Das Best Oktoberfest

A night with plenty of alcoholic beverages and it showed the next day… On Saturday October 20^th I went to check out «Das Best Oktoberfest» and it was a lovely festive affair. There were the classic Tyrolean outfits and some traditional German eateries such as sausages and sauerkraut.
The beer selection was not the best I have seen but there were some great options and the staff was friendly and most of them knowledgeable about the beer they were pouring. The beer selection varied from pilsners to strong IPAs. My favorites were Goose Island’s Pere Jacques a very tasty and fragrant Dubbel and one I had not heard of before Heavy Seas’ Loose Cannon a very hoppy IPA. But the brands varied from German Spaten, Erdinger, Hofbrau and Schlenkeria to domestic beers such as Lagunitas, Flying Dog, Heavy Seas and Goose Island.
What I really liked about the drink options were their selection of Schnapps. I am not a big fan of schnapps but I felt it represented both Oktoberfest and Germany as a culture. They had the well-​known Jägermeister and then some not so known but delicious schnapps like Der Lachs Goldwasser, Killepitsch Herbal Liquer and Schonaeur Apple Schnapps.
The food was served by Apartment 138, The Jerky Hut, free Cheese from Castello and Klobys Smokehouse. I got to taste Jerky for the first time and now I know it is not my kind of thing but I can see why it is considered a yummy snack and if you like spicy — really spicy, their Ghostpepper Jerky does it for you. I love cheese so I could not say no when Castello was offering up free cheese to try and some were better than others, my favorite from Castello was their Weissbier cheese, it was soft and as they described it themselves buttery, mmm… I did not get to try anything from Kolby’s or Apartment 138 but some of my friends did and they enjoyed it. It was good sausages and the sauerkraut was just bitter enough to make the bread and Sausage lighten up.
Besides from the obvious choices such as the beers, the schnapps and the eats there were things to entertain you with. The best of it all was the Polka band Alpine Squeeze. It was real German Polka and it was light and fun. I enjoyed Unilocal,who were also sponsors of the event, photo booth fun where you could put on a silly costume and have your picture taken. ZogSports were also there drumming up some attention where you could win a T-​shirt if you could get the table tennis ball to go into the cup, just like Beer pong. One of the more fun events of the evening was the contests. They had the Beer Belly Contest for the guys, not sure it was the prettiest sight but it was fun. Also something for the ladies of course, they had the Miss Oktoberfest Contest where the girls would hold up with a stretched out arm a big Stein filled with water and the last to drop the Stein would win. It was all good fun.

I must admit, i was reluctant to buy a ticket to this event.
But when the likes of some Unilocal AllStars (Phil H., Mike B, Shawn) appear on the guest list, you know that no matter what– there will most definitely be a good time.
We arrived early.
First in line got a giant heart shaped gingerbread. A tasty one at that.
People dressed up received lanyards to hold their drink. I mean, you get a lil clumsy when you drink, right?
There were vendors everywhere selling bites for cheap prices. Schnitzel and things won my heart over with $ 5 sandwiches! Delicious sandwiches. The pickle guys kept me thirsty with their briny and salty pickles.
Over 150 different kinds of beer to drink??? YES!!! Everything from Mikes Hard Lemonade to Goose Neck to Schnapps. They were all there. Giving tastes and generous pours of libations that took a mere minutes to take effect on my low tolerance self.
There was live music that rocked… that or i was really wasted.
I held my bladder for as long as humanly possible to find a 3 stall bathroom at a 500+ person event. I waited in line for 30 minutes. That was a serious fail. For an event of that size, there should have been an extra set of toilets. ESPECIALLY a beverage event.
Aside from that, it was an amazing time. I already purchased my tickets for the Bourbon event!
The venue itself is a trek to get to. I minused a star for the bathroom sitch as well.

So you may have heard a few things about me this past weekend concerning this Oktoberfest… Some of them may or may not be true… I will confirm at least one thing for you but you have to read through my review first!
Das Best Oktoberfest was held at the La. Venue space, which is on the über West side of Chelsea that you hate going to because it’s a. not immediately next to a subway station and b. it’s bleeping cold because it’s near the water. Make sure to get there at least an hour early because the line does get long and FAST. Also there are perks to being first in line. I was at the very front with my crew and we scored some free giant heart-​shaped ginger cookies to wear! Mine said «Das Best Oktoberfest» but you could get ones that said «Prasit» or «MILF» or «DTF»… smh. Finally after what seemed forever, we were let in. I was disappointed that there was no coat check considering how many people there were (because come on, people have jackets or purses etc. so one star off for that) so we found a table in the back to drop off our stuff at. I carried my wallet around with me because, duh, don’t leave anything valuable unattended in a room of drunk strangers.
As you can see in the photos, I came decked out in full German Beer Wench attire. Sure it’s not completely authentic, but whatever. It made quite a splash as I was the only one in that costume… and might I say one of the cutest? Huzzah! For $ 45 (make sure to get the advance purchase price since that is the best deal), I was able to sample dozens of different types of beers throughout this large venue to my hearts content… plus some schnapps and hard stuff like Goldschlager and Jagermiester etc. Now y’all know me, I’m more of an eater than a drinker (usually) so I ate a bunch of the German themed food at this festival since I kept getting hungry. There were a few stands but I was determined to only eat German meat! First I had a bratwurst sandwich was good but oh my goodness, the pork schnitzel sandwich was OUT of this world. A crispy piece of pork, fresh lettuce and tomato, kraut, spicy mayo and pesto sauce on fluffy white bread aahhhhhh give me more schnitzel! I might have had a pickle or two here and there and of course, I should note that I ate some of Monique R.‘s Irish soda bread! She made it specifically for the event to help us from getting too inebriated. Thank gawd.
So big surprise, I won the Miss Oktoberfest contest! Should I like, put that on my resume or something? Ok, so it was from the hours of 5:30 — 9:30pm, but still, that’s pretty freakin’ awesome. I had to chug beer, name my cookie, dance, and yodel… All in a hard day’s work. In the end I won $ 100 and a glass beer mug. Woohoo!
I had so much fun at this event and am so glad I got to spend it with my Unilocal comrades. Mike, Mel, Mo, Phil, Chris, Sean– you guys rock. Thanks for screaming your ass off during the contest for me. I can’t wait for this event next year! It’s definitely worth it. Eating wieners, drinking beer, dancing to a live band, and hanging out with your friends = priceless. I can’t wait to wear my costume once again and vie for the crown… err… glass beer mug!
Auf wiedersehen!

«I came to drink, kick ass, and chew bubblegum… and I was all out of bubblegum! «
Once again had an amazing time at this year’s Oktoberfest event. It was an EPIC night of drinking fun!
As we planned this for a UYE this year the crew who did make it was treated to Mike B in his chicken hat, Leslie winning Miss Oktoberfest, Monique baking amazing breads to sneak in for us to help soak up the booze, Chris B in his full German Lederhosen outfit, Sean and his boys downing Jaeger shots with us, Mel pounding down beer after beer, the list goes on and on. Yeah, I even was sporting a Viking helmet for this one. So much beer. So much booze. So much fun. So, so, so drunk by the end of the night.
Again, it was a well run and super fun night of drinking, dancing to a live band playing German tunes, eating good food, and just all around partying. This year’s event was again at La Venue, and even though it was a bit smaller in scale by not using the whole event space there was still more than enough room to walk around and sample all types of beer and liquors. Even though it was a bit crowded as expected, everyone was in good spirits and pretty courteous overall. Seemed like everyone showed up to party hard and be cool about it. There was a terrific selection of beers here, mostly German brews, and a mix of other assorted breweries exhibiting. Innis & Gunn is such an amazing beer! Aphel Schnapps and Jeagermeister shots went down way too easy, and Hofbrau is always a classic. Lines were not too bad and moved quickly.
There were only a couple of food stands serving brats, sausages, schnitzel, and pickles, but that sufficed as we were there to get our drink on! Those pickles rocked and the chicken schnitzel sandwiches were really good. My only complaint is I wished they had more bathrooms as those lines were long — especially when you really need to go! Still, the company running this event put together another terrific one. Also, $ 45 discount tickets made this a total no-​brainer for all you can drink fun!
A great time was had by all. Can’t wait until next year’s Oktoberfest!

I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, I drink it heavily!
of the 3 Oktoberfest celebrations I’ve been to this year, this was by far the best. major props to Phil for posting it as a UYE — we had a small but solid turnout of Unilocalers here.
$ 45 for all you can drink beer, wine, and liquor? AWESOME! I highly suggest buying the advance tickets (discounts appear every now and then), and also getting on line early — you get in to drink early, and get a big-​ass gingerbread cookie too! NOM NOM NOM!
a bunch of great beers were represented here. German beers were prominent but there were many American, English, Czech, and other varieties available. pretty much, any kind of delicious beer you wanted was there! I was stoked to see Ayinger had a booth — when I was in Germany, our plan to visit the brewery got hosed due to weather!
place was crowded, but not that bad — you could move around fairly well and since you only got a small glass to fill, lines moved quickly. some food vendors were on hand selling sausage, schnitzel, fries, pretzels, and more.
merch table — oh yes! I bought a hat with a chicken drinking a beer on it!
after 4 hours of constant drinking (oh, and not just beer — downing the Jaeger shots and apple schnapps like they were water) — you may find yourself wearing a chicken hat, singing German songs you didn’t even know you knew the words to (possibly due to your relatives having fought for the Germans in WW2 — hey, those were different times, man!)…oh good lord, let’s be blunt: this was a shitshow of epic proportions, and I had a ton of fun!
we’re going back next year, and if you don’t want to, we are goddamn dragging you. ALLES FUR DEUTSCHLAND!

BEER! GERMAN! BEER! SAUSAGE! BEER! SAUERKRAUT! BEER! BEER! SAUSAGE… BEER! BEER!
Found out about this event through GROUPON! I got tix for $ 50 bucks, which includes 4 HOURS of BEER and SAUSAGE and GERMAN POLKA MUSIC! $ 50 is a bit steep, but wayyy better than paying $ 75 at the door.
My favorite things in life are: «drinking beer, eating sausage, being rowdy, and dancing the polka with intoxicated people.» I got to do all of this during this event!
Here are some noteworthy highlights:
— Girls in beer wench costumes
— German bands (they let my friend take over the drums — can they be more cool?)
— Beef jerky! Another awesome reason to drink beer
— Variety of Riesling wines
— Jagermiester shots
— All the beer you could want or not want! You have the choice of just tasting or filling your mug all the way. There is a bucket at each station for you to chuck anything you don’t like.
I would also like to mention it was not overly crowded. They purposely sell a set amount of tickets so they won’t overfill the place. I did not have to wait more than 1 – 2 minutes on a line.
My friends and I walked out feeling nice and buzzed. It was wunderbar! ! :)
*(I took a star off because the food was not unlimited and pretty much sucked.)