Hot Spot: Oktoberfest

9-11 & 16-18 Oct

Oktoberfest returns to Brisbane Showgrounds for two wild weekends, celebrating everything fantastisch about Bavarian culture — the food, the beer and the fun-filled German antics.

Following the tradition of the world’s largest beer festival, specially brewed beers from German brewer Tucher and Burleigh Brewing Co abide by the German Beer Purity Law. There’ll also be German and Australian wine, German sparkling ‘Sekt’, champagne, and Schnaps mixers.

A must is booking a VIP table at the Bavarian corner, which gets you the best seats in the house, a welcome bevo and one round of drinks, and plates of traditional Bettl (a generous arrangement of pretzels, bratwursts, schnitzels and salads — despite the word translating to ‘small platter’), all served by dedicated lederhosen-clad staff.

Enjoy this all with specialised German entertainment, like the Beard Contest, with its three hilarious categories: Natural Moustache, Natural Beard and Freestyle. That’s on top of the Biergarten (an outdoor area featuring wooden tables and benches, and fairy lights at night), an Oktoberfest band from Munich, and an authentic Oktoberfest Tent (in which everything comes from Germany).

Prost!