If there was anything that let down the Oktober Bierfest it was the boobs. Everything else was perfect – beers that no-one had tasted before, an authentic oompah band, pretzels on hand to soak up the litre steins and an awesome crowd intent on partying as though they were in Munich. The waitresses were clad in traditional dress and were gradually working their biceps up to the task of carrying more than one stein per hand. The only thing that was missing in the pretty and petite waitresses was the awesome cleavage that Bavarian servers are renowned for.
On October 27th, the Johannesburg leg of the Oktober Bierfest proceedings kicks off at Montecasino for four days of specially-brewed beers, pretzels and prosting. The event debuted in Cape Town earlier this month in the grounds of the Newlands Brewery and saw 6000 revellers get though 10,000 litres of beer, 400 bottles of wine and 3000 portions of Bavarian sausage. I was lucky enough to attend twice and didn’t hear a single complaint (except perhaps for the presence of dollops of lard on the sharing food platters – a nasty surprise to those who went in for a forkful, an admittedly evil bit of hilarity for those watching). The servers kept the beers flowing, the food was authentic if a little pricey (though you could argue this is also authentic for Oktoberfest) and every time someone emerged from the Portaloo they would report to the strangers waiting in the queue on what a wonderful bit of toilet time they’d had – “this one is lovely, it even has baby wipes” was a phrase I actually heard from three separate women throughout the day.
And when you’re ingesting such enormous measures of beer, the importance of nice toilets should never be underestimated. In proper Munich style, the beers, brewed by SAB solely for the ‘fest, were only available in gargantuan servings and came in a trio of styles, the Kristalweiss (good), dunkel (better) and the deliciously malty Royal Bavaria (best).
While tweeting about the festival, a fellow beer loving tweep in Jo’burg let me know how jealous he was. And now the festivities are hitting Jozi, I feel much the same as I remember the impromptu conga dances, the excellent organisation, the delightful touches – like song sheets so that revellers can join with the traditional German songs – and above all the beer. Ein prosit to SAB and the Oktober Bierfest organisers. We need never fly to Munich again.
Oktober Bierfest takes place at the Montecasino Outdoor Event Area, Johannesburg from Thursday, 27th October (Corporate Evening) to Sunday, 30th October, tickets R100. To guarantee a table, purchase 12 tickets together.
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