Though it may not yet be October, the world’s biggest beer festival is already underway in Munich, Germany. Despite its name,Oktoberfest actually begins in the third weekend of September and

lasts until the first Sunday in October. Over the next two weeks, over 6 million people will descend on the famous tented fairgrounds for the celebration. While it may be obvious that the festival is

about drinking massive 16-ounce glass steins of beer and eating plenty of smoked meat and sausage, Oktoberfest is steeped in rich history that goes back more than 200 years. Even if you

can’t make it to Munich, celebrate Oktoberfest with a delicious Märzenbier, armed with these cool festival facts. Do we hear "icebreaker?"

Here are 10 facts you probably didn’t know about Oktoberfest:

A celebration fit for a kingOktoberfest originally began as a celebration of the marriage of Crown King Ludwig and Queen

Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen in October of 1810. Today, the festival ground is called Theresienwiese, Wiesn for short, in honor of Queen Therese.

Munich beer, or no beer at allOnly six breweries are allowed to participate in Oktoberfest, all brewing within the Munich city limits: Hofbräuhaus München, Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu, Paulaner Bräu, Löwenbräu, Hacker-Pschorr Bräu and Augustiner Bräu. Each brewery has a tent where only their beer is served.

We only drink March in OktoberWhile the festival rings in the beginning of October, the beer was traditionally brewed all the way

back in March, when the summer's heat and rampant bacteria wouldn’t interfere with the brewing process. This beer, called Märzenbier, was typically higher in alcohol so it could last all summer.

During October, the rest of the year’s beer was consumed to make room for a new year's worth of beer. Today, the beer is still brewed under the same style, but it’s now brewed right before the

fall.

Not your typical country fairThe original incarnation of Oktoberfest was a country fair with horseracing, contests and even freak shows! Horseracing is no longer part of the festivities, but you can still hit up the carnival

culture.

Glass steins were late to the partyIt wasn’t until 1892 that beer was served in glass mugs. Traditional beer steins were made of stone, then metal, and while some of those are still used, they’re far outnumbered by their

modern glass cousins.

Only the strong surviveOktoberfest beer is typically around 6% ABV, far stronger and sweeter than typical German lager.

It’s easy to get dehydrated on a warm early fall afternoon, and many people pass out from exhaustion. These people are called Bierleichen (German for “Beer Corpses.")

Don’t expect Schlager with your lager, unless it’s after darkIf you’re going to the fest expecting some traditional German party jams, you’ll have to wait till

after dark. There’s a ban on music above 85 decibels until after 6:00 PM.

Let's call the whole thing offThere wasn’t always a reason for celebration when Oktoberfest came around. In fact, the fest has

been officially canceled 24 times due to disease and war. In 1854 and 1873, cholera epidemics forced postponement of the fest. It was also canceled during the years of the Franco-Prussian

War, WWI and WWII.

On your mark, aim, drink!Besides the beer there are also activities in the tents, too. The Armbrustschützenzelt is a tent

famous for crossbow competitions (as well as Paulaner beer) and can hold up to 7,500 people. But feel free to find the right activity for you.

Dropping the kids off at the beer tentThe idea of bringing children to a massive beer festival might seem pretty far out, but sure enough, hundreds of children attend the festival every year. Unfortunately, every year there are also plenty

of parents that have one too many steins. More than 100 children were reported lost in Oktoberfest 2012, though we believe they’ve all been claimed by now.

Schweinshaxen is more commonly known as "pork knuckle," and is especially popular in Bavaria.

Weekend Drinking Assignment: Celebrate Oktoberfest With German Beer!

The bigger the stein, the more beer you can fit in it. -old German Oktoberfest proverb we made up.

Yes, it’s time to get out your lederhosen and polish off those dusty steins, boots or drinking vessel of choice: this weekend marks the beginning of Oktoberfest (and the start of autumn, too), so it’s officially okay to start reaching for the seasonal brews. While you might be tempted to reach for

a pumpkin beer, which flood American markets right about now, hold off this weekend and explore the wonderful world of traditional Oktoberfest and Märzen beers.

A little history: while modern brewing conditions allow for beer to be brewed just about any month of the year, the conditions were much less desirable back in the early 16th century, when

the hotter months posed an issue with temperature control and there was an abundance of harmful bacteria in the air. To keep things flowing smoothly, German law stated that beer could

only be brewed from September to April. As a result, Bavarian brewers had just six months to brew enough beer for an entire year. Much of this beer was brewed in March, hence the name

Märzen (German for March) and was given a higher alcohol and hop content to help preserve the beer. When October came, Oktoberfest marked the time all the old beer was to be consumed to

make room for the next year’s.

Though it’s celebrated worldwide, Oktoberfest has its home base in Munich, where more than six million visitors descend upon the city annually to drink their fill of special seasonal lager. What’s interesting about Oktoberfest is that unlike other beer festivals around the world, which feature dozens of breweries, at this festival only the six breweries brewing within the Munich city limits

are allowed to participate: Hofbräuhaus München, Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu, Paulaner Bräu, Löwenbräu, Hacker-Pschorr Bräu and Augustiner Bräu. Each brewery must adhere to the

Reinheitsgebot, so you won’t find any gourds in these autumn brews.

While it may seem like a simple task to down a stein of the festive cold brew, its light amber color can be deceiving, as it does indeed hover around 6%. Though there are lots of variations on the

Octoberfest/Märzen styles, there are some general tastes across the board which you can expect. Look for lots of sweet bready malt and grassy hop character resulting in a hearty but refreshing

beer that finishes clean. Even if you can’t make a kickoff celebration this weekend, don’t worry – the festivities last until October 6th!

What is Oktoberfest?

(from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oktoberfest)

The Oktoberfest is a sixteen-day festival held each year in Munich, Bavaria, Germany during late September (and running to early October). It is one of the most famous events in the city and the world's largest fair, with some six million people attending every year, and is an enjoyable event with an important part of Bavarian culture. Other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest

celebrations, modeled after the Munich event.

Oktoberfestbiers are the beers that have been served at the event in Munich since 1818, and are supplied by 6 breweries known as the Big Six: Spaten, Löwenbräu, Augustiner,

Hofbräu, Paulaner and Hacker-Pschorr. Traditionally Oktoberfestbiers were the lagers of around 5.5 to 6% abv called Märzen - brewed in March and allowed to ferment slowly during the summer

months. Originally these would have been dark lagers, but from 1872 a strong March brewed version of an amber-red Vienna lager made by Josef Sedlmayr became the favourite

Oktoberfestbier.

Since the 1970s the type of beer served at the festival has been a pale lager between 5 and 6% abv, and the terms Oktoberfest and Märzen are used by non-Oktoberfest brewers in Germany and the USA to market pale lagers of this strength. The color of these lagers may range from pale gold

to deep amber, with the darker colours more common in the USA. Hop levels tend not to be distinctive, though some American examples may be firmly hopped. Modern beers sold as

Oktoberfest and Märzen in Europe tend not to be too differentiated from other pale lagers of this strength, while older German and American influenced examples will be fairly malty in flavour and

inclined to use a range of malts, especially dark malts such as Vienna or Munich.

The Munich Oktoberfest, traditionally, takes place during the sixteen days up to and including the first Sunday in October. In 1990, the schedule was modified in response to German reunification

so that if the first Sunday in October falls on the 1st or 2nd, then the festival will go on until October 3 (German Unity Day). Thus, the festival is now 17 days when the 1st Sunday is October 2 and 18 days when it is October 1. The festival is held on an area named the Theresienwiese (field,

or meadow, of Therese), often called d’ Wiesn for short.

Visitors also eat huge amounts of food, most of it traditional hearty fare such as Hendl (chicken), Schweinsbraten (roast pork), Haxn (knuckle of pork), Steckerlfisch (grilled fish on a stick), Würstel (sausages) along with Brezel (Pretzel)), Knödeln (potato or bread dumplings), Käsespätzle (cheese noodles), Reiberdatschi (potato pancakes), Sauerkraut or Blaukraut (red cabbage) along with such Bavarian delicacies as Obatzda (a fatty, spiced cheese-butter concoction) and Weisswurst (a white

sausage).

History

It began with the Royal Wedding on 12 October 1810 of King Ludwig I and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. The original "Oktoberfest" occurred in Munich, on October 12, 1810: For

the commemoration of their marriage, Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen (namesake of the Theresienwiese festival grounds) organized a

great horse race (the marriage took place on October 12; the horse race on October 17 — therefore, there are different dates named as being the first Oktoberfest).

First Hundred Years

In the year 1812, the Oktoberfest was cancelled since Bavaria was involved with the Napoleonic war. In 1816, carnival booths appeared. The main prizes were silver, porcelain, and jewelry. In

1819, The founding citizens of Munich assumed responsibility over festival management. It was agreed that the Oktoberfest would be celebrated each and every year without exception. Later, it

was lengthened and the date pushed forward, the reason being that the end of September in Bavaria often has very good weather. The high temperature in the first week of Oktoberfest nears 30°C which stimulates the thirst of the visitors. However, today the last week of Oktoberfest is still

in October.

To honor the marriage of King Ludwig I and Therese of Bavaria, a parade took place for the first time in 1835. Since 1850, this has become a yearly event and an important component of the

Oktoberfest. 8,000 people — mostly from Bavaria — in traditional costumes walk from Maximilian Street, through the center of Munich, to the Oktoberfest. The march is led by the Münchner Kindl.

Since 1850, the statue of Bavaria has watched the Oktoberfest. This worldly Bavarian patron was first sketched by Leo von Klenze in a classic style and Ludwig Michael Schwanthaler romanticised

and "Germanised" the draft; it was constructed by Johann Baptist Stiglmaier and Ferdinand von Miller.

In 1853, the Bavarian Ruhmeshalle was finished. In 1854, 3,000 residents of Munich succumbed to an epidemic of cholera, so the festival was cancelled. Also, in the year 1866, there was no

Oktoberfest as Bavaria fought in the Austro-Prussian War. In 1870, the Franco-Prussian war was the reason for cancellation of the festival. In 1873, the festival was once more cancelled due to a

cholera epidemic. In 1880, the electric light illuminated over 400 booths and tents. In 1881, booths selling bratwursts opened. Beer was first served in glass mugs in 1892.

At the end of the 19th century, a re-organization took place. Until then, there were games of skittles, large dance floors, and trees for climbing in the beer booths. They wanted more room for

guests and musicians. The booths became beer halls.

In 1887, the Entry of the Oktoberfest Staff and Breweries took place for the first time. This event showcases the splendidly decorated horse teams of the breweries and the bands that play in the

festival tents. This event always takes place on the first Saturday of the Oktoberfest and symbolises the official prelude to the Oktoberfest celebration.

In the year 1910, Oktoberfest celebrated its 100th birthday. 120,000 litres of beer were poured. In 1913, the Bräurosl was founded, which was the largest Oktoberfest beer tent of all time, with room for about 12,000 guests (today, the biggest tent is the Hofbräu-Festhalle, which holds

10,000). From 1914 through 1918, World War I prevented the celebration of Oktoberfest. In 1919 and 1920, the two years after the war, Munich celebrated only an "Autumn Fest." In 1923 and

1924, the Oktoberfest was not held due to inflation.

In 1933, the Bavarian white and blue flag was replaced with the standard swastika flag. From 1939 to 1945, due to World War II, no Oktoberfest took place. From

1946 to 1948, after the war, Munich once again celebrated only the "Autumn Fest." The sale of proper Oktoberfest beer was not permitted; the guests had to make do with beer that had an

alcohol content under 2%.

Facts and data - Size

The Oktoberfest is known as the Largest Volksfest (People's Fair) in the World. In 1999 there were six and a half million visitors to the 42 hectare Theresienwiese. 72% of the people are from

Bavaria. 15% of visitors come from foreign countries like the surrounding EU-countries and other non-European countries including the United States, India, Japan, Brazil and Australia.

Besides the Oktoberfest, there are other public festivals that take place at the same location, in April/May: The Munich Frühlingsfest (Spring Festival) and Winter Tollwood in December with

650,000 visitors.

Souvenir mugs

Oktoberfest beer mugs (1-litre-Steins, Maßkrug in German) are made from heavy glass and typically have a decorative brewery logo on

the side, thus making them very popular souvenirs among visitors. Although it is strictly forbidden to steal the mugs, they can be purchased in the tents at a reasonable price. Buyers are strongly

advised to keep the receipts because police are known to search them for stolen mugs even away from the fest area. When police catch someone stealing a mug, the thieves may be fined up to

€50. In addition there is a general Oktoberfest souvenir mug which shows each year's Oktoberfest poster. This one is made of clay instead of glass and is available with a tin lid.

Oktoberfest regulars will often return with steins from previous years, demonstrating their dedication to Oktoberfest and the traditional stein.

1 The Hippodrome marquee at the Oktoberfest 2014 in Munich

2 The Armbrustschützenzelt at the Oktoberfest 2014 in Munich

3 The Hofbrauhaus tent at the Oktoberfest 2014 in Munich

4 The Hacker festival tent at the Oktoberfest 2014 in Munich

5 The Schottenhammel marquee at the Oktoberfest 2014 in Munich

6 The Winzerer Fähndl / Paulaner tent at the Oktoberfest 2014 in Munich

7 The Protect marquee at the Oktoberfest 2014 in Munich

8 The Beetle Oktoberfest tavern at the Oktoberfest 2014 in Munich

9 The Kuffler wine tent at the Oktoberfest 2014 in Munich

10 The Löwenbräu tent at the Oktoberfest 2014 in Munich

11 The Pschorr Bräurosl Festhalle at the Oktoberfest 2014 in Munich

12 The Augustiner tent at the Oktoberfest 2014 in Munich,

13 The Ochsenbraterei the Spaten tent at the Oktoberfest 2014 in Munich

14 The Fischer-Vroni marquee at the Oktoberfest 2014 in Munich