Oktoberfest in Munich – the best beer festival returns

The celebration that could be considered the best in the world begins this weekend and will last 16 days. Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany is undoubtedly the mother of them all.

The Beginnings of Oktoberfest

Munich’s Oktoberfest began in October 1810 as a royal wedding celebration when Crown Prince Ludwig made contact with Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. They invited the entire city to a meadow outside the city to celebrate the occasion.

And they celebrated. For five days, citizens ate, drank, and had fun. In fact, the event was so successful that they decided to do it again next year, and so the tradition of Oktoberfest was born.

Taking place every year from mid- to late September to the first weekend in October, Munich’s Oktoberfest is by far the largest event of its kind in the world.

Attracting over 6 million people a year, today’s Oktoberfest is a 16-18-day celebration of Bavarian culture. And while it offers all sorts of events (and a full-fledged amusement park), people come to the event with an emphasis on drinking beer…

And they drink beer… Authorities estimate that in 2019, tourists drank almost 2 million gallons of beer, and this year that record will be broken.

Oktoberfest is also a huge boon for Bavarian tourism, and after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, it all makes sense.

Munich Oktoberfest Beer Style

Interestingly, the official beer of Munich Oktoberfest is not Märzen, the lager most associated with this season and Oktoberfest celebrations in the United States.

For over 100 years Märzen (a full-bodied, malt-rich lager) WAS the official beer style of the festival, but that is no longer the case.

In 1990, festival organizers realized that the tastes of modern people were changing and that festival goers were demanding something lighter.

To meet growing consumer preferences, the official beer style of the festival was changed from Märzen to Golden Lager.

6 breweries 6 official Oktoberfest beers

However, the invited breweries and the rules specifying the type of beer served have not changed.

As a rule, only beer that meets the requirements of the Reinheitsgebot and is brewed within the city of Munich may be served at festivities in Munich.

And since “Oktoberfest Beer” is actually a registered trademark belonging to the Munich Brewers’ Club (made up of Munich breweries eligible to participate in the festival), its use in Germany is controlled by the festival.

Currently, six breweries are allowed to serve beer at Munich’s Oktoberfest. All are relatively large brands and none of them are young.

Augustine is the oldest brewery in Munich, founded in 1328. Spaten was founded in 1397. Hacker Pschorr in 1417, Pub in 1583)Löwenbräu beer (1383?) and Paulaner, The club, which was founded relatively recently, was founded in 1634.

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Want more Oktoberfest?

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(Landing page image source: Paulaner)