Beers and Brats: Why Oktoberfest Is Our Favorite Fall Celebration
By Linnea Covington
Photo: Paul Mayall/dpa/Corbis
Come September and October, you start seeing the word “Oktoberfest” gracing bottles and cans of beer all across the country. But Oktoberfest isn’t just a style of lager. This Bavarian festival is also one of the most popular cultural events to happen each year as it’s celebrated across the world.
Each year, Oktoberfest runs the first Saturday after Sept. 15 and ends on the first Sunday in October.
Why is this German festival so popular in the U.S.? “I think Americans embrace Oktoberfest events as well as Oktoberfest beers because they fit in with so many of our fall traditions,“ says Kate Bernot, associate editor of Draft Magazine. "As far as the actual festivals, they vary in terms of their authenticity here in the States, and many are just beer festivals that happen to have pretzels and some brats.” But, she adds, “after a long, hot summer, the cool weather, crisp lagered beers, and more substantial food sound pretty good.”
How it all began
Starting in 1810, Oktoberfest started as a way to celebrate the marriage of Germany’s Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese Charlotte Luise of Saxony-Hildburghausen. All the residents were invited to join in the festivities until the party wrapped up with a time-honored horse race. The overall event was such a success the people decided to do it all again the following year, and though horse races are no longer a part of the fun, there is enough excitement to annually draw around 6 million visitors to Munich each Oktoberfest.
“When it comes to celebrating a wedding, Bavarians know best, with a lot of beer,” says Eduard “Edi” Frauneder, co-owner of the Austrian tavern Edi & the Wolf in NYC. “Although I personally hail from Vienna, you can ask any Bavarian and they’ll agree that Southern Germany [where the main festival takes place] is a lot closer culturally to Austria than the rest of Germany, and the spirit of Oktoberfest carries throughout the region.”
All about that beer
Of course, it wouldn’t be a true party without the famous beer, and this beverage is essential to the Oktoberfest traditions. In fact, these beers are so important, there are guidelines about how they’re made in Europe. Like Champagne or Calvados, they’re strictly regulated and come from a specific area — true Oktoberfestbier hails only from breweries located in the Munich city limits. Everything else must be dubbed Oktoberfest-style.
Photo: Rolfo/Stocksy
This beer is usually a dark red Bavarian märzen, a hearty, dry brew that has a full-bodied malt with a dash of warming spices that gets brewed in the springtime (März means March). You will also find festbier, a light, pale lager developed in the 1970s by Paulaner as an alternative to the heavy, malty lagers. As for Frauneder, some of his favorite beers that debut during the fall include weissbier, weihenstephaner, and franziskaner.
Lucky for us in the States, while Germany stays true to beer tradition when making their tipples, other countries are not bound by these rules. This is why at the end of summer you start seeing many American craft breweries producing beer labeled “Oktoberfest” or some cute pun on the name like Magic Hat’s Hex Ourtoberfest or Element Brewing Company’s Altoberfest.
“Marzen lagers, which is what most beers labeled Oktoberfest really are, drink very easily and are middle-of-the-road in terms of alcohol content,” says Bernot. “So if you’re watching a fall football game or at a Thanksgiving get-together, you can drink a few over the course of the day without getting knocked out.”
On the shelves in the states you will find bottles of Oktoberfest-style brews from Lakefront Brewery in Wisconsin, Avery Brewing Co. in Boulder, and Saranac in New York, just to name a few. And what goes better with a six-pack of hearty beer than food, another aspect of Oktoberfest that remains essential.
Classic eats include apple strudel, leberkäse (liver cheese), käse-spätzle, potato dumplings, pancakes and salad, doughy pretzels, sauerkraut, a ton of different sausages, and pfefferkuchen, commonly known as German gingerbread.
Photo: Lisovskaya Natalia/The Picture Pantry
“In terms of the food traditions, traditional pork knuckle is one of my favorites; it’s a cut of meat you don’t often see in the U.S., and it’s brined, smoked, and roasted until the skin is perfectly crispy,” says Frauneder. “Also not to be missed are the traditional Wiener schnitzel, pretzels and mustard, and lots of charcuterie.”
Where you can find Oktoberfest
Aside from the fete in Munich that runs Sept. 19 to Oct. 10, some of the largest and most “German” Oktoberfests include the huge one in Torrance, Calif., which has been going since 1968 and runs now until Oct. 3; Hofbräuhaus Las Vegas, a festival that takes place in a replica of Munich’s famous Hofbräuhaus and runs Sept. 18 through Oct. 31; the small but authentic event in New Ulm, Minn., a town settled by German immigrants that hosts Oktoberfest from Oct. 2 through 10; and the 46-year-old Denver Oktoberfest, one of the largest in the country, which runs only two weekends, Sept. 18-20 and 25-27.
But these are just a smidgen of the statewide Oktoberfests, so make sure to look at your local listings this time of year. With the perfect excuse to drink beer and eat sausages, many venues host Oktoberfest celebrations around the country. Of course, you can always just buy a six-pack of beer and some bratwurst and make your own party, but then you might miss the chance to dance a polka or two.
More food worth traveling for:
7 Food Festivals That Are Worth the Trip
The One Must-Eat Food in Every State
21 Most Underrated Burgers in America
