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Where is best US Oktoberfest?

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We have no community Oktoberfest celebrations here in Central IL (that I know of), and I'm not about to drive any extended distance to one....besides, Märzen isn't exactly my favorite style. We do have an area restaurant that has a great Oktoberfest menu, and we'll be visiting next week. Been a long time since I've had a fix of Schweinshax'n.

http://www.bayernstube.com/
 
+1 for Helen, GA. Got to love a Bavarian town in the middle of the GA mountains! I am going up on the 22n-24th I think.
 
Went to a local brew club's oktoberfest. Was pretty nice. They cut the tickets off at 200 which for Chicago is tiny. Things got a little crowded because of the rain, but other then that think they did a great job. I hadn't joined the club yet so I got to be a partier rather then a worker :) The beer was arranged in an L so the two pics below are different even the though they look similar.

The club
The Beer List
IMG_0142.jpg

IMG_0143.jpg
 
There are several good fests going on down here in New Orleans this year, which is great news because in the past 10 years I've noticed a surprising amount of really crappy Oktoberfests put on by the major beer manufacturers, I guess just to make a buck.

I stopped going to a major one around here a couple years ago when the only beer I could buy at the beer tent was referred to as a silver bullet.

~r~
 
Been to several 'Oktoberfests' in Chicago that had only Bud. Guessing they sponsored the event, but still.

Also saw an 'Oktoberfest' at a furniture store. I think the term has made its way into the advertisers lexicon. So read the fine print. Man would I have been disappointed. Show up for beer and leave with a hutch.
 
Doesn't really qualify but I just got back from Las Vegas and went to Hofbrauhaus Las Vegas. It was fairly similar to the original Hofbrauhaus in Munich, in decor/building as well as festive atmosphere, just not nearly as big.

The Oktoberfest Goulash was pretty good, the Oktoberfest Bier was good (but was less 'Oktoberfesty' and lighter colored than I expected) and we had a great time.

Ein prosit!
Ein prosit!
Der Gerfrumpenmierheit...
:drunk:
I never could figure out what that last word is...didn't stop me from shouting/mumbling something the 129 times it was sung while there.:D

Der Gemütlichkeit

Funny story about the Vegas HBH- The wife and I went there a couple years back. The oom-pa band were playing weird stuff. I asked my wife what are they going to play next- the theme song from Hogan’s Heroes? The song ended and, sure enough, thats what they played next. Perhaps one of the band member could read lips.
 
The best one on the west coast is this one...350,000 annually attend it.
Mt Angel, oregon
Mt. Angel Oktoberfest - Home

Psshh! Octoberfest in September?!?!

La Mesa, here in San Diego claims to be the biggest west of the Mississippi, but I'm not sure.
http://www.lmvma.com/lmv_oktoberfest.html

This one looks bigger!

I have gone to this one a bunch of times, they brew their own and they bring the real deal from munich http://www.alpinevillage.net/
 
Seriously............

Let's quit whining about technicalities.
Oktoberfest is Oktoberfest. If it is in the fall, it is good to go. Who cares?
Draw a pint of Marzen and have a brat!!

Prost:mug:
 
I just thought I would throw the actual time frame out there. Many people don't know that most of Oktoberfest is actually in September.

I know, man. I wasn't trying to be antagonistic. I just feel that if it is fall; cool, crisp and orange and brown.....then I want a brat and a liter o' Marzen!

I was in Munich in '03 but missed Oktoberfest by only a few weeks (and I was there in late August!!!)
 
I just went to our local Oktoberfest also known as Blocktoberfest (at our local brewpub Block 15) for a small town it was pretty kick a$$. All locally brewed AMAZING beer and some killer sausage with some great music!
Now its no Mt Angel Oktoberfest, but it was still a hell of a time!

And who cares when the exact date is, as long as its in the fall with the right beer, food, and music its ok with me!
 
Supposedly the world's largest Oktoberfest outside of Germany is in Kitchener, Ontario (1 hr west of Toronto). I happened to be in town during this (granted, during the week, not the weekend portion). It is roughly 9 days of festivities and the huge drinking tents. I found the tents to be sponsored by Canadian breweries like Molson and some smaller stuff by the local German clubs (this is a huge German settlement area and Kitchener was actually named "New Berlin" until they changed it in WWII). All of the beer I saw was Canadian macro-brew junk, unfortunately, but it was a good time, nonetheless.
 
+1 Cincinnati. Oktoberfest Zinzinnati (Cincinnati) is awesome! A ton of import and local Cincinnati beer selection. Largest Oktoberfest celebration in North America.
 
La Crosse, WI. I go to the one in Milwaukee at Heidelberg Park every year, and it is nice, small and authentic, but it's also in my backyard. If your gonna travel to this state and go to an oktoberfest, La Crosse is supposed to have one of the largest and most authentic.
 
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