While the Campaign for Real Ale has been doing an increasingly good job of marketing the Great British Beer Festival, it still loses out when it comes to the title of the world's best known beer festival.
As Adin Wener, sales manager at imported beer distributors Specialist Brands Development, puts it: "Everyone knows Oktoberfest."
The stein glasses, the strong beer, the German sausages… the lederhosen! While it might sound a bit kitsch, there is no beer festival around the world that takes its beer more seriously and attracts a bigger crowd.
Where else will you find a festival where only six breweries are allowed to supply the beer? Where else will you find a festival that attracts six million visitors?
So in an age when marketing managers and pub companies are on at licensees about finding a special "point of difference" in their offer - why not host a mini one-week Oktoberfest beer festival in your pub?
Nathan Gee, who runs the Fest pub in Fulham, which celebrates all things Oktoberfest, says the festival really taps into people's imaginations and so hosting something similar in your pub can really be a profit driver.
"People have a really great time because it's a really different experience for the British pub-goer. There is nothing better than a beer festival party," he says.
Nathan's pub can also help you put on your own Oktoberfest event. They provide everything you would need to put on such an event, from serving girls, steins, beer through Paulaner and even a traditional German Oompah band. (For more information go to www.octoberfestpub.com)
But if you are going to do it yourself then here are some basic tips:
1. About the beer
Only six brewers (all Munich-based) are allowed to supply beers to the Oktoberfest - Löwenbräu, Spaten, Augustiner, Hofbräu, Paulaner and Hacker-Pschorr, and all brew a special beer for the Oktoberfest. Why not really enter into the spirit and sell one of the beers brewed by those breweries?
Four of them are now freely available in the UK:
- Paulane
- Hacker-Pschorr Weiss, Specialist Brand Development, T: 01932 853834
- Hofbrau, Hall & Woodhouse - order online, www.badgerdirect.com
- Löwenbräu, Refresh UK, T: 01993 890 800
2. Stein glasses
The traditional German beer glasses. You can either check with your glass supplier or go to the brewers themselves. You will need to check the size of the glasses to conform with weights and measures regulations.
3. Food
Another important factor is to incorporate German food, such as sausage and cheese platters. Foods at Oktoberfest are as much a part of the tradition as beer. Sausages, oxen, pigs' knuckles, roasted chicken, duck, fish, traditional pastries, noodles, dumplings, plenty of potato salad and sauerkraut, giant pretzels and cheeses are all on offer.
And who could you get to serve the food in a traditional manner? Well, you could even convince your female bar tenders to hit the local fancy dress shop and find some festival-style attire. Anything you do to give the occasion an authentic touch and make the occasion more fun can only benefit your overall sales.
4. What about if you are a fully-tied tenant?
If you are a tenanted house and are fully tied for beers, putting on a mini-Oktoberfest might be more problematic. But the first thing to suggest is to check fully your pub company's beer list - they may have a German beer in there you knew nothing about.
Of course it's preferable to get one of the six official Munich beers. But the most important thing is to be inventive and do something different in your pub to attract more customers.
Adin Wener believes real pubs can get in on the act.
"They can even focus on real ales but do it in an Oktoberfest way by serving stronger ales - the 5.5 to six per cent ABV seasonal beers," he says. "And then rotate in some German lagers in bottles."
The facts
Oktoberfest started as a wedding celebration party. Prince Ludwig of Bavaria wanted the people of Munich to share in the celebration of his marriage to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen on October 12, 1810. He organised a horse race, offered copious amounts of beer and food, invited all the people of Munich and Oktoberfest was born.
Oktoberfest doesn't actually take place in October. It was moved to September because of the great weather in Bavaria then.
Since its beginnings the Oktoberfest has been cancelled 24 times due to war, disease and other emergencies.
Six million pints are sold over the duration of the festival.
Top tips
- If you are a tenant or manager speak to your pub company about the legalities around putting on such an event, especially regarding the terms of your licence and your tie agreement.
- Even if you are fully tied, still check the full range of beers available from your pub company. You may be surprised at what you might be able to lay your hands on.
- If you do order special German beer steins ensure they pass legal weights and measures. In other words they need to be a half pint or a pint glass - or a multiple of that.