Top 5 Oktoberfest Tips

1. Know what you're drinking

While Germany is home to many varieties of great beer, the following are the types you are most likely to find at Oktoberfest. All of these beers are brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot – the German “Beer Purity Law” that decrees beer may only be made using water, barley, and hops.

• Märzen / Oktoberfest: This beer is brewed solely for Oktoberfest and is the most common brew sold there.
• Bavarian Lager/Helles: If you walk into any traditional beer hall in Munich and simply order a beer, this is what you’ll get.
• Hefeweizen / Weißbier: The state of Bavaria is famous for this refreshing wheat beer. This beer is unfiltered, hence its cloudy appearance.
• Dunkelweizen: Same concept as the Hefeweizen, only brewed with the addition of some darker grains.
• Dunkel: Means “dark” in German. If you take a Helles and brew it with darker Munich malts, this is the result.
• Pilsner: Referred to as Pils in Germany, this style of beer originated in the former Czechoslovakia.
• Radler: A combination of Pilsner beer mixed with lemonade or lemon-lime soda.

2. Know what you're eating

• Bratwurst:What you’ll find at the festival is usually a short and fat variety, or the long skinny version called the Thüringer. Whichever you get, it is traditionally served on a roll called a Brötchen with mustard.
• Rindswurst: Not as common as bratwurst, this sausage is made primarily from beef and most often served with ketchup rather than mustard.
• Hänchen / Hühner: Rotisserie chicken sold by the quarter, half, or whole.
• Shweinehaxen: Pig’s knuckle roasted and/or grilled, and often served with some form of potato and sauerkraut.
• Knödelei: Traditional Bavarian dumplings.
• Schnitzel: The classic Vienna style (Wiener) is made from a fried veal cutlet.
• Sauerkraut: Fermented cabbage that comes in many varieties and colors.
• Spätzle/ Knöpfle: Egg noodle pasta that usually accompanies entrées and is often topped with gravy.

3. Order in German

Nearly everyone you encounter will speak English, but even if you butcher it, they still want you to try to speak German. Use this table to get started:

4. Tip your waitress

You get great service at Oktoberfest the same way you do anywhere – by tipping well. 10% is a pretty standard and even healthy tip in Europe. With beers costing just under 9 EUR each, giving the waitress 10 EUR and telling her Stimmt so (shtimpt-so) is just fine.