Centuries ago, a prince in Munich had a wedding so epic that it’s been celebrated ever since (and moved from its titular month into September, for finer weather.) And as anyone who’s ever inhaled a hoppy lungful of St. Louis air can attest, we’re a beer town. So get those lederhosen back from the cleaners, tie up your big blonde braids, and get ready to party. This weekend brings plenty of oom-pah, pretzels, and beer.
5–10 p.m. Friday, 1–10 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday
Anheuser-Busch Brewery, 12th and Lynch Streets
$30 for adult admission including a stein, two beers, and a food item; $10 children's tickets get a soda and a food item
“There’s a lot of tradition and heritage involved with Oktoberfest,” says Tom Kraus, director of beer category and community for Anheuser-Busch. “It started in the 1800s as a wedding reception for the prince, the future king of Bavaria. As we started planning our Oktoberfest, through a partnership with the VFW, we were able to find a couple to have their wedding there. It’s a great partnership with our military partners.”
The couple, Army National Guardsman Mark Vanbibber and Cassie Chisholm, will wed in a private, traditional ceremony on festival grounds, directly before the party starts. Then they’ll be on hand to assist in tapping the first keg of the festival, alongside Mayor Francis Slay. (The VFW is ponying up for most of the wedding expenses, but AB is providing space, labor and some of the food.) Mazel tov and a hoisted stein to the happy couple!
4–11 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.–11 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
Frontier Park, downtown St. Charles
Free admission; $2 age-verification wristbands to buy beer
At the St. Charles Oktoberfest, variety rules. Try one (or several) of 34 sudsy varieties on hand, from macro- to micro-brews. If you’re not a beer fan, there’s wine on hand. But where things really get interesting is the entertainment.
The festival is noted for its wiener dog race and fashion show. On Sunday morning, try some healthy options like a 5K run and a Root Beer Walk.
“One of the newest things we’re doing, we built a pumpkin chucker,” says festival chairperson Dan Foust. “It’s all manual, all arm-strong." Teams of two or four can hurl gourds at a riverside castle built near moat-looking mud.
And Anheuser-Busch is bringing one Clydesdale, "doing a one-horse show,” Foust adds.
Sunday is the most family-friendly day of the festival, with yard pong and yard Jenga. There will be lots of traditional German music—and some not. “We have our oom-pah-free zone,” he says. “Everybody loves Oktoberfest; not everybody loves German music.”
Urban Chestnut’s Oktoberfest St. Louis
7–11 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.–11 p.m. Saturday, noon–7 p.m. Sunday
Urban Chestnut Biergarten, 3229 Washington Avenue
Free; $10 gets a commemorative stein, which can be refilled for $8. Cash only.
For the fifth year running, Urban Chestnut is throwing an authentic September beer bash. In addition to four traditional German beers from Urban Chestnut (Oachkatzlschwoaf, Zwickel, Schnickelfritz, and Dorfbier), three other breweries will offer up their finest brews. Schlafly will present its Oktoberfest, The Civil Life will bring its own Oktoberfest, and 4 Hands brings a Dry-Hopped Kolsch.
“We’re very serious about our German culture here,” says Ryan Rakel, event manager for Urban Chestnut. “Our cofounder and brewmaster was born outside Munich.”
Reverence and revolution guide the brewing, Rakel says, with the Reverence beers hewing closely to tradition and the Revolution series highlighting modern American brewing.
“The festival is just looking at the Reverence style,” he says. “Everything that we pour is a traditional German festival-style beer.”
Plenty of German food staples will be on hand, with a Munich beer hall twist of servers passing through the tables with trays of smaller eats. There will also be traditional music and punk-rock polka, with a more low-key and family-friendly atmosphere on Sunday.
Adds Rakel, “We’re very proud of where St. Louis is right now in the beer scene."
