Oktoberfest Beer: A Guide To Munich’s Best Beers

Perhaps you’ve heard of Munich’s Oktoberfest – it’s only the biggest and best beer festival in the world. Fourteen giant beer tents, 20+ smaller ones, serving up to seven million people drinking more than seven million litres of beer. They serve the best beer in the world, brewed according to German Purity Laws, which attracts beer lovers and party animals alike. But what exactly is so special about Oktoberfest beers that keeps so many people coming back to the Oktoberfest beer tents year after year?

HOW MUCH IS A BEER AT OKTOBERFEST?

Short answer: not cheap. Despite beer being like water in Germany, in terms of availability, amount imbibed and price, Oktoberfest beers come in a little more expensive than regular German beers. In 2022 Oktoberfest beers ranged from €12.60 to €13.80, in 2023 between €12.60 to €14.80. Coming in at €13.60 in 2022 and €14.50 in 2023 were Stoke favourites Hofbräuhaus-Festzelt and Lowenbrau-Festzelt. 2024 will be a little more expensive again. Also, don’t forget to tip! That is, if you want to be served again.

WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT OKTOBERFEST BEERS?

All Oktoberfest beers are brewed by one of the “Big Six” Munich breweries (all located within the city’s limits) and are all a märzen beer, which means that they’re brewed in March and stored through summer to be ready for Oktoberfest. They are delicious, strong beers (up to 6% alcohol content) and have a beautiful amber colour and a flavour profile that includes malt and bread.

These are not just ordinary run-of-the-mill, regular Joe beers. Oh no, these are a deadly and delicious combination of Munich’s six favourite breweries. They’re more delicious and way stronger than what you’re used to. One drink will get you buzzed, two drinks will get you chatting up the barman/maid, three drinks and you’ll be dancing on the tables, and by the fourth, you’re well into peeing on yourself territory, and you might be seeing those bratwursts that you ate earlier.

The beer is what makes the festival and they definitely live up to their reputation. The alcohol content is higher, so it’s a guaranteed good time in an oversized not-so-novelty glass. The beers may be lethal but you won’t be experiencing your typical hangover the next day (no promises though).

OKTOBERFEST BEERS AND GERMAN PURITY LAWS

German Purity Laws date from 1516 and mean that beers in Germany can legally only contain hops, barley, water and yeast. This mean that the beers are clean, no bad crap in it that will make you feel extra hungover the next morning. (But we reckon if you’re not hungover or at least still drunk the next day, you didn’t go hard enough – see our guide to German Purity Laws and Oktoberfest hangovers here.)

WHICH BEERS ARE AVAILABLE AT OKTOBERFEST?

The Bavarians are very particular about the beers served at Oktoberfest – they all have to be brewed within the city’s limits, which is difficult as the brands expand and space is scarce in the city, and obviously have to obey Germany beer purity laws, so only water, barley, hops and malt is allowed in the brew. And all the beers at Oktoberfest have their own tent devoted to that particular brew, so look for the name of the beer you want to try, and get in there! The Munich Oktoberfest beers are:

HOFBRÄU OKTOBERFESTBIER

Probably the most famous of the Oktoberfest beers – at least for the international crowd – is Hofbräu. Popularised outside of Germany by returning Allied soldiers after World War 2, Hofbräu Oktoberfestbiers come in at a whopping 6.3% alcohol and in 2023 cost €14.50. Hofbrau and Hofbrauhaus-Festzelt beer hall are especially popular with Stoke Travel guests on the opening day of the festival, and at any other time you know you can find fellow tourists in the beer hall. Outside of Oktoberfest, you may have seen Hofbräuhauses around the world, but the original is here in Munich (and infamously was a meeting place for the Nazi party back in the day, eek!).

LÖWENBRÄU OKTOBERFESTBIER

The “Lion’s Beer” is a Stoke Travel favourite due to its relative strength (6.1%!) and the lively atmosphere and good mix of foreigners and locals in the Löwenbräu-Festzelt beer hall. You can always find the Lowenbrau-Festzelt beer hall by looking for the extra large animatronic lion on top of the tower towards the back of the Oktoberfest fairgrounds. In 2023 a litre of Lowenbrau Oktoberfestbier came in at €14.50.

PAULANER OKTOBERFESTBIER

Paulaner Oktoberfestbier is a classic marzen lager that was originally brewed by monks. In fact, you’ll notice Paulaner beers by their distinctive monk logo (depicting Saint Francis of Paola, the brewery’s patron saint and inspiration when founded in 1648). Coming in 6.1% alcohol volume, and found for €14.50 a litre in lively beer halls like the Paulaner-Festzelt you’ll find that the monks of Paulaner were very naughty boys indeed.

AUGUSTINER OKTOBERFESTBIER

Founded by monks in 1328, Augustiner is Munich’s oldest brewery, so you know that they’ve got the recipe right. With an alcohol volume of 6%, these beers keep up with the wilder breweries listed above, but allow you to keep it slightly more level headed. The Augustiner Oktoberfestbier was €13.50 in 2023, making it slightly cheaper than the stronger beers too. A nice modest choice for immodest ratbags like us. Interestingly, Augustiner Oktoberfestbier is still served from wooden barrels in the Augustiner-Festhalle and is the only beer to still do so.

SPATENBRÄU OKTOBERFESTBIER

Spatenbräu, “Spade Beer” claims to be the first marzen-style beer from which all other Oktoberfestbiers evolved. You can find this brand of beer, identified by it’s spade logo, in many beer halls, but in particular the Schottenhamel-Festhalle, where the 5.9% strength beer will have cost you €14.50 in 2023. It’s also available in the Ochsenbraterei beer hall, famed for its roast ox Oktoberfest speciality food.

HACKER PSCHORR OKTOBERFESTBIER

You may not have noticed, but we organised these beers according to their strength, and of the “big six” breweries that make Oktoberfestbiers Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfestbier comes in as the “weakest” with 5.8% alcohol volume, and they’re still going to charge you €14.40 for it (2023) in the Hacker-Festzelt beer hall.

WHICH BEER IS THE BEST OKTOBERFEST BEER?

Well this is going to be a matter of personal taste, for sure. Most Stokies find themselves going to the Löwenbräu, or Hoffbräu tents, so you could maybe infer that they find those brands of Oktoberfest beer to be the best, but the reality is that they are generally the friendlier beer halls for foreigners. We really recommend that you get around those halls and taste as many different beers as you can, because many of our local suppliers love Augustiner, and others are Paulaner people, and even Hacker Pschorr and Spatenbräu have their acolytes. The reality is that the best Oktoberfest beer is the one in your hand, so enjoy!

DO YOU HAVE TO DRINK BEER? CAN YOU DRINK ANYTHING ELSE AT OKTOBERFEST?

Even if you’re not a beer lover, we’d still recommend at least trying the beer, just to say you’ve done it. It is Oktoberfest after all, and you may have tried beer in your home country, but never authentic German beer. But if you’re still not a keen bean, here are some other options to wet your whistle.

• THERE’S WINE AT OKTOBERFEST?
  

  You can still go to Oktoberfest and not drink beer, you might get a few funny looks though. There’s a wine tent, and it ain’t cheap, but what at Oktoberfest is? Glasses of wine starting at around 12 euros is enough to clean out that wallet.

• WHAT EXACTLY IS A RADLER?
  

  What we would call a “shandy” or “a weak as piss beer”. It’s basically beer and lemonade which makes for a refreshing bevvie, but won’t do much for you in the “getting smashed” department.

• START THE DAY WITH IRISH COFFEE
  

  Some of the tents are famous for their strong Irish Coffee that will leave you feeling lucky like the Irish. Other spirits and schnapps are of course at your disposal.

WHAT’S OKTOBERFEST LIKE?

Mental/expensive/rowdy/a cultural experience like no other. It’s not just a bunch of drunk people spewing by the tents and downing one-litre pints in 15 seconds. I mean, it kind of is, but it’s also an insight to German culture, and where people from all over the world can come together over a bevvie and a bratwurst.

The lines to Oktoberfest can be extensive and waiting for a long time with hundreds of people can make you grumpy. But when you finally get into the hall, and get served that first delicious beer, you’ll be having the time of your life. It’s important to note that you won’t get served beer unless you’re sitting at a table. People will usually sidle up the benches to let you in, now that’s how friendships are made!

There’s traditional Bavarian music at each beer tent that will have you and your group singing merrily and completely out of tune. Sometimes you can spend the whole day in just one tent because you’re having such a good time. Time really does fly when you’re off your face.

AND FINALLY PAY A VISIT TO PUKE HILL! 

So this isn’t an “official” puke hill, but it’s what the locals have decided is a place for a good ol’ fashioned tack yack. You’ll see heaps of drunk people in lederhosen stumbling up said hill to relieve themselves so they can smash back another mass of that deadly brew. During the rest of the year, it’s actually a beautiful little park, but come festival season it’s the perfect place for die Bierleichen, which literally means “beer corpses”, to take a quick break before stumbling back into the tents.

So that was our insider, not so responsible, please-don’t-show-your-mum-this guide to getting wrecked at Oktoberfest. Join us on our epic Stoketoberfest Oktoberfest camping grounds to get even more loose at our after-party, and knock back a few cold ones at our open bar.

For all of our Oktoberfest packages, jump here.