Also known as the famous Reinheitsgebot, many German beers are brewed exclusively from water, barley malt and hops.  This purity law was actually replaced in 1993 by the Provisional German Beer Law.  The new law allows wheat malt and cane sugar but no unmalted barley.  Basically, other brewers from around the world complained they couldn't sell their beer in Germany because of the old law.  Many German breweries to this day still brew beer by the 1516 purity law.

What does this mean to us?  During my visits to Oktoberfest in Munich, I have never had a hangover.  Tired maybe, but I've never gotten a splitting headache from the beer there.  Trust me, I tried.  I've heard many reasons, but I'm convinced the reasons are that the beer is fresh, the ingredients are of great quality and no preservatives are added.  Actually, the Germans I talked to call beer, liquid bread.  It's considered closer to food than drink.

To the die-hard beer fans, travel to Munich and drink till your bellies are full.  They've been making beer this way for almost 500 years.  They must be doing something right! 

    

To get your beer buds working, I found this clip from last years tapping of the ceremonial first keg at Oktoberfest in Munich.  Enjoy!

 

    

You will certainly have some stories of your own after attending The Great American Beer Festival.  Isn't that what life is all about?  The stories we tell others from our fun adventures that we remember for a lifetime.

Here is one of my favorite happenings from the fest.  After you've consumed some frothy goodness, the porta-john will be calling your name like a siren of the sea.  At the convention, they have tons of porta-johns.  They are kept up in pretty good shape considering the use.  I made my way to the comfort area and waited for a short bit in line.  There was a guy in the line next to me that looked to be well on his way to comatose.  He was wavering, barely able to stand up with his eyes basically shut and drool starting to hang from his lower lip.  Nice, right?

His stall opens before mine and stumbles into the door and forgets to lock it.  A few moments later, the door opens in front of me and I go in.  About a minute or two later, I heard some grunting and sneezing coming from his direction.  Laughing, I was about to finish when I heard a loud thud and the door open from his porta-let.  Just then I heard people start laughing hysterically.  When I opened the door, the guy had passed out and fell on the floor of the porta-john and his legs were sticking out of the door.  Classic!

Security arrived shortly after to help this poor guy.  I didn't stick around as I was losing valuable drinking time.  Have a great time, but make sure you don't do something that will end up on someone's blog like this one.

Please send me your stories if you go to info@beerdiehard.com

    

Oktoberfest in Munich, you will pay per stein of beer you get.  At the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO., you pay a one time admission charge and get all you want for almost 5 hours.  Tickets this year will run you $50.  It's really not that much considering you'll blow $50 in major cities in a night of solid beer swilling anyway.

Buy your tickets ahead of time.  Don't wait too late either.  On the day you're going, go to the convention hall early.  The lines start filling up early and unless you want to wait in line for the first 30 minutes while your mouth starts to water and you know there are tons of people inside already drinking away, get there an hour early.  The line moves and they do a good job of getting everyone in quickly.  Just thousands of people there trying to get in.

One more thing before you go.  Get some string and buy a big bag of mini-pretzels.  Put a bunch of pretzels on the string and make a necklace out of it.  Sounds strange?  Yes, but after the first hour or so and everyone starts looking for something to munch on, you've got snacks already.  Plus, it's a great way to meet people.  What goes better with beer than pretzels?

Once you get inside, they give you a special shot glass (tasting cup) that you'll use over the next 4 plus hours.  Don't drop it!  The beer lovers at the convention hall will start a roar that resonates thru the hall when you do and you'll hear it all the time as the night progresses because of the other clumsy patrons.

The best thing to do is visit some brewery booths you're familiar with and taste a couple.  The best part is be adventurous in the beginning.  As we all know, once you've had a few the memory and the taste buds begin to fade.  It's a great time and the party continues even after the convention hall shuts down by 10 PM.  Then it's time to hit the bars in Denver, if you can.  Sometimes it's best to just head home or to the hotel.  That may be your plan, but I've seen plans change quickly after all those tasty beers have been consumed.

Enjoy!

    

If you don't live in Denver or anywhere else in Colorado, you may have to fly into DIA or the Denver International Airport.  The funny part about Denver's airport is that it's not very close to the city.  The locals joke that the airport is actually in Nebraska, because it's so far east. 

The only way to and from the airport is by car, bus, limo, shuttle, etc.  No trains to take you into the city.  The shuttle is a preferred choice as they are typically cheaper than a cab and rental car.  Once you get into the city, you'll have a large list if hotels to stay in all within walking distance or a short cab ride of the convention center.  For a list of the hotels, visit the festival website.  The convention center is located close to LoDo which is short for Lower Downtown.

It really makes no sense to have a car if you will be staying the weekend.  Unless you plan to travel outside of the city, a shuttle and cabs are the best way to go.  Drinking and driving is not tolerated around Denver and police are on extra alert during the festival.  Just don't do it.

Next article will be Part 3 - The Festival.

    

The 2008 and 27th Annual Great American Beer Festival will be held on October 9th thru October 11th.  Approximately 2,800 beers will be available for tasting from over 470 breweries.  Now we're talking!  There are many differences between Oktoberfest and this festival, but most notable is GABF it's all about variety.  It's the spice of life right?  Oktoberfest breweries brew one type of their beer and it's all about quantity.

Check out the winners from last year.  Amazingly they are all from the west:  California, Utah and Montana.  In the large brewery category, Pabst from Illinois grabbed top honors.  What's going on with the easterners?  Currently, the list of attending breweries isn't available.  It should be up soon.  Expect everyone you've heard of domestically from the U.S. to be there large, small and tiny.

The festival has so many beers, you can't drink them all.  Some of you may try, but it's very simple math that makes it impossible.  1 ounce shot glass times 2,800 beers = 2,800 shots of beer.  At a standard 12 ounce beer, that's just over 233 beers.  Good luck!  Actually, believe it or not, there are a lot of beers you won't want to drink.  It's a matter of different tastes for different folks.

Next article will be Part 2 - The Travel.

    

An article was posted recently on msn city guides that talks about some great American breweries and tastings.  The brewers are considered craft brewers, but many you would know such as:  Harpoon, Great Divide and Anchor Breweries.  They hit on some not as well known like:  Bell's Brewery in Kalamazoo, MI, Allagash Brewery in Portland, ME, and Troegs Brewery in Harrisburg, PA.  It's a good read, check it out.

    

You will have stories if you go to Oktoberfest that you'll vaguely remember for a lifetime. 

On the last visit, I went with some friends and we didn't reserve a table ahead of time.  We wandered over to the grounds and decided to talk our way into the Augustiner Tent.  No dice, Yankees!  There were tables around the tent and we looked to see who to start talking to.  FYI - you won't get invited to sit, you have to ask, unless you're a hot girl.  My buddy went over to a table where it looked like there was some extra spaces for us and talked us up to the residents.  He came back and said we struck out as the guy hated our president calling him a war monger!  After a few minutes went by, Mr. Hater waved us over and invited us to sit with him, his wife and daughter if we'd talk a little politics.  At this point, we were desperate for beer.  He and his family were German locals.  3 big beers later, we were all best of friends and toasting each other.  There are missing parts of the story from that point.

When you go, make sure you check out the side of the tent where they tap the old wooden barrels.  It's pretty cool to watch these big, German guys throw around 300 pound barrels and then tap them.  A barrel is twice as large as a keg and why a keg is known as a half-barrel.

A buddy of mine went with some friends a few years back.  They had all been there before and brought costumes to wear so they would get talked to and asked to sit down.  One was a breathalyser, another was a cow and the other a cowboy.  The breathalyser was a huge hit and people were buying them beers all night.  You can figure out where the blower tube was located.  He ended up "walking" a lovely young German girl back home when the tents closed.

Cheers!

    

A big party it is!  The 14 tents are the size of football fields.  The beer flows like wine!  It's truly a great experience where people from all over the world converge with one commonality, a love for beer.  If you decide to go, here are some tips to know:

1)  If you're going during a weekend, reserve a table.  If you don't have a table, you usually don't get served.  Unless you sweet talk the older, German beer maid whose heard it all.  You can reserve tables on-line, or at least request a reservation.  Just like anything, it's who you know.  During the day in the middle of the week are the slowest times and reservations typically aren't needed.  Go early on weekends and with no reservation, you'll need to be a chatty cathy and talk your way onto a table.  Be funny and look like you're a ton of fun to hang out with and you'll be slugging the beers down no problem with some new friends.

2)  The beer is served in heavy, glass steins.  If you try to leave with it, security will stop you and ask for it back.  You'll see some people who slip thru the cracks and if you're slick, you can have an included in the beer price stein as a keepsake. 

3)  They only serve one type of beer which is the special Oktoberfest brew specific to each brewer.  There are two sizes, a half liter and liter or Mas.  You're at the fest, go for the big beer.

4)  Augustiner is the locals choice and delicious.  Hofbrau is more widely known and very good as well.  The Hippodrom is known for a younger, party crowd.   

5)  The fest is a big carnival outside the tents with rides, carnie venders and tons of food stands, german style.

6)  There are usually after parties (if you can make it) that go all hours of the night as the De Wiesn shuts down by 11 PM.

Next part will tell some of our favorite tales from De Wiesn.

    

If you're thinking of going to Oktoberfest in Munich this year, you're a bit late in the game, but can still be done.  The ideal time to start planning an Oktoberfest trip would be right after this year's is over.  Have your flights and hotels secured by spring. 

If you can fly direct, that's obviously the best, but cheaper tickets are to be had with connecting flights.  It's always interesting connecting somewhere in Europe for a few hours.  A fun little stop, but adds to fatigue with the extra travel times.

Munich has a large airport which is connected by their train system which can drop you off just blocks from festival grounds at the main train terminal downtown.  That's the cheapest way to go.  You can get a cab or private car to take you into town.  The airport is about 30 minutes from the city center by train.

There are tons of hotels to stay within walking distance of the flowing, golden suds.  It's pricey and hotels just a few blocks from the De Wiesn is typically $300 a night and more.  If you can afford it, staying walking distance is really the way to go.  Rooms are small.

Spending 3 days partying is plenty.  Plan on traveling elsewhere to recoup.

Coming Up Part 3:  Things to know at Oktoberfest