October is here and so are the beer festivals. With a total of 56 festivals lined up for the month, October will surely make you tipsy. So, if you like beer and if it sounds like the perfect way to end a long weekend, then these festivals around the world are just where you need to be.
From Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany to Helsinki Beer Festival in Finland, gear up for some of the best beer festivals around the world.
Munich Oktoberfest, Germany
Branded as the world’s largest Volksfest (beer festival and travelling funfair), it is held annually in Munich. If you can only make it to one beer festival, this is the one to go to.
Oktoberfest is a 16 day event where 6.9 million liters of beer is drunk by about 6.2 million people. More than 6 million people from around the world attend the event every year. Oktoberfest is so popular that it is celebrated around the world, including Hong Kong, Vietnam and the largest outside of Germany in Brazil.
Inland Northwest Craft Beer Festival
The Inland Northwest Craft Beer Festival this year will welcome 30 craft breweries pouring more than 100 types of beer. To commemorate America’s other favorite pastime, the event will be held at Avista Stadium and features live music, great food and baseball-themed fun.
Fresh Hop Ale Festival
You can taste beers there that you’ll never be able to taste again. Yes, that’s because they’re made with fresh (rather than dried) hops, in small, highly perishable batches. This festival is held in Yakima, a US city located about 60 miles southeast of Mount Rainier in Washington.
Celebrated in the month of November, Fresh Hop Ale Festival is one of its kinds. According to the organisers, this year’s plan is to welcome over forty breweries, and have over one hundred beers for the visitor to try.
Smoke in the Valley Craft Beer Festival
Smoke in the Valley (SITV) is Connecticut’s largest Craft Beer Festival held in the month of October. With 100+ breweries and live music on two stages, this is called the fall event of the year!
SITV, founded and organised by Seymour Tradition, is a fundraising event to raise money for numerous, local non-profit groups including Seymour Youth Sports programs, Volunteer Fire and EMS, local food banks, and many other great causes as well.
Ayrshire Real Ale Festival
Sample some of the many real ales, ciders and wines produced by local brewers and enjoy live music each evening at the event hosted by the local branch of CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale).
Following last year’s success, this year’s Ayrshire Real Ale Festival will feature beers from islands around the UK.
Helsinki Beer Festival, Helsinki, Finland
This April event attracts more than 20,000 beer aficionados over a three-day period. The festival features 400 different beers, 50 ciders and a selection of whiskies. Since 1997 the festival caters from the main Finnish breweries, to a large number of domestic microbrews giving the best of pale lagers.
The Stockholm Beer Festival, Sweden
Running from the last week of September to October this is Scandinavia’s leading festival for beer, cider and whisky. About 500 different varieties of beer are available for the public to buy, enjoy and evaluate.
As well as testing the hundreds of beers from all over the world, visitors can attend one of several ale appreciation classes on offer.
Yokohama Beer Festival, Japan
This is the country’s largest beer festival. The event in March comes with the admission fee which allows you to taste more than 200 types of beers with the tasting glass, providing a perfect opportunity to compare craft beers from Japan and abroad.