cm.
I didn’t notice the poorly poured beers until you mentioned it.
Ted S. is correct on prices. You’ll only pay 13 Euros per Maß if you want to tip.
There is a sizable number of German ex-pats in my city. When I was a kid fully half of my classmates were second gen Krauts. Oktoberfest used to be a huge deal and we had not one but three schnitzel hauses. Sadly, all the old guard are dying off now and Oktoberfest dwindled away to almost nothing. I think the Rheingold Club still has a one night function.
This is sad, but the die-hards make me happy.
Business trip visit in 1978: I’m with my boss, who flew U.S. fighter planes in the Big One. Our German host was in Rommel’s Afrika Korps, and was a British POW. We get seated at a table with a whole German family. The grandpa turns out to have been a Luftwaffe fighter pilot in the same sector (France) and time as my boss. Hugs, songs, “glad I didn’t shoot you down”, lots of beer processed.
Beer: bringing people together. Thanks! Excellent story.