I may not be German, but I do enjoy a good beer festival. I attended the annual Oktoberfest by the Bay, which was named one of the top 10 places to celebrate Munich’s famed festival in the U.S.
This festival has continued to grow in its 14 years of existence, so much so that the day was split into early afternoon and evening sessions. We favored the morning session, and met up with friends for some debauchery. Tickets ranged from $25 – $75 per session, depending on whether you splashed some extra cash for the VIP treatment. This included a gut-busting buffet filled with traditional German goodies. The extra dough for VIP tickets also included a commemorative one-liter mug (including 1st beer), service at a private bar and guaranteed seating in the private area. We settled with the $25 tickets, bought the commemorative plastic mug for $10, and were excited to rub shoulders with the common folk.
When we reached our destination, an old warehouse on Pier 48, we were noticeably earlier than most patrons. The beer was flowing like the late morning rain outside. We decided to start off the Oktoberfest right – with beer and bratwurst, of course. I went with a traditional, dark Spaten Oktoberfest brew, while my husband chose the Spaten Hefeweizen. The bratwurst was topped with a mighty helping of sauerkraut, and was a delicious pairing with the beer.
It was while we were engulfing our traditional German meal that we realized just how well the vendors were doing. Everything was paid for by tokens, which were on sale in multiple locations for a mere $2 a token—a crafty move to distract drunken revelers in how much money was rapidly leaving their wallets. For one thing, six tokens for a liter of beer seems like a much better deal than $12, although after a few steins, the price was of little importance. The more we drank, the more we found ourselves dancing merrily to the Chico Bavarian 21-Piece Band with the some of the more enthusiastically-dressed patrons. It was rounding into a wonderful way to spend a brisk Saturday morning in overcast San Francisco. I cannot wait for some more German-style fun next September. Until then Oktoberfest, Prost!
