Where to Celebrate Oktoberfest 2017
If you’re already mourning the loss of summer, Oktoberfest is a reliable way to get you over the hump. Essentially spanning the duration of fall (kicking off on September 16th this year & extending all the way to October 31st, allowing revelers to seamlessly transition to Halloween), the festival is a giddy saturnalia of German culture. Which, when you boil it down, basically translates to a dedicated observance of meat products (smoked wursts, breaded schnitzel, braised sauerbraten) and starches (hubcap-sized pretzels, dumpling-esque späetzle, fried potato pancakes), as well as ecstatic, accordion-fueled oompah music, and exorbitant amounts of beer, preferably consumed from 1-liter steins.
So go on and drown your end-of-season blues in a keg of malty Märzen, at the following Oktoberfest-ready establishments.
Loreley
One of the oldest German beer gardens in NYC, Loreley is undoubtedly an Oktoberfest go-to. And this year’s “45 Days of Oktoberfest” will be the biggest yet – featuring German beer tap takeovers (look for Hofbräu Oktoberfest, Weihenstephan Oktoberfest, Spaten Oktoberfest, and Schneider Wiesen Edel-Weisse), along with pig roasts, a brunch hangover party, a beer tasting dinner and a sausage fest, culminating in a Haunted Beer Garden Halloween Party with two happy hours.
Read MoreBlue Ribbon Brasserie Brooklyn and The Ribbon
The Bromberg brothers are commemorating Oktoberfest all month long (from Saturday, September 16th to Tuesday, October 31st), at a duo of eateries within their restaurant group. Bavaria-themed dishes run the gamut from obatzda cheese spread with pretzels to a Porkfest for Two (grilled pork chop, bratwurst, pork belly, sauerkraut and potato puree); and a variety of brew options include Paulaner Oktoberfest Marzen, Jever Pilsner, and local selections from Greenpoint Beer & Ale.
Read MorePaulaner on Bowery
Manhattan’s very own outpost of the Munich’s famous Paulaner — which brews according to the strict German Beer Purity Law known as The “Reinheitsgebot” — this is as authentic a place you’ll find outside of Europe, for taking part in the suds-soused festivities of Oktoberfest. Fresh kegs will be tapped by a rotating roster of influential “citizen mayors” every Saturday (including craft beer guru, Jimmy Carbone), and of course, there will be plenty of food to hoist along with your steins; such as pretzels filled with sliced pork loin or obatzda cheese, bier torte topped with weisbeer and elderflower mousse, and Kaiserschmarr’n, or Emperor’s Shredded Pancakes, sprinkled with powdered sugar and served with hot plum sauce.
Read MoreThree’s Brewing
This mega-popular Gowanus brewery is making good on their partnership with The Meat Hook, by throwing a serious sausage fest from Friday, 9/15 through Sunday, 9/17. Swiss-cheese dotted, pork/beef and bacon-based kasekrainer (the official street food of Vienna) will be amongst the stable of housemade links, along with Norwegian beet and onion and the more unusual chicken coconut curry. And needless to say, they intend to deliver on the beer front too, debuting new concoctions like “Short Fuse” (a smoked Helles), “Arbiter of Fun” (a buckwheat beer aged in oak), “Kicking and Screaming” (a foudre-fermented Pilsner), and “After Dawn;” a hoppy Kolsch, brewed in collaboration with Toronto’s Collective Arts.
Stone Street Amerikaner Oktoberfest
This rowdy block part will run the length of Stone Street, between Coenties Alley and Hanover Square. Open to the public, food and drink will be available for purchase from stalls set outside participating venues; including Bavaria Bierhaus, Stone Street Tavern, Route 66 Smokehouse and Smorgas. Sixpoint will also pour a copper-hued Märzen lager, created exclusively for the festival (if you stop by during the Friday keg-tapping, you can try it for free), and apple bobbing, face painting and children’s magicians will be available in a designated family-friendly area.
Read MoreTavern on the Green
Forget this Central Park stunner’s “pinkie’s up” reputation, as it intends to prove it can throw down with the best of them during its 30-day transformation into Tavern on the Grün. From September 15 – October 15, the bucolic outdoor garden will be decorated with haystacks, corn, gourds and pumpkins, and equipped with a “your face here” lederhosen photo op, a DIY seasonal flower crown station, a pretzel decorating area for kids, Yankee Red Hot sausages from Pig Beach, and additional seasonal specials from chef Bill Peet. Tavern’s beer list will also expand to feature a custom lager from upstate’s Empire Brewery, along with pumpkin brews and ciders.
Read MoreMassoni
$49 buys all-you-can eat access to chef Dale Talde’s Oktoberfest spread, at his Arlo NoMad restaurant. Choose a seating at either 1pm or 4pm, and load up your plate with all the important “S’s” — think schnitzel, spätzle, sauerbraten, strudel and sausage; of the bratwurst, knockwurst and weisswurst persuasion.
Read MoreCirca Brewing Co.
This Downtown Brooklyn newcomer is staging an Oktoberfest Kick-off Celebration on Saturday, September 16th, in their sprawling onsite brewery and wood-fired kitchen. Head brewer Danny Bruckert will serve traditional favorites like a German Pilsner and Circa’s very own Oktoberfest Lager, and food specials include classic soft pretzels and porky links of bratwurst.
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