Oktoberfest comes early

[LadyWinterWolf]

World's Beer Fans Meet for Annual Munich Binge

Mon Sep 20, Yahoo News Page



MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - International squads of beer drinkers, leather-clad Bavarians and devotees of excess young and old converged in Munich on Saturday for the start of the planet's biggest beer festival, the Oktoberfest.


Reuters Photo




Reuters
Slideshow: Oktoberfest






Over the next two weeks, beer drinkers are expected to guzzle more than six million liters of beer -- enough to fill around six Olympic size swimming pools -- and chomp through vast quantities of food during the world-famous orgy of consumption.


Dressed in leather shorts, or lederhosen, Munich mayor Christian Ude got the festival under way at noon to the cheers of an impatient crowd by cracking open the first 200 liter keg with the traditional shout "O'zapft is!" - the keg is tapped.


With Germans dismayed by years of weak economic growth, high unemployment and the onset of painful reforms, Ude told Munich's Abendzeitung newspaper the yell captured the essence of the festival's importance.


"One shout and all of us -- otherwise such dependable moaners and worriers in the vale of tears that is Germany -- turn into rustic good-natured sorts whom we wouldn't even want to meet in the street during the rest of the year," he said.


By the time the 171st festival ends on Oct. 3, organizers are hoping more than six million people will have made the pilgrimage to its 14 massive beer tents that seat up to 10,000.


Inside the vast Schottenhamel pavilion where the beer frenzy kicked off, Norbert Eckert, a ruddy-cheeked, mustachioed veteran of 15 previous Oktoberfests was stunned by the turnout.


"I've never seen so many people here for the start as this year," said Eckert, a 54-year-old mechanic from Dormagen in western Germany.


The origins of the Oktoberfest date back to 1810 when a lavish five-day celebration was held all over Munich to mark the wedding of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen.


With its huge influx of tourists, the festival creates work for some 12,000 people and generates close to a billion euros in revenues for the city.

[MjolnirH]

ok I like a gal who can carry seven beer mugs at once 

[RowanMoonWynd]

correction...............eight  

[OceanWhysper]

Overlooked a mug full of beer??? are you ok??? do you have a fever??? giggles ;D

But seriously those Germans sure know how to party, and the beer over there. Heck even I found one I liked and I don't care for beer.

[RowanMoonWynd]

I loved Germany when I was over there...........there was this one beer that everyone drank called a Perminator...........we nicknamed it the Terminator cuz half that bottle and we Americans were toast! But man can those Germans put away some beer!  

[OceanWhysper]

The one I actually liked was called Von Ludwig Dunkel, it was really dark and very smooth

[RowanMoonWynd]

eh.......I'm not much of a beer drinker (TEQUILA!), and I definately stay away from the dark beer..........I like the light beer.......... 

[LadyWinterWolf]

Stoudt's Black Angus Brewery up in Adamstown, PA will be holding a Microbrew Fest on Saturday, October 16th. Tickets are $25.00, and the food will be "The Best of the Wurst"....brats, brats and more brats, and side dishes like German style potato salad. Below are all the details:

www.stoudtsbeer.com/5-micro-fest.asp

If you like beer then the 13th Annual Microfest is a must do Event!

Stoudt’s knows how to throw a party and has been doing so since 1991, the first year of the Great Eastern Invitational Microbrewery Festival. Considered by some to be the best of it’s kind on the East coast, participants and attendees are anxiously awaiting the first festival of 2004, being held on June 12th. We will host 17 top-notch breweries from around the country. The event is held in our spacious courtyards and Brewery Hall. With taster glass in hand, attendees stroll from one table to the next sampling some of the best craft brews that the industry has to offer. Another well-known part of this festival is Ed’s “Best of the Wurst” German style buffet. Included in this are German sausages, pasta salad, German potato salad, red cabbage and six different varieties of Eddie’s homemade bread, everyone of them containing one of our styles of beer. Our festival would not be complete without the return of the Daisy Jug Band. They are known to some as one of the best music-to-drink-beer-by bands around. They have the crowd singing along, dancing, and just having lots of good old-fashioned fun!

There will be three festivals again this year. The first is Saturday, June 12th, the second on Saturday, August 7th, and the third will be held on Saturday, October 16th. The festival sessions are from noon-4 p.m. and 7-11 p.m.

The ticket price is $25.00 per session. This includes a tasting glass, unlimited samplings of your favorite brews, the German style buffet, entertainment, and complimentary shuttle service from the Holiday Inn. Attendees must be 21 years of age with valid I.D. Tickets go on sale Monday, April 12th. They are non-refundable. Call 717-484-4386 (press 1 for the proper extension). Hours are Monday thru Friday 9 a.m.—5 p.m. Visa, MasterCard & American Express are accepted. Tickets for each session are limited and purchases must be made in advance. — Sue Reese



OCTOBER 16TH
MICROBREWIES
*Appalachian Brewing Co.
*Baltimore Brewing Co.
*Brooklyn Brewery
*Climax Brewing Co.
*Clipper City Brewing Co.
*Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
*Flying Dog Brewery
*Golden Avalanche Brewery
*Great Lakes Brewing Co.
*Heavyweight Brewing Co.
*Magic Hat Brewing Co.
*Rocky River Brewing Co.
*Troegs Brewing Co.
*Weeping Radish Brewery
*Willoughby Brewing Co.


-----------Oktoberfest



4 Sundays in October
Gate opens 1 p.m.

We are proud to announce that tradition lives on in the Gemutlichkeit Bier Garden at Stoudt’s Black Angus. Eddie’s Breads celebrates with soft pretzels twice the size of the hands of the bakers that roll them. Lines of people dance as the roasted pig is marched through the courtyards. You will be enticed by the wonderful aroma of grilled Bratwurst and spiced sauerkraut wafting from the kitchen. Plum Kuchen and Black Forest cake brim out of the glass display case. The scent of Autumn is in the air as people dance to the music by the German bands.