Malaysia’s Own Oktoberfest

Wunderbar Oktober!

What do you get when you put together a Bavarian prince, his wedding and a horse race? The biggest beer gathering known to men, also known as Oktoberfest! The history of Oktoberfest began in 12 October 1810 – sometime after The Black Plague and before skinny jeans. Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, who was later crowned King Ludwig I, wanted his people to share in the celebration of his marriage to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. The Prince organised a horse race and invited all of Munich (all 40,000 of them) to the soirée. Beer was abundant and everyone had a good time. Now who says the institution of marriage is bad? If anything, it’s a great excuse to throw a big party. And in times of economic despair, the EU should take note of Prince Ludwig’s economic booster.

Over the years, the horse race tradition was slowly abandoned. But the spirit of the original Oktoberfest lives on. Actually, it took a live of its own. Still held on the original site, dubbed Theresienwiese (‘Theresa’s fields’), in front of the city gates, Munich’s annual celebration has grown from being held in small tents to having giant brewery-sponsored beer halls that can hold up to 5,000 people each. It has also become a 16/18-day extravaganza starting late-September, ending the first Sunday in October. It’s a celebration of epic proportions.

In recent times (since 1950), a traditional festival opening of a twelve gun salute and the tapping of the first keg of Oktoberfest beer at 12pm by the incumbent Mayor of Munich opens the Oktoberfest. “O’ zapft is!” (“It’s tapped” in the Austro-Bavarian language) is cried out to signify the start of the celebrations. Note to the men folk: “O’ zapft is!” is not something you should exclaim at the end of the night on a first date with a woman.

Today, Oktoberfest is celebrated globally. Come October, there isn’t a city in the world that isn’t enjoying it, in one form or the other. This year, in the name of tradition and all things beer-tiful, Carlsberg together with Erdinger Weissbier, Franziskaner Weissbier and Löwenbräu, the three most popular Bavarian brews, brings you Malaysia’s Own Oktoberfest 2011.

If you can’t go to Motherland Germany for Oktoberfest this year, then Carlsberg Malaysia will bring Oktoberfest to you! Carlsberg Malaysia is replicating the Oktoberfest carnival atmosphere, complete with authentic German cuisine, band performances, carnival games and lederhosen-clad waitresses. And if the promise of cold beer in 1 liter steins (that’s a really, REALLY big mug for the uninitiated) isn’t making you go gulp, then maybe this will…

If beautiful Oktoberfest-Bier Mägde (Oktoberfest Beer Maids) doing the Chicken Dance just ain’t your thing, then how about a chance for you and two of your best buds to win a 6 day 5 night ‘Ultimate Beer Tour’ of all the supporting partners’ breweries in Germany and Denmark? Okay, you can stop squealing like a girl now.

Here’s how you can participate:

1.    Log in to Facebook, go to ‘Malaysia’s Own Oktoberfest‘ page and ‘Like’ it.
2.    On the left tab, click ‘Competition – The Ultimate Beer Tour’.
3.    Instructions on what you need to do will be explained in detail.

Don’t worry, it’s REALLY simple. No slogans, no nothing! Can’t believe how easy Carlsberg Malaysia made it for everyone. There are also four (4) consolation prizes of a mini party for each winner and a group of up to ten (10)of his/her friends at the Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia. On top of that, eight (8) prizes of a carton of the winner’s favourite beer (Carlsberg, Erdinger Weissbier, Franziskaner Weissbier and Löwenbräu) will be given out… EVERY WEEK! So that’s a chance for you to win on a weekly basis. If that’s not winning, we don’t know what is.

Prost!

Now that we’ve gotten you all excited for Oktoberfest, how about we get you prepared for the upcoming festivities. Coming soon, checkout ‘Carlsberg presents Top 10 Drinking Songs‘ and ‘Top 10 Drinking Games‘ – because drinking beer with your friends is nothing without some off-beat singing and a little play time.