The tapping of the first barrel marks the opening of Starkbierzeit - Munich’s Strong Beer Festival … and also the start of the year’s drinking season amongst Bavarians.

The official opening of Starkbierfest 2012 takes place in the Paulaner Wirtshaus restaurant on the Nockherberg (March 9 – 25, 2012), with many prominent guests in attendance.

Tony enjoying a beer

The Spring Strong Beer Festival is a Munich tradition which begins as always during Lent after the end of Fasching and lasts for about four weeks. Many of the big cellars in town such as the Löwenbräu Cellar, Unions-Brau, the Austininer Cellar, etc. all host Starkbierfest events with plenty of food, beer, local entertainment and competitions.

Munich owes this “spring health cure” to the Paulaner monks, who have since time immemorial brewed an especially nutritious beer during Lent to keep themselves strong during the Lent fasting.

Starkbierzeit is not as famous as Oktoberfest, but it’s certainly more potent – there’s plenty of strong beer and good cheer and is a primer for the big event later in the year.

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Other German wine and beer festivals during the year

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Oktoberfest celebrates its 200th anniversary this year.

If you’d like to learn more about the history of the Oktoberfest and see what actually goes on behind the scenes of this large-scale event, you can book a tour at the Oktoberfest tours stand on Strasse 1 A, No. 3, near the Theresienwiese underground station.

The official Munich tour guides are offering a 90-minute special tour of the Theresienwiese festival grounds (south side) in honour of the Oktoberfest‘s 200th year.

The origins of the world‘s largest fair are magically brought to life with a traditional merry-go-round, a museum tent, old-fashioned fairground entertainment, horse races, livestock shows and a varied cultural programme.

It is recommended that you make enquiries with the agency running the tours in advance.

Contact Georg P. Huber on Tel: +49 (0)89 232 3900.

For further information, contact:

Tourismusamt München
Sendlinger Strasse 1
80331 Munich
Tel.: +49 (0)89 2339 6500
tourismus@muenchen.de
www.muenchen-tourist.de

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One week to Oktoberfest!

The Grand Parade of festival publicans and breweries on 18 September 2010 marks the merry start to this year‘s official Oktoberfest.

Starting at 10.50 a.m., the procession will take about an hour as it wends its way from Sonnenstrasse to the Theresienwiese festival grounds.

The parade features the families of the festival publicans in carriages adorned with flowers, waitresses waving beer mugs on festively decorated floats, the brass bands that play in the beer tents and horse-drawn carts representing the Munich breweries, beautifully turned out and carrying garlanded beer barrels.

The Oktoberfest performers, market stallholders and serving staff of the smaller beer tents will also arrive on a decorated float. In total, there will be about 1,000 people taking part in this spectacle.

The procession, which dates back to 1887, will be led by the ‘Munich child’ mascot on horseback, traditionally followed by the city‘s Mayor in a festival carriage.

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It was 200 years ago that the first Oktoberfest took place in Munich. To mark this anniversary, an exhibition in Munich City Museum “Oktoberfest 1810 – 2010″ takes visitors on a journey through the history of the Bavarian National Festival.

Originally planned as part of the wedding celebration for Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese, Oktoberfest has developed into the most famous beer festival in the world.

Visitors to the exhibition will be able to follow the development of Oktoberfest from the original medieval wedding party to the world’s most notable beer festival through the historical images, photographs, films and accessories.

The 800 exhibits on display ( including old beer barrels, harnesses of brewery horses, beer mugs or carousel cars) are linked to the festival, at one time or another, from the origin to today’s festival. The highlight of the exhibition is the original wedding dress of Princess Therese.

From the Medieval to the Modern

In contrast to the medieval wedding dress, visitors to Munich can shop for modern and fashionable designer outfits at Ingolstadt Village. This famous designer outlet is only 50 minutes away from Munich. It offers fashion and accessories such as Dress of Anger Maier, colorful accessories by Desigual, bags of Escada and playful lingerie from Triumph as well as smart business clothes, breezy summer dresses or the timeless basics. Ingolstadt Village’s more than 110 boutiques offer designer collections at prices reduced by up to 60% from their original prices.

Exhibition:  “Oktoberfest 1810 – 2010″
Place        :  Munich Stadtmuseum, St.-Jakobs-Platz 1, 80331 Munich
Date         :  9 July – 31 October 2010 (Tues – Sun)
Entry Fee :  6 €
www.stadtmuseum-online.de

Ingolstadt Village Outlet Shopping
Opening times: 10.00 – 20.00 (Mon-Sat)
IngolstadtVillage

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If September seems like a long time to wait for Oktoberfest, Munich has a Spring Festival “Frühlingsfest” which is a scaled down version of Oktoberfest.

The 46th Spring Festival is being held at Munich’s Theresienwiese (same location as Oktoberfest) from April 16 to May 2, 2010.

Oktoberfest

Frühlingsfest brings to an end the Strong Beer Season and in typical Munich Spring Festival tradition, the volksfest kicks off with a big parade. The City Councillor leads the opening ceremony and he’s also the man who will tap the first keg of beer.

Visitors will be able to enjoy Oktoberfest favourites like veal meatballs, pork knuckles, fresh cream of mushrooms with herbs and Spatenbrau beer on tap.

The Munich Spring Festival is also a paradise for sweet lovers with more than 40 vendors selling all kinds of sweets, including roasted almonds, sugar-coated apples and chocolate covered fruits – yum!.

Seems like a dangerous place for anyone on a diet!

Event:
Frühlingfest – Munich Spring Festival
Theresienwiese
Munich
www.muenchnervolksfeste.de

Dates: April 16th to May 2nd 2010

Oktoberfest – A Royal Beginning
Other German Wine and Beer Festivals

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Everyone (beer drinker or not) has heard of Oktoberfest, but Munich has another huge beer festival that is not so well publicised.  At the Starkbierzeit ask for “ein Doppelbock bitte” and you’ll be served with a very potent double strength beer!  “Bock” stands for strong beer and “doppel” means double so the beers have an alcohol volume of no less than 7.5%.

Munich’s Starkbierzeit spring festival usually begins during Lent after the end of Fasching (carnivale) and lasts for about four weeks. The modern-day version of this festival is meant for people to forget the harshness of winter and celebrate the arrival of the spring season, although I must say that after weeks of drinking this potent beer, there might not be much that people will remember. 

Beer Festival

This year, the official opening is on March 12th 2009, where the first barrel of the new season’s Salvator Doppelbock is tapped at the Paulaner Wirtshaus restaurant on the Nockherberg, with many prominent guests in attendance.  Celebrations can also be found in other beer halls and cellars like the Löwenbräu Keller, Unions-Bräu and the Augustiner Keller, where blaring oompah bands, singing, dancing and comic performances are part of the events. Of course there’s plenty of malty, amber-colored Doppelbock on tap and sausages and pretzels.

Munich owes its “spring health cure” festival to the Paulaner monks who set up shop in Munich in 1627.  In preparation for Lent, the monks brewed a very strong, malty beer according to medieval Benedictine recipe so as to give them strength during the period of fasting. During Lent, only liquids could be consumed and the double strength stout provided the replacement sustenance.  The stronger the brew, the more it helped the monks to not break their fast.  The friars called their brew Sankt-Vater-Bier (Holy Father Beer) and the a name later evolved into Salvator which is Latin for saviour.

Today, most Bavarian breweries make their own version of a Doppelbock and they usually label their brew with a name that ends in ‘ator’ such as Maximator, Optimator, Unimator, or Triumphator, in deference to the Salvator brew that started it all.  But for the people of Munich, the Salvator, the oldest Doppelbock, still takes prime honour in the Strong Beer Season festivities.

So why have we not heard as much of this festival as we have Oktoberfest?  I suppose the good people of Munich want to keep this festival for themselves and it might not be appropriate to tell too many people that this is what they do at Lent.  If you’re in the vicinity of Munich, why not head for one of the beer halls and enjoy a Doppelbock or two.   Prost!

Helen

Oktoberfest
German Beer & Wine Festivals

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Since time immemorial, the Germans have been known to be the greatest beer drinkers in the world.  Although recent statistics show that beer consumption have slowed a little, Germans still hold the honorary record for beer consumption with average intake of 140 litres of beer per person annually.  This record is being sustained by the Bavarians who are known to consume an average of 240 litres per person per annum. In Bavaria, beer is served in a mass, which is a tankard holding a litre of drink.  It’s no wonder the Bavarians top the chart when it comes to beer consumption.

How Oktoberfest started:  In 1810 a horse race was held on the site of the Oktoberfest to commemorate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.  A few years later, the site became the location of an autumn fair and it has grown into this huge festival today. 

Munich’s Oktoberfest is well-known to most people around the world.  This sixteen day affair is the king of beer festivals and the largest event in the world.  Some six million people visit the festival each year which translates to employment, catering needs and other amenities for visitors.  Food and entertainment are very much part of the event and it’s an opportunity to savour traditional Bavarian food.  Portions are huge and you’ll experience pretzels with a diameter of 15 inches and substantial serves of cooked food.  My brother came back impressed and jubiliant that he had a go at the giant plate of pork knuckles with sauerkraut.  

Grand entry of the Oktoberfest landlords and breweries – Sonnenstraße-Schwanthalerstraße to the Oktoberfest grounds.

The official prelude to the opening of the Oktoberfest involves a parade by about 1,000 participants, including the landlords’ families in decorated carriages, the magnificent horse-drawn drays of the Munich breweries, waitresses on decorated floats and all the beer tent bands.  The parade route follows:

Max II. Denkmal, Maximilianstraße, Residenzstraße, Odeonsplatz, Kardinal-Faulhaber-Strasse, Pacellistrasse, Maximiliansplatz, Karlsplatz-Stachus, Sonnenstraße, Schwanthalerstraße, Paul-Heyse-Straße, Georg-Hirth-Platz, Kaiser-Ludwig-Platz, Festwiese

This colorful 7-kilometer long procession through the streets of the city center highlights the diversity of customs and costumes rooted in the heart of Bavaria, Franconia, Swabia, other German states as well as some of the neighboring European countries. People and animals are featured in the parade and you can see regional groups in their local costumes, marching oomph pa pa bands, riflemen, thoroughbred horses, oxen, cows and goats.  The breweries advertise their brand by showing off their decorated drays and floats displaying typical local traditions and historic carriages are also featured.

If your main motivation for attending the festival is to sample the range of German beers, then head for the beer tents where Munich’s largest and most traditional breweries cordially invite you to join the festivities and drink beer by the litre.  Good Luck!

Helen

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For connoisseurs of wine and beer, August is a fantastic time to be in Germany.  From Berlin to the Rhineland, there is a great choice of festivals to attend, depending on whether you prefer to conduct your wine-tasting in one of the small towns along the Mosel or in Rudesheim on the Rhine or at wine festivals in the larger towns like Stuttgart, Hamburg, Mainz, Franfurt or Aachen.  As a traveller, it’s great being in a town when there is a huge festival on as you get to meet a nice cross-section of people. 

The following is a sampling of festivals:

The Berlin Beer Festival
August 3 – 6, 2008:  Usually held on the first weekend of August annually, this festival boasts the longest beer garden in the world – one mile long! One million people come to this festival each year.  Stalls offer 1,200 types of beer from over 180 breweries from Germany, the Czech Republic, Belgium and the UK with a focus on smaller, private breweries. However long it might take to sample 1,200 varieties of beer, the Berlin Beer Festival sounds like a great way to quench your thirst on a hot summer day.  Live music and shows also keep the crowd entertained.

Aachen Wine Festival
August 3 – 6, 2008:  Located in North Rhine Westphalia, Aachen is an attractive Roman spa town, famous for its therapeutic waters, hot springs and 1000-year-old remains.  This lovely town hosts a summer wine festival in the town center each year with over 400 wines on offer from 20 or more wineries in Rhineland Palatine. Featured wines include Riesling, Mueller-Thurgau, Kerner, Dornfelder and Spaetburgunder. Good food and wine, music and a generally great atmosphere make this Wine Festival a favorite among locals and tourists alike.

The Stuttgart Wine Festival – Hamburg
August 2 – 18, 2008:  Just prior to the big Wine Festival in Stuttgart, Stuttgart Wineries bring their wares to Hamburg for 2 weeks at the beginning of August.  A  wine village is set up in the Hamburg Rathaus Marktplace, complete with wine and beer gardens, regional Stuttgart fare and arts and crafts from the Stuttgart region.

The Stuttgart Wine Festival – Stuttgart
Aug 29 – Sep 9, 2008:  The Stuttgart Wine Festival is one of the largest and most beautiful wine festivals in Germany. From the end of August to the beginning of September, the Stuttgart city center is transformed into a festive wine village. 120 wine alcoves with traditional decor offer up over 250 wines from the region, including Trollinger, Riesling, Kerner, Müller-Thurgau, Schwarzriesling, Ruländer, Schillerwein, Lemberger and Weißherbst.  With so much wine flowing, the atmosphere is bound to be jolly.  Great music and food complement the warm and friendly atmosphere.

The Mainz Wine Festival
August 25 – 28, 2008:  The Mainz Wine Market ( Mainzer Weinmarkt) plays host to over half a million visitors each year.  You’ll enjoy wandering through the parks and rose gardens of the town as you go about tasting wines, eating the local fare and checking out the arts and crafts stalls. There is plenty of music to suit every taste and the city is known to be particularly beautiful at this time of year.

Mosel Wine Festivals
From April 1 – Oct 31, 2008:  From early spring through fall, the towns along the Mosel hold wine festivals. Local foods and wines are served and a general party atmosphere prevails. The Mosel Valley is full of vineyards that rise up the hills from the river banks. There is likely to be a wine festival in one town or another every weekend in the Mosel region, the most well-known in August being the Bernkastel-Kues Wine Festival which runs from the 30 August to 3 September.

The Rudesheim Wine Festival
August 17 – 20, 2008:  Always charming and picturesque, the small Rhine wine village of Rudesheim hosts a Wine Festival that features the wineries of the region as well as food. The festival takes place on the main street and you can enjoy the beautiful views to the Rhine and the vineyards above as you sip your wine.  If you feel intimidated about into the small wine tasting rooms, this is a perfect way to get to know Ruedesheim and its wines.

The Frankfurt Rheingau Wine Festival
Aug 29 – Sep 7, 2007:  The Rheingau Wine Festival (Rheingauer Weinmarkt) is Frankfurt’s only wine festival with vintners from the Rheingau offering over 600 types of wines in Fressgasse, one of Frankfurt’s charming small streets. Rieslings are the specialty wines here, reflecting the unique terroir of the Rheingau wine region.

A visit to Germany is not complete without going to a Wine or a Beer Festival. There is plenty on offer so it’s necessary to plan well in order to get maximum coverage.

Helen

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