Oktoberfest (the beer one, not BMW one)

["Andrew D.Mendez" <AMENDEZ@xxxxxxx>]

Being a veteran of 2 Oktoberfests, I add a few
comments:

>1. During Octoberfest, beer is served in a liter
mug, not anything petite as 8oz or 12oz. Plus, the
natives tell me that the alcohol content is raised
slightly for the occassion to boot. [snip]

"Oktoberfest" is indeed the name of a different
style of beer. It is available (from the Munich
brewers) only for coupla months a year, and only
on tap. Many brewers try to copy this style of
beer (I.e., Sam Adams O'fest beer), but can't
compare. 

>2. Octoberfest is a gathering of 30 million
people in Munich alone, where 30 million liters of
suds are consumed over a two week period - the
worlds largest beer party. With the proximity to
Regensberg and Dingolfing, I'd have to guess a
fair number of attendees are also the ones
assembling our cars. I think I'd avoid any BMW
with a build date in October.

Many promient Munich institutions, including the
local pro soccer club and BMW, have their own
special areas set up for their own employees to
imbibe. Your stats sound a little off -- I would
guess the liter/visitor ratio was closer to 2 to
1. With me it was a near-fatal 6:1. 

>3. As one "sport" during Octoberfest being to see
how many beer halls one can sample at, you get an
informal survey of the popularity of beer brands.
The most popular beer halls are near impossible to
get into. By that measure, Augustiner beer is the
likely winner. Octoberfest beer halls are only
granted to brewers in Munich, so Augustiner is a
very favorite local beer to the home of BMW's.

Augustiner in the bottle is available in the US
but tastes like crap (bottle version in Germany
likewise tastes like crap); I'd rather drink the
Beast. (Milwaukee's Best). Good from the tap
though. I think the best tent is Lowenbrau's
because they have a big-ass mechanical lion that
roars "LOOOOOWEEEEENBRAUUUUUUUUUU" every coupla
minutes as it raises a gigantic beer mug to it's
mouth. This is a sign to take a huge chug. Another
popular O'fest "sport" is to drink many beers &
see how many times you can ride the roller coaster
without your lunch making a return appearance. 

>4. Munich is famous for it's Weiss Beer (also
Weiss Wurst), or white beer. Could this be the
real reason M3 LTW's come in white? You can also
order a dark white beer.

Actually, it's Weizenbeir, or Wheat Beer, that is
popular in Bavaria. (Wheat is used instead of or
in addition to barley malt). White beer is indeed
a different beer style, but mostly Belgian, and it
is very pale. Austin, Texas brewer Celis makes a
good white widely available in US. Many US brewers
make a wheat too (Sam Adams, etc.).

5. Being an automotive centric city, you wouldn't
guess what automotive event had a big draw at
Octoberfest. It was a show featuring a monster
truck driving over and crushing poor Volkswagens.
America's finest!

This they didn't have in the late 80s when I was
there; Germany must have rednecks too. Moon pies
will be sold at Oktoberfest by 2000 at the latest,
and it is only a matter of time before BMWs are
offered with optional carbon fiber gun racks and
dash-mounted spitoons.  

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End of bmw-digest V9 #553
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