Beer, more beer, funny hats, keg tossing, and wieners starting this week
We will spare you the full lecture about Oktoberfest and the beers that come with the holiday. You are free to tumble down that rabbit hole, but we can save you some time with an abridged version: due to changes in tradition by the actual elite German breweries at the center of the Oktoberfest universe as well as globalization and frankly America’s sweet tooth, Oktoberfest beers can now basically be whatever people want them to be—lagers, which they typically are, or the traditional Marzen variety, or sweet cold pumpkin-flavored piss in a bottle.
You can argue about definitions with your hop snob buddies while we drink. But considering how the occasion doesn’t even really have anything to do with the month of October—the Munich fest taps its first barrel on Sept. 17 this year—there’s really no wrong answer to the question, What the hell is Oktoberfest anyway? There’s proof of that right in how our beloved breweries all manage the holiday with their own unique approach, making for a month of taxiing between beer halls to see what different talents have cooked up.
If you’ve read this far, then you probably already have the big Harvard Square Oktoberfest on your calendar for Oct. 9. But leading up to that, there are lots of other experiences to take in and suds to imbibe starting this week …
9/16 – 9/17
Dorchester Brewing
“Dorchester Brewing’s Oktoberfest is BACK and better than ever in 2022! TWO DAY party in Dorchester featuring German beer releases, brats, Lederhosen, Dirndl to celebrate Oktoberfest and the German beer tradition.”
9/17
Von Trapp Brewing (Road Trip to VT)
“Join us for the 13th annual Oktoberfest at the von Trapp Brewing Bierhall.”
9/17
Harpoon @ Broken Records
“Kickoff the start of Oktoberfest with us & Harpoon! We are celebrating with a stein hoisting contest, beer samples, & Oktoberfest inspired food specials!”
9/17
Oktoberfest Bar Crawl
“We are uber excited to see you in your Bavarian lederhosen & dirndls. Let’s get laut!”
9/17
Lord Hobo Seaport
“Get ready to celebrate Oktoberfest Hobo style! On September 17th, we’ll be hosting our inaugural Oktoberfest all day long at our Seaport location.”
9/17
Trillium Brewing
“Trillium will be celebrating Oktoberfest with lederhosen, lagers, music, and German-inspired food specials!”
9/17
Notch Brewing
“We’re hosting our second Oktoberfest at Notch Brighton in the Charles River Speedway, we’ll have all your favorite Oktoberfest activities.”
9/19
Casa Myrna’s Oktoberfest
“We’re so excited to come back together after pandemic restrictions to support and empower survivors of domestic violence.”
9/22 – 9/25
Democracy Brewing
“Join us for our biggest celebration of the year! Oktoberfest will kick off on Thursday with German style beer and food specials available all weekend long.”
9/23 – 9/25
Octoberfest at the Sam Adams Taproom
“Join the Sam Adams Boston Taproom in honoring the centuries-long celebration of classic German beers.”
9/24 – 9/25
Bow Market
“Ring in a new Fest Lager season with live music, food specials, fun and friends!”
9/24
Night Shift Brewing (Everett)
“Night Shift is ready for their annual Oktoberfest festivities with exclusive new releases and events at their Everett and Lovejoy Wharf locations – complete with a Stein holding competition, live music and lots of fun for all.”
9/25
Night Shift Brewing (Boston)
“Night Shift is ready for their annual Oktoberfest festivities with exclusive new releases and events at their Everett and Lovejoy Wharf locations – complete with a Stein holding competition, live music and lots of fun for all.”
9/30 – 10/2
Jack’s Abby Oktoberfest
“We’re bringing a little bit of Munich to Framingham with a three-day celebration of what we do best: German food and German beer, plus live oompah music, steinholding, and keg tossing!”
10/1
Turtle Swamp Brewing
“Join us for this celebration of beer! We’ll be bringing in the Fest with Happy Place Festbier…or your favorite TSB Brew.”
10/1
Aeronaut
“Don your lederhosen and join us at Aeronaut Allston on Saturday, October 1st from 1-9pm for our annual AERONAUT OKTOBERFEST!”
Citizen Strain/Grain is an amalgamation of a bunch of us who, in addition to the hard and oftentimes depressing journalism we report for the Dig, also enjoy sampling and writing about the various beers, spirits, and cannabis products that vendors from near and far send our way. If you want us to check out your product, please contact us at info@digboston.com.
