PROST! IT’S OKTOBERFEST… 🍻 LIKE WE’VE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE!
This year will mark the 187th year of Oktoberfest, one of the largest and longest standing festivals in the world, except this year it’s going to look a little different. With the festivities traditionally held in Munich, and spin-off celebrations held in many other countries, it is one of the most celebrated dates worldwide – and it’s all about the beer.
Normally it is estimated that in Munich alone seven million litres of beer will be drunk during the Oktoberfest celebrations. In the new normal celebrations will be spaced, virtual and carried on at home!
So, why do we celebrate Oktoberfest – and how did it all start? Oktoberfest dates all the way back to October 12 1810 when the whole of Munich was invited to celebrate the marriage of King Ludwig I and Princess Therese with horse racing... However, no beer drinking took place.
As the year’s rumbled on the wedding anniversary festivities became increasingly elaborate. An agricultural show was added and in the mid 1800’s carnival rides and entertainment joined the party.
It became a celebration of Bavarian culture, folk music, parades, and the chance to show off the summer’s harvest.
By the 1890s beer was a huge part of the festival and it became known as Oktoberfest. Local breweries cropped up and the celebrations spanned a week, rather than one day. By 1960, the horse races and agricultural element had ended, and beer and food became the festival’s trademark.
Did you know that beer sold in the German festival must be brewed in the city borders of Munich, and must conform to “Reinheitsgebot” which is known as German Beer Purity Law. So, there are only six breweries allowed to sell beer at Oktoberfest, and it has been that way for over 100 years. The lucky breweries are: Spaten, Löwenbräu, Augustiner-Bräu, Hofbräu-München, Paulaner and Hacker-Pschorr.
When beers were first served at Oktoberfest, they were dark lagers; but from the late 1800s onwards an amber-red lager became the first choice. Fast forward to the 1990s- 2000’s, and paler ales racked up the bar bill.
Here at SEVEN BRO7HERS headquarters we are hosting our own Oktoberfest to ensure no one misses out on the party, adhering to our own Salford Beer Purity Law!
Host your own Oktoberfest at home with our bumper beer pack of 24 beers and a snack pack of pretzels.
Join us to celebrate and share your ‘new normal’ Oktoberfest on Twitter and Instagram @SEVENBRO7HERS.