Oktoberfest History And Fun Facts

Oktoberfest History And Fun Facts Oktoberfest is a celebration that can be used for marketing purposes at nearly every type of small business. These celebrations and promotions can bring in hoards of customers. Here are some fun facts to share with them when they visit your establishment.

Oktoberfest:

Oktoberfest is held in Munich Germany and now it starts in September to take advantage of warmer weathers. It runs into the first week of October though.
Since 1950, the festival has only started after the official gun salute and the mayor shouting O’ zapft is! (“It’s tapped!”) and offering the first mug to the Minister-President of the State of Bavaria. Only after that, can the festival start.
Oktoberfest – or “Wiesn”, to the locals – is not a beer festival, but the anniversary celebration of the wedding between Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig and his wife, Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. When the lovebirds hitched in 1810, the royals commemorated the event with a public party where not a single drop of the liquid gold was spilled!
The first glass beer mug was used at Oktoberfest in 1892.
There wasn’t always a reason for celebration when Oktoberfest came around. In fact, the fest has been officially canceled 24 times due to disease and war. In 1854 and 1873, cholera epidemics forced postponement of the fest. It was also canceled during the years of the Franco-Prussian War, WWI and WWII.
Approximately 7 million liters of beer, 80 thousand liters of wine, 32 thousand liters of sparkling wine, 220 liters of tea/coffee and 1 million liters of water/lemonade will be consumed over the course of the festival.
At Oktoberfest, there's a lot of standing, as there are fewer seats than there are visitors. The largest Oktoberfest beer tent of all time was the Pschorr-Brau-Rosl-tent in 1913, which held 12,000 people. Today, the Hofbrau-Festhalle is the largest tent, with 10,000 seats. But you better get there early.
Oktoberfest beer is a lager or Märzenbier brewed by Munich breweries for the festival. With an alcohol level of 6 -7 % it is slightly stronger than normal German beer. The price of a Maß beer is a subject for heated discussions as it usually goes up every year.
There are six breweries in Germany that supply beer to Oktoberfest (Paulaner, Löwenbräu, Augustinerbräu, Hofbräuhaus, Hacker-Pschorr and Spaten) and they all adhere strictly to the Reinheitsgebot, a purity law that ensures consistent and full-flavoured beer.
Drunk patrons who have passed out due to the higher than usual alcohol content are called Bierleichen, beer corpses in German.
While the festival rings in the beginning of October, the beer was traditionally brewed all the way back in March, when the summer’s heat and rampant bacteria wouldn’t interfere with the brewing process. This beer, called Märzenbier, was typically higher in alcohol so it could last all summer. During October, the rest of the year’s beer was consumed to make room for a new year’s worth of beer. Today, the beer is still brewed under the same style, but it’s now brewed right before the fall.

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