Oktoberfest: The Basics

Oktoberfest is Bavaria’s largest cultural celebration. But it didn’t actually start as a beer festival — it started as a wedding party on October 12, 1810.

Why is it in September?

Better weather, more daylight, and it worked so well the city kept the schedule.

Why is it called Oktoberfest?

The original final festivities started in October — and the name stuck.

More Than a Beer Fest

Oktoberfest is part celebration, part tradition, and part Bavarian identity.

• Musical Tradition - Fest Bands

• Long shared beer tables

• Traditional clothing or Tracht (Lederhosen & Dirndl)

• Classic Bavarian food

• Official Oktoberfest beers

And always, it is about Gemütlichkeit — a uniquely Bavarian feeling of warmth, welcome, and belonging.

Oktoberfest started Oct 12, 1810, as a wedding party. But it existed long before...

Oktoberfest is the most recognized of Germany's festivals and lauded as the World's Largest Folk Fest...6.3M+ attendees in 2019.   

Originally, it was the "city fair" for Munich, the capital of the Kingdom of Bavaria, which then was not part of Germany, nor did it even consider itself Germanic...it was Bavaria...Land der Bayern.

This sense of "unique" culture continues even today.  

Bavaria is Germany's largest state by land mass, and is second largest by population - much like Texas or California is in the United States.  Other Germans and Bavarians disagree on many things, but they all agree on this—Bavarians are Bavarians.   Sort of like Texans are Texans and Californians are Californians.

​On October 12, 1810, Prince Ludwig I of Bavaria (grandfather of the castle-building Ludwig II) married Princess Theresa in their own version of a "Charles and Diana" Wedding. "Everyone" was invited and the then-local Munich "city fair" was taken over for the Royal Event.   To commemorate this, every 4 years, a section of the Oktoberfest is set aside for the Bavarian State Agriculture Expo, harkening back to its roots.

Maximillian I, King of Bavaria, and father to Ludwig I, issued royal charters to 6 local Munich breweries to produce beer for the wedding party.  

1. Augustiner

2. Hacker-Pschorr

3. Löwenbräu

4. Paulaner

5. Spaten

6. Hofbräu-München 

They remain today the only breweries sanctioned to produce the official beer for the Oktoberfest and to market it as Oktoberfestbier.   With time and merchandising, other breweries have now their own Oktoberfestbier, but they are not the original.   

But, if the Oktoberfest is the Oktoberfest, why do some people call it the Wies'n?  

It's a little confusing.  The festival area, which was originally outside the city gates, was renamed the Theresienwiese in honor of Princess Theresa, and that name has stuck, so locals just call it "d 'Wies'n."

In 2019, 6M+ people attended the Oktoberfest in München.

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Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the official Oktoberfest was canceled in 2020 and 2021.  

In 2021, many local groups banded together, holding smaller fests, and appended the name -Wies'n to these (for example: Wirtswies'n).   This tradition seems to have caught on so you will see many events called -Wies'n.   While not the official Oktoberfest, they are filled with just as much Gemütlichkeit.

In 2022, things started to return to normal on the Wies'n, with 5.7M+ visitors and 5.6M liters of beer being consumed.   Each year, the numbers are growing again.

Oktoberfest: The Elements

Every Fest — and the Oktoberfest is just the mega-Fest — is neither random nor just an event with beer.  They are specific orchestration of key elements and the better these work, the better the Fest.

And in Bavaria, Fest is a noun, a verb, an adjective, and an adverb. They take on a life of their own. They're almost an Olympic sport.

Band / Music

The band and music make or break any Fest.  They are its "beating heart."  Their job is to give the Fest its energy, tempo, and vibe.   Great band, great Fest. 

Here is a list of our NorCal Fest Bands —  the ones we watch for.

Food and Beer

Much more than just brats and bubbles. There is an entire Fest Cuisine.

Food needs to pair well together with the beer, match the venue and theme, and hopefully, be at least "Bavarian-inspired."

Running out of beer and food at a Fest is not just a "party foul" or bad idea; it's sacrilege and could forever ruin the Fest's reputation.

Tradition

Tradition(s) abound at any Fest: the beer & food, the bands & music, the venue, shared tables, Tracht (Lederhosen, Dirndl, and other historical clothing), and a sense of Gemütlichkeit.

Gemütlichkeit

This is a uniquely Bavarian sense of welcomeness, coziness, community, and being together. Not just a bunch of people in the same space, but people in purposeful community with each other. It's on par with Tradition in making a Fest a real Fest. 

Breweries & their Beer

Only 6 breweries have held the Royal Charter as Beer Maker for the Oktoberfest:

• Augustinerbräu - Munich's oldest brewery

• Hofbräu Munich - the famous Hofbräuhaus

• Löwenbräu

• Paulaner

• Spaten

• Hacker-Pschorr

Technically, they are the only breweries allowed to make and market Oktoberfest beer.   All others are "imitations" and in the case of some other breweries, results have been known to vary.  

Tents

​Each brewery has at least one official "big tent" at the Oktoberfest, but some have more and all tents are sponsored by only one of these breweries, totaling 16 "big tents" in all.  The logo of the sponsoring brewery is clearly placed on the front of the tent and all over the inside...hard to miss.

Beer Styles over 300+ years

From its start in 1810 until 1871, Munich Dunkel was the beer style of the Oktoberfest.  

In 1872, it was changed to the lighter Märzenbier.  

Then in the 1970s, Paulaner introduced the glass Mass (aka Maß - liter) and with it the lighter-colored Festbier, which by the 1990s had become the official beer of the Oktoberfest.  

Now, all beer at the Oktoberfest is Festbier, except at the Hacker-Pschorr tent in the Oide Wies'n (Traditional Oktoberfest), which offers both their Festbier and their traditional Märzenbier.

So what's the difference?

Munich Dunkels are just that dark brown, more malty, heavier with a higher ABV. 

Märzenbier is closer to a "brown" or amber and less heavy.  At some Fests throughout Bavaria, you can still find the original Märzen-style beer, which, as the name implies, is brewed in March (März), and lagered until it is poured in late summer or early fall.

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Festbiers, based on the lighter Munich Helles, is yellow in color, light, and with a mid-range ABV.   They are the product of modern brewing technologies, whereas the other two heavier beers could hold up better in wooden barrels and lagered through the warm summer months.

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Note:  If you are interested in learning about traditional Bavarian Märzenbier, look for Dahoam1516's Märzenbier classes in March....check the calendar.