5 Things You Need to Have a Blowout Oktoberfest
The air is crisp and the smell of toasted pretzels fills the air. It’s Oktoberfest time again!
Though the trüe Oktoberfest is in Munich, Germany typically from the end of September to early October (note: the actual festival is canceled this year), beer lovers and Germanophiles anywhere can also celebrate with these five tips.
1. Pull on Some Lederhosen and Dress up in a Dirndl
Drinking beer is just more fun when you’re in leather shorts – FACT. Traditional Bavarian lederhosen also comes with handy, built-in suspenders to make sure your pants are strapped onto your body. (Lots of beer can lead to wardrobe malfunctions if you’re not careful.) Top it off with a Tyrolean hat – in German, they’re called a Tirolerhut – pull up your socks and start flexing those stein-lifting muscles.
Costume for the ladies is a traditional dress called a dirndl, which means “a maid’s dress” because they were worn by household servants in the Austrian empire. The 21st-century dirndl lets ladies signal their marital status: a sash around the waist tied in a bow on the wearer’s left means she’s single, and on her right, it means she’s taken. If it’s tied in the center, QUIT JUDGING!
You can get both lederhosen and dirndls on Amazon, so there’s no excuse for not festing it up at home.
2. Buy German Beer
How good is German beer? It’s so good they have a five-hundred-and-three-year-old law on the books called the reinheitsgebot, which means literally “purity order.” The law says only malted grains, hops, water, and yeast are permitted in the production of Bavarian brew.
In the 1970s, pretty much the only “German” beer you could get in North America was Löwenbraü, which had some pretty cheesy commercials with truly unforgettable jingles. These days, thankfully, there are some great German beers available in the U.S. to give you a true taste of Oktoberfest.
Depending on your preference, you can get authentic pils, lagers, and wheat beers at your local grocery chain, specialty beer store, or Walmart, including delicious and venerable brands like Hofbrau, Warsteinger and Weihenstephaner. Don’t forget to use Ibotta to get cash back on your alcohol both from the store and restaurant/bar!
3. Have a German Oktober-Feast
If you have a backyard with a picknick table, spread a blue and white checked cloth over it and invite over your quaranteam to feast on Oktoberfest delicacies: weisswurst, Wiener schnitzel, strudel, pretzels, and sweet mustard. Even if you don’t want to take the time to make these delicacies from scratch, you can get pre-made sausages delivered to your door, or make a German chocolate cake from a mix.
Cheap, fun decorations are available on Amazon, so don’t skimp on authentic beer steins, Bavarian flag streamers, candles, and hanging lanterns. (If you’re feeling really ambitious, go for the pretzel eyeglasses!)
4. Jam Some German Tunes
Polka, Oompah, drinking songs – no Oktoberfest is complete without a playlist of foot-stomping German tunes. Stateside, you don’t have to hire a tuba player and an accordionist to keep it real, you can just download “The Best Songs of Oktoberfest” from Apple Music, and you’re good to go.
Lift a glass to immortal classics like “Ich Liebe Bier” (“I Love Beer”), “Beer, Women & Song (Bis Moagns tanzn)” and “Pint of Beer Boogie (A Maß is koa Maß).” While you’re at it, grab a dance partner and do a three-step polka (or waltz, if you feel fancy) and cut a vorleger, um, a rug.
5. Don’t Forget October 27th is National AMERICAN Beer Day!
Keeping up with the Schmidts can be tough, but on October 27th, you can kick back with a can of good, old-fashioned American beer and revel in our domestic tradition of fermented hops and craft brews.
National American Beer Day is the time to celebrate the rebirth of American beer making, which came close to dying a corporate death in the mid-20th century. According to the Brewers Association for Small & Independent Craft Brewers, there were only 89 breweries in the U.S. in 1978, but 40 years later the total number of beer makers, including the majors, regional micro-brewers, and brew pubs, is a whopping 7,450.
That’s a lot of home-brewed (local, American) beer to enjoy, so get to it!
What pairs nicely with beer? Free food! Check out our list of The 7 Best Free Food Apps You Should Have On Your Phone.
