Prost! It's time to dust off the Lederhosen and crack open the kegs because Oktoberfest is coming to town once again.
Every pub or bar will be throwing an event to celebrate the German spectacular, but not all events are created equal. If you’re a keen Melburnian looking to get into the Oktoberfest spirit, here’s where you need to be to get the most out of your night.
Oktoberfest West
Tell us a bit about the inspiration behind Oktoberfest West.
The first motivation was to bring big events to Melbourne’s west. Secondly, the venue we have at Seaworks lends itself to the event with an inside space that we transform into the beer hall and holds up to 3,000 people.
A tribute to INXS’ Kick will be going down as part of the festivities. What can punters expect from this?
Quite honestly, it’s one of the best live shows I’ve seen. It has sold out around the country and audiences can expect all their INXS faves, plus the Chocolate Starfish hits and a few surprises. Oktoberfest West 2019 will end with a bang with this incredible show!
What other surprises do you have in store?
Beware, the day is run by the internationally successful Bogan Bingo crew. They’ll be doing it ‘German Style’ for Oktoberfest and will have audiences on their toes with their games and antics. It’s all about getting people to sing along, dance and just let their hair down overall.
What about the bratwurst and bier? What food and drink can we expect?
We have five imported German Beers on tap. The award-winning Two Birds Brewery have also created a German Style beer exclusively for Oktoberfest West. Plus there’s schnapps, cider, champagne, wine and more. Food wise, the German Club bring their Germanlicious Food Truck with pork knuckle and more. There’s also Bavarian bangers, Bretzel biz, vegan trucks, pizza, souvas, plus others European delights!
Oktoberfest West goes down on Saturday October 5 from 2pm at Seaworks, Williamstown. Grab your tickets at their website.
Goatoberfest
Why is The Fat Goat getting involved with Oktoberfest in 2019?
We run Goatoberfest, our annual Oktoberfest celebration, every year. Fat Goat is all about drinking incredible craft beer, listening to awesome live music and having a great time with your crew. Goatoberfest encapsulates all of this into one, fantastic Sunday.
What events do you have in store for the big day?
Goatoberfest will have four live bands with The Rattlers, Shirazz Jazz, Duncan Phillips and Forever Son playing alongside a roving magician.
How is it different to other Oktoberfest celebrations?
This year we have brewed our own, special Goatoberfest beer with Bad Shepherd. The New World Hefeweizen will be released and available on tap during the day and also in 440ml cans to take home.
What advice would you give to someone preparing for their first Oktoberfest this year?
The biergarten fills up fast, so if you want to secure your spot with your mates plan to arrive early. Then get comfy, pace yourself and enjoy the show!
What about the bratwurst and bier? What food and drink can we expect?
There will be an external tap bar by Bad Shepherd Brewery, seven fresh taps of German-influenced craft beer and a cider tap inside the pub, an external cocktail bar, a hog roast and Thuringia wurst made to a special, recipe from Bills of Belgrave.
Goatoberfest hits The Fat Goat at 2 Morris Road, Upwey in the beautiful Dandenong Ranges from 11am on Sunday October 13. Find out more about The Fat Goat via their website.
Hofbräuhaus
Tell us a bit about Hofbräuhaus’ connection to Oktoberfest.
As true Bavarians, our philosophy at Hofbräuhaus Melbourne is to bring a little piece of Bavaria to Melbourne and give our friends a true Bavarian experience with authentic food, imported Bavarian bier and of course real Bavarian hospitality. Oktoberfest, and bier fests in general, are a big part of our Bavarian culture.
Why should punters hit up Hofbräuhaus for Oktoberfest this year?
Besides a true Oktoberfest experience with authentic food, big steins and a lot of Oktoberfest entertainment with live music and competitions we have some BIERNORMOUS specials this year.
What advice would you give to someone celebrating Oktoberfest for the first time this year?
Bavarian Bier is stronger than Aussie beer so be careful. Have fun!
What are some of the events you’ve got in store?
Our Oktoberfest Opening Party on Saturday September 21 is a must for every true Oktoberfest fan as well as our legendary Closing Party on the last Saturday in October.
There are also some epic prizes on offer. Tell us more about these.
The winners of the stein carrying competition and the winners of our Oktoberfest competitions on the weekends will get free beer for a whole year. And this year we are also giving away a BIERNORMOUS trip to Oktoberfest 2020 including two return tickets to Munich, a private tour at our partner brewery in Bavaria and a hot air balloon tour over the fields of Bavaria.
Oktoberfest comes to Hofbräuhaus, located in Chinatown, from Saturday September 21 until Saturday October 26. Head to their website to find out more.
Yarra Valley Oktoberfest
Where did the inspiration behind Yarra Valley Oktoberfest come from?
I was in my late twenties and my partner and I would often want to go out in Lilydale but had nowhere to go locally. I started to explore a few festival concepts until I remembered the phenomenal experience I had at the Munich Oktoberfest several years earlier. I then decided it would be brilliant to bring it to Lilydale.
How is it different to other Oktoberfest celebrations?
It’s got heart. From donating the booking fee to providing meals for disadvantaged Aussie school kids, incorporating the only stein washing system (that we know about in Oz) to significantly reduce single use plastics, and taking time to make sure every single decision is either better for our festival-goers or better for the planet.
What advice would you give to someone preparing for their first Oktoberfest this year?
Don’t just book tickets the night before and rock up on the day. Treat it like a holiday. Start by getting your favourite people involved, reserve a table for the entire day, and get dressed up in your finest dirndl or lederhosen.
What events do you have in store for the big day?
The day kicks off with a pretzel eating competition, followed by a stein holding contest and fashions in the beer hall.
What about the bratwurst and bier? What food and drink can we expect?
Festival-goers can enjoy German bier from the Munich beer halls topped up with some local fest beers, brewed just for the event. Start the food adventure with a large salty pretzel, and choose between bratwurst, weisswurst and a frankfurt for lunch.
Yarra Valley Oktoberfest goes down at Lilydale Showgrounds on Saturday October 26. Grab your tickets via Melbourne Presents.
Southern Bay Brewery
Southern Bay Brewery is one of Australia’s most trusted and knowledgeable breweries. How has it earned this reputation?
With 30 years of Geelong heritage, Southern Bay Brewery is one of the oldest working breweries in Australia. Positioned on the edge of the old port of Geelong, Southern Bay is proud to have deep roots in the history of the local area.
How does Southern Bay stand out from the rest of the competition?
At SBB we focus on an old fashioned, hands on approach to creating quality craft beer. We brew using reliable vintage equipment and our brewers are dedicated, passionate beer lovers true to their craft. We also offer contract brewing across beer, RTDs, juice and soft drink.
Tell us a bit about the beers you have on offer at the moment?
We have a diverse range of craft beers in our range and continue to experiment with innovative seasonal varieties. Recently our XPA won silver at the Independent Beer Awards in the category of American style pale ale. Also, our Black IPA is winning fans with its smooth roast malt character.
Describe your most popular beer in under five words.
XPA – A refreshing and hoppy banger.
What’s next for Southern Bay? What have you got in store for summer?
We have exciting news with a can line just installed and due to be commissioned this month. We will move all our range across to can format to meet consumer demand. This will line up perfectly for our launch of an exciting new seasonal beer in late October – the trial batch has the brewers excited!
Southern Bay Brewery is located at 80 Point Henry Road, Moolap in Geelong and their beers are stocked in bars and pubs Melbourne-wide. Find out more about the brewery via their website.
