12 shots – and 4 whacks: O’zapft is’!

Yes, the 181^st Oktoberfest has now officially begun! The first keg of beer has been tapped (and the magic words “O’zapft is’!” proclaimed), the twelve shots have been fired from the feet of the Bavaria statue – and the fun can start.

It’s all so familiar – and yet all so different this year. After the official tapping the Schottenhamel tent, the other tents are allowed to start hammering and their kegs, and this year for the first time in decades, a tap will be knocked into a barrel in a completely new tent: The Marstall. Its landlord, Siegfried Able, is an experienced Bavarian restaurateur who “taps several kegs a year” himself to keep his hand in, so that ought to have been a relatively smooth operation. Unlike at the official tapping with the Munich Mayor…

After all, in recent years, we’d all got used to record-holding Oberbürgermester Christian “two whacks” Ude and his business-like efficiency when it came to getting the booze flowing. His reign was enough to make us forget that, if you’re not used to it, tapping a traditional beer keg is no easy business. In that way, even with his four hits of the hammer, the new Mayor Dieter Reiter has actually done quite well. The Burgermeister with the most bashes was the very man who started the tradition in 1950, Thomas Wimmer – he needed 17 goes before the beer was tapped. Then again, he probably didn’t practice for weeks in advance, like Reiter is reported to have.

Anyway, it’s all academic now since the beer is flowing – and will continue to do so until 5^th October. So we’re off to Munich and will be throwing ourselves into the party with everything we’ve got. So keep reading for our usual reports on Oktoberfest fashion, the Wiesn itself (beer, food, customs) and lots more – and take a look at our Twitter account for a stream of pictures fresh from the festival. Prost!