Anyone Been To Oktoberfest?

squonk

Over the summer I started to get back into German and Belgian beer because I’d started to get a bit tired of the obsession most of the independent breweries here have with IPAs. It reminded me that at one stage a trip to Oktoberfest was on my list but fell off over time. I might pencil it in for next year but in wondering if anyone here has been and what you thought and, of course, any recommendations you have.

EthelMercaptan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058371416/anyone-been-to-oktoberfest

I went about 15 years ago and judging by this year's livestream, it hasn't changed all that much. We hadn't reserved any space, just walked into the area, grabbed a table outside the Augustiner tent then sneaked inside for the last hour or so. The scale is genuinely breath-taking, even more so if you see the tents before they fill up, they're like aircraft hangars. Obviously the beer is incredible (if worryingly easy-drinking), the food is suitably rich and if you get there early enough, unallocated tables are great for meeting people from all over. Taking the HB tent as an example, currently they have a brass band starting up before noon giving way to a more rock-orientated band in the afternoon playing German staples then a predominantly US/UK setlist to close (Simply The Best, We Are The Champions etc). With the ABV around 6%, anyone not standing up on the benches singing by this time is likely comatose. The band stops at 10.30 with the tents closing a short time after. Music styles, food offerings and capacity vary by tent so if and when I go back, it will hopefully be for a few days in order to compare a few.

Downsides: flight and hotel prices can skyrocket for the duration. Similarly food and drink are quite pricey and allow a €2 tip per beer for ensuring goodwill - but the atmosphere and entertainment is free. In terms of planning, there is a degree of potential scammery involving online reservations and voucher trading but there are a few self-policing Oktoberfest Facebook groups which could be useful resources if you decide to go.

BeerNut

It's not really a festival for anyone interested in beer: you can get the same handful of beers it serves anywhere. Munich, and Bavaria generally, are excellent beer destinations but I would go any time except during Munich Oktoberfest.

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122670524#Comment_122670524

This is an excellent description. It sounds absolutely awful.

I did experience one night of a bierfest in Nuremburg in my early 20s and it was good craic, alright, but we had to get very drunk to get over the naffness of it all. Now, I can't think of anything worse!

If being in a tent with thousands of people roaring " Alice! Alice! Who de fcuk is Alice?!", along to a hair rock covers band, with remarkable drunken enthusiasm while standing on benches, isn't your thing - then it's not for you.

EthelMercaptan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122670856#Comment_122670856

😂😂😂 In fairness, this is also an excellent description!

HeidiHeidi

I lived in Munich in the late 80s (😱), and while I never made it to the Oktoberfest we did go to the Frühlingsfest, a very much scaled down version, held around Easter time, also in Theresienwiese - I think there were 4 beer tents.

If that's still on the go it would be a far more relaxed and enjoyable experience than the juggernaut that is the Oktoberfest these days (I've only ever heard descriptions like the above!)

https://www.munich.travel/en/pois/markets-festivals/fruehlingsfest-munich

squonk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122670928#Comment_122670928

Thanks. Oktoberfest looks a bit extreme alright. lol I’d probably only stick it for a day at this stage 😀

Hotblack Desiato

I've never been and probably never will be (unless I get divorced - either before or afterwards) but I've always wondered how does it work?

Do people buy rounds or what? for the whole table or just the people you went with?

Do they bring food to your table?

Do people try and nab your seat while you're in the jacks?

BeerNut

The format is pretty much the same as any Bavarian beer hall, which isn't very different from a restaurant, just with large communal tables. Everything is table service, and if someone sits in your seat, your waiter won't take an order from them because you haven't paid yet.

Hotblack Desiato

Bill shock at the end of the night! but a poster above implied you are supposed to tip along the way?

EthelMercaptan

Maybe reserved tables work differently but when I was at an unreserved table, payment was on receipt either individually or buddied-up in small rounds. Servers aren't paid, as I recall, but earn from tips.

Hotblack Desiato

They'd have to be on minimum wage surely (although it's pretty low in DE if I recall correctly)

BeerNut

As I understand it, they're not employees: serving staff buy the beer from the tent and sell it on to the customers at a premium. There's a bit about it here.

munchkin_utd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122894749#Comment_122894749

its service at the table, pay as you go and paying just for your own beer is normal, in the big tents cash only, in little tents (so 300-800 seats) card is now generally possible. You order food, like in a restaurant and it'll be brought to your table. Whether you have a seat after going for a slash is up to your friends, but people never hop in a seat without asking. Its also bench seating so if someone goes the ones remaining will often spread out, its not a chair that sitting there looking very empty!

What gets missed in all the discussion is that most irish/ uk people reporting back visited on a Friday/ Saturday when its sheer bedlam. From Sunday to Thursday its actually not that bad, and during the day is quiet enough. Think of it, theres about 100,000 seats. Thats a lot of people and on a normal weekday theres only so many who are on for drinking litre steins of 6% beer!

Also what's missed is the massive fairground that makes up maybe 40% of the area which is a bit of craic, plus theres over 100 stands with food and drink and thats another aspect with endless stuff to explore. Its not (only..) a drunken mess, its also a place for the family even with little rides for 2 year olds. Heck, theres even a family beergarden with extra wide passages for buggys and prams and value for money family share platters! Theres a family day on Tuesday with reduced prices for rides and kids deals for food but many tents have kids dishes for a fiver or so on normal days.

The Frühlingsfest is a more chilled version of the Oktoberfest but theres just shy of 200 similar fests in Bavaria so from spring to autumn theres plenty of alternatives. This is the best source I have found so far for whats on when

https://www.ganz-muenchen.de/volksfeste/kalender/liste_index.html