Oktoberfest–The Original and Still the Best

With a cry of “O’zapft is!” the festival known ’round the world begins and the sobriety of Munich ends. The exclamation is Bavarian for “It’s tapped” the exclaimer is the mayor of Munich in observance of his most joyous duty and the festival is Oktoberfest. “Ah,” you say, “I know Oktoberfest.” Let me assure you, gentle reader, that unless you have seen the tents filled with thousands of revelers, tasted the Oktoberfest draught unobtainable legally at any other place or any other time, unless you have been granted a smile by a dirndl wearing girl or washed down käsespätzle and roast ox tails with a liter tankard of lager–you, my kind friend, do not know Oktoberfest.

In the middle of the above rant you may have noticed an intriguing claim. You may have noticed I mentioned a beer that can not be found, barring larceny, outside of Munich during Oktoberfest. You did not misread, you do understand correctly. Oktoberfest beer is only sold within Oktoberfest tents. Darker, more flavorful and more potent than mere mortal beers, the Oktoberfest beer is a celebration of the celebration. If you are able to travel to Munich to be at Oktoberfest do us both a favor and make sure to have at least one draught of the stuff. Spread the legend.

Oktoberfest has been imitated around the world by other countries and regions of Germany looking to get in on the celebration or cash in on the popularity of the original, but none of the imitators can come close to matching the verve and spectacle of Munich’s pride and joy. The festival is held religiously, it literally takes a war or cholera epidemic to cancel the thing, and every consideration is made to adjust the celebrations and keep them modern and relevant without sacrificing tradition. The first such change was made by the Munich city founders who pushed the celebration forward from the middle of October to the end of September to take advantage of the weather. More recent innovations include lowered music volume until the afternoon and the 2008 ban on indoor smoking.

Get to Munich in time for the opening parade, firearms salute and the first keg being tapped and you might not make it home in time for November.