Thirst for beer and tradition: Munich embraces Oktoberfest again after two years of pandemic

It's not even twelve noon and a noisy group of 20-somethings are already eating some sausages and grilled chickens and toasting —Prost

!—with thick one-liter beer mugs.

“And it's round two!” exclaims Jörg, a 27-year-old computer technician, his cheeks flushed.

It's Tuesday, and everyone should be working or studying, but this is Munich's Oktoberfest, one of the busiest folk festivals in the world, if not the busiest.

It is very common for the people of Munich to ask for vacations in their companies to spend several days at the Theresienwiese (Theresa's meadow), or Wiesn, while the festival is celebrated, which despite its name takes place mostly in September.

This 2022, with more reason.

The thirst for beer, tradition and revelry is evident after two years of abstinence forced by the pandemic.

Everything is big numbers in the Oktoberfest, which this year is celebrated from September 17 to next Monday, October 3.

If the attendance is comparable to that of other editions, six million visitors are expected, who will drink around 7.8 million liters of beer and consume almost 435,000 roast chickens -more popular than sausages-, according to 2019 data For Munich, the capital of Bavaria, Oktoberfest is much more than a festival: in addition to the money left by visitors on the premises, it injects several hundred million more into the hotels and restaurants of the German city and is a tourist showcase unbeatable to make it known throughout the world.

Visitors run into Oktoberfest the morning of its opening. CHRISTIAN BRUNA (EFE)

The first day of Oktoberfest saw scenes of authentic euphoria.

Public television showed the races of visitors dressed in traditional Bavarian costumes, the

(leather pants) in the case of men, the

in the women's, under the drizzle to get a good place in the tents as soon as the enclosure opened, at nine in the morning.

Admission to the Wiesn, as the place is popularly known, is free, but to consume in one of the 17 large tents set up by the breweries, it is usually necessary to reserve and a minimum consumption is required.

They offer food, drink and live music, which can range from the most traditional to the most recent pop and rock hits, including the controversial Layla, banned from other popular parties this summer for its sexist lyrics.

And it is convenient to enter one of these tents, because it is where the party is cooked.

“People here look forward to Oktoberfest all year round.

It's like the carnivals in other parts of Germany.

And when it arrives, they throw the house out the window,” says Federico Gutiérrez, head chef at Kufflers Weinzelt, during a break before the only tent that serves wine fills up and where closing time lasts until after one o'clock. in the morning.

The son of Spanish emigrants, Gutiérrez, 60, has had 30 consecutive editions of the Oktoberfest.

The term carp (

, in German) can lead to confusion.

Nothing to do with the canvas ones that are assembled in a flash at any fair;

these are built of wood, in imitation of traditional Bavarian houses, have several floors and begin to rise three or four months before.

Assembling and disassembling the one that houses Gutiérrez's kitchen, which is one of the smallest (1,600 people sitting only inside), costs a million euros, he points out.

General view of the main street of the Theresienwiese, on September 22, 2022. CHRISTOF STACHE (AFP)

Tradition permeates everything in this festival.

It is in the typical costumes, which even foreign visitors buy, in the food, but especially in the beer.

Oktoberfest has its origins in a horse race that celebrated the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Princess Theresa of Saxony-Hildburghausen in 1810 – hence the name of the meadow.

Only six historical breweries, those that make the product in Munich and with water from the city, enjoy the privilege of serving here: Paulaner, its subsidiary Hacker-Pschorr, Löwenbräu, Spaten, Augustiner and Hofbräu, which is public as it belongs to the Free State of Bavaria.

Each brand has its tent and each year they make a special beer for the occasion.

The business that the breweries do at Wiesn is relative, since the festival lasts just over two weeks, but the return in advertising is priceless, admits Florian Ney, director of international markets at Paulaner.

The brand sells in 75 countries and Oktoberfest is key to its global

strategy .

“It is an authentic, unique and exclusive event”, says Ney, although each year it is replicated in local festivals all over the world, from Europe to China.

Two people in traditional Bavarian costume walk through the 2022 edition of Oktoberfest in Munich.

CHRISTIAN BRUNA (EFE)

The absolute protagonist is the beer.

With the exception of the wine tent, nothing else is served.

And it has to be in the famous

, the one-liter glass jar that this year has risen to 13.5 euros due to inflation.

Stephan Kuffler, the head of Weinzelt, is not too concerned that the Germans are going to loosen their pockets less now that a recession is looming: “People are on vacation.

They come well dressed, they enjoy the music and the decoration, the atmosphere… and they spend money.

During the pandemic they did not travel, they could not go to many places.

Now we are vaccinated and it is time to get together and be happy drinking beer”, says this businessman who owns several restaurants in the city.

Masks are not seen at the Wiesn.

Oktoberfest has completely left the pandemic behind.

Although a few months ago the Bavarian authorities were considering asking for the vaccination certificate, finally the beer festival, which is attended by visitors from all over the world -especially from the United States-, is being celebrated without restrictions.

The warnings of the experts, who see an explosion of infections at the gates of winter as very likely, have fallen on deaf ears.

“What could we do, require people to wear masks to enter?

There are also discos, theaters, cinemas, football stadiums and big concerts where people gather,” says Clemens Baumgärtner, who as the city's councilor for the economy is also the

and master of ceremonies of the Wiesn.

A waitress carries several mugs of beer into the Oktoberfest Paulaner tent.

CHRISTIAN BRUNA (EFE)

Watching the drink being dispensed is a sight in itself.

In the Pschorr tent, a mass that accommodates 6,000 people inside, the beer travels 220 meters through pipes from three huge stainless steel tanks.

From there it comes out at a degree below zero;

on taps it is served at two degrees so that when it is tasted at the table it is at four, the ideal temperature, explains Christian Höflinger, from the Hacker-Pschorr brewery.

Between the din of the place, which at five in the afternoon is already packed and with the staff on their feet and singing pop hits around their tables, he adds that it

only takes three seconds to fill a

In addition to the large brewery tents, there are 21 smaller and more varied tents.

They are restaurants that serve different Bavarian and foreign specialties - there is also vegan food - or patisseries, and are decorated like ornate Bavarian cabins or fairytale castles with bright colors.

In one it's easy to guess what he specializes in: two huge animatronic figures in chef's hats roasting a chicken.

Traditional costumes, fairground attractions, and food and souvenir stalls complete a landscape that seems unchanged in decades.

Members of a traditional band dressed in traditional costume at the opening of Oktoberfest.LUKAS BARTH (REUTERS)

“Modernize Oktoberfest?

Why?

It would lose its essence”, reflects Baumgärtner.

The bulbs are now LED and the entire meadow, which occupies the equivalent of 39 football fields in the center of Munich, is monitored with security cameras, says the

.

The gastronomic offer has adapted to the times and no longer only consists of knuckle and

.

But that is where modernity ends.

“We are not a pop festival and we don't want to be.

We do not want to lose our historical roots because they are what distinguish us”, he insists.

The fact that Oktoberfest remains enormously popular with young people, both from Munich and abroad, supports his thesis.

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