| MUNICH — Oktoberfest has
been celebrated in the capital of Germany’s Bavaria nearly
every year since Crown Prince Ludwig and his Princess Therese
got hitched in 1810, save for those years that were otherwise
occupied with blowing up things and people. The 176th Oktoberfest
started, as tradition would have it, on the third Saturday of
September, making 2009’s dates September 19 to October
4. Historically, Oktoberfest was celebrated in October until
some sensible soul noticed that the weather was warmer in September.
I had visited the massive field called the Theresienwiese
(after the aforementioned bride) in previous visits to Munich
but had never seen it filled with the enormous “tents”
(actually temporary buildings) that can hold up to 10,000
party-oriented Bavarians and visitors. The grounds are also
chockablock with carnival rides, food and drink shops and
amusements, creating a circuslike atmosphere. Nearly six million
people will attend Oktoberfest in any given year, dropping
nearly a billion euros into Bavarian coffers.
But don’t go thinking that Oktoberfest is a beer tasting.
It’s about beer drinking. There is only one beer served:
a golden lager “fest” beer based on the traditional
märzen or Oktoberfest beer, with about the same alcohol
by volume (6%) but without the amber color and malty-sweetish
flavor. This fest beer is brewed by the six breweries of Munich
that are allowed to pour and host tents at Oktoberfest, and
most of it arrives at the Oktoberfest grounds in tanker trucks,
precluding the time and labor needed to fill and tap individual
kegs.
Oktoberfest oozes tradition, from the Wiesn publicans’
colorful parade with draft horses along the Schwanthaler Strasse
arriving ceremoniously at the fest grounds to the tapping
of the first keg on the first day by Munich’s Burgermeister
(mayor), who then proclaims “O’zapft is!”
(“It is tapped!”). Colorful Bavarian dress is
worn by true Oktoberfest aficionados, with men in leather
lederhosen trousers and women in equally colorful and often
more provocative dirndl dresses.
| Don’t go thinking that Oktoberfest is a beer tasting...
it’s about beer drinking! |
Staggering quantities of beer are consumed with staggering
results. All beer is served in one-liter mugs (over two pints,
but who’s counting), and nearly six million liters will
be served during the run of the fest. All this beer has to
go somewhere, and the men’s WCs (toilets) tend to be
large rooms with a warren of troughs with men jammed in shoulder
to shoulder. The zippered ones are quicker about it than the
leather and buttoned ones, a not-too-close examination of
the proceedings revealed. I cannot attest to the women’s
facilities, other than to say that the lines for them were
formidable.
A small army of cooks and servers get food to the festive
gathering most expeditiously. Some six hundred thousand chickens
are sent to their ultimate destiny to be roasted and served
in half portions. A very large number of cattle and pigs are
likewise rendered into dinner portions. Please don’t
ask for a side salad or the vegetarian alternative. That’s
just not done.
As a guest of both Paulaner and Hacker-Pschorr breweries,
I was able to observe the action in both “tents”
from the relative comfort of the VIP sections upstairs at
both ends of the cavernous buildings. The view of the main
floor from above was amazing: Tables and benches laid end
to end covered the floor, and Oktoberfesters likewise covered
the tables and benches. Dance on the benches all you want,
but dance on the tables and get thrown out. That’s the
rule. And the red shirt party patrol are none too gentle about
it, either.
In the center of one tent was a huge elevated stage with
a large group of musicians and singers playing traditional
Bavarian music like New York New York, Take Me Home Country
Roads and All Night Long by AC/DC. No, really. And the joint
was rockin’! The attendees seemed to know all the words.
It’s truly heartwarming to see American culture being
accepted in other countries. The Hacker-Pschorr tent seemed
to be the most colorful and also had the grooviest band.
The Oktoberfest action rages throughout the day from mid-morning
to late evening. Taps-off for most tents is 10:30, but most
fest folk can make a liter go a long way.
Every beer lover should have Oktoberfest on his or her must-do
list as pretty much a right of passage to beer geekdom. Mainly,
it brings you to Munich — the very heart of Bavaria’s
rich beer culture. Whether you visit only the six breweries
in the city or venture a few kilometers out to the breweries
in the countryside, you will have an amazing beer adventure
in southern Germany. And your time at Oktoberfest will be
well-remembered. Oktoberfest 2010 will be held September 18
to October 3. Prosit!
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