Looking to celebrate Oktoberfest this year? Here’s how you can.

Looking for where you can celebrate Oktoberfest this year? Strap on your dirndls and lederhosen, boy do we have some suggestions for you.

The annual Oktoberfest festival in Munich is one of the most important celebrations on the city’s calendar. Like most large scale events in 2020 though, this year’s festivities has been cancelled to many a beer lover’s chagrin.

But it’s certainly not stopping eateries and beer gardens across the world from continuing their own celebrations, albeit in a far smaller way. Likewise, we can expect to see similar Oktoberfest-themed promotions at many of the German-themed restaurants here in Singapore.

So if you’re looking to drinking German beer in copious amounts or indulging in a roasted pork knuckle or two, this is a good time. We’ve put together some recommendations on where you can go to celebrate Oktoberfest this year.

Brotzeit.

German-themed restaurant chain Brotzeit celebrates Oktoberfest at all its restaurants every year. And despite the challenges with coronavirus this year, 2020 will be no different. For the purposes of celebrating the festival, Brotzeit has exclusively brought in the special festbier from Hofbräu – one of the very few breweries that can officially supply the Oktoberfest festivities in Munich – to complement the seasonal dishes concocted by Brotzeit’s new Group Executive Chef Lorenz Raich.

This year Chef Lorenz showcases elevated twists on traditional Oktoberfest fare that’s both familiar yet contemporary in form and taste. The Kalter Schweinsbraten (Cold Roast Pork) is inspired by leftover Sunday roasts in German households, and features slices of slow-roasted pork collar served as a salad with rocket, tangy house-pickled daikon and crunchy pork skin for a tasty starter. A lot less keto-friendly is the Riesenbrezn mit Bauernwurst (Giant Pretzel with Farmer Sausage), essentially the German version of a bagel sandwich. This is a large, soft pretzel packed with chunky sausage, marinated red cabbage and pickles that makes for a light meal, or an appetiser before the main show.

Those a lot more adventurous should attempt the Geröstete Schweinsleber (Roasted Pig Liver), which features the pig liver that’s roasted to accentuate its iron-rich meatiness, yet retain a lovely moist and tender texture. It comes with poached apple, which helps to balance the organ meat richness. And while Oktoberfest always conjures up images of roasted pork knuckle, Chef Lorenz’s Knusprige Schweinsschulter (Crispy Roasted Pork Shoulder) is really a far more refined version. Unlike pork knuckle where you have to wrestle with bone, the shoulder is all meat that’s overall more tender. There’s enough shatteringly-crisp pork skin to go around too.

Brotzeit’s Oktoberfest celebrations will take place from 15 September to 25 October 2020.

Brotzeit (Vivocity) | 1 HarbourFront Walk #01-149/151, VivoCity Singapore 098585 (link) | other locations | 11.30am to 10.30pm daily | Tel: 6222 9443.

Frieda.

German-themed restaurant Frieda at the arcade of The Capitol Kempinski may be relatively new to Singapore’s dining scene, but even in its first year of operation in 2019 it was determined to celebrate Oktoberfest.

While it won’t be an open-air festival like it was last year, for Oktoberfest this year our favourite “outdoor” beer garden is unveiling a free-flow German buffet that will run from for the month of October 2020. For $55++ per person, revellers get access to a variety of German favourites – Obazda cheese with Bavarian pretzels, German Weisswurst with sweet mustard, baked meatloaf with mustard, grilled Nurnberger sausage with mashed potato and sauerkraut, apple bread pudding, and more – including a welcome pint of beer.

If you think one pintof beer isn’t enough, you’re right. In that case simply add another $50++ for four entire hours of free-flow beer, with options including Paulaner’s Weissbier and Dunkel. Otherwise there’s also Jagermeister shots for $8++ each or Schnapps for $10++ per shot.

Freida’s Oktoberfest celebrations will run from 1 October to 31 October 2020.

Frieda | 13 Stamford Road Arcade @ The Capitol Kempinski #01-87 and #01-K1, K2, Singapore 178905 (link) | 11.30am to 2.30pm and 6pm to 10pm daily | Tel: 6715 6873.

Paulaner Bräuhaus Singapore.

Paulaner Bräuhaus Singapore at Millenia Walk is a veritable German establishment that’s been around in Singapore for two decades. It’s where most of us Singaporeans have had our first taste of German cuisine, and most likely where we first heard of Oktoberfest as well.

With their sprawling food menu you can almost say that any day at Paulaner Bräuhaus is Oktoberfest. For this year, the focus is on beer. To be exact, there will be special promotions for Paulaner’s Festbier, the traditional Märzen brewed specially for Oktoberfest festivities. According to Paulaner, its festbier clocks in at a stronger alcohol content of around 6 percent, and the additional wort content gives the beer more body and makes it taste slightly bitter.  

Every Monday to Thursday from 6pm to 10pm and every Saturday and Sunday from 11am-3pm, you can opt for free flow beer for just $38++ per person. Alternatively there’s also a one-for-one beer promotion all day from Saturday to Thursday, and until 7pm on Fridays.

Paulaner Bräuhaus Singapore’s Oktoberfest beer promotions are available from 12 September 2020 to 25 October 2020.

[Image credit: Paulaner Bräuhaus Singapore]

Paulaner Bräuhaus Singapore | 9 Raffles Boulevard, #01-01, Millenia Walk, Singapore 039596 (link) | 11am to 10.30pm daily | Tel: 6883 2572.

Brewerkz.

For less conventional Oktoberfest celebrations, there’s always local brewery restaurant chain Brewerkz. While you don’t normally think of Oktoberfest when it comes to Singapore’s pioneering brewery restaurant, it does create a special beer each year to celebrate the season.

For this year’s Oktoberfest celebrations, Brewerkz has created a version of Oktoberfest beer – its Oktoberfest Malty Amber Lager – that comes in a deep amber colour. This brew is packed with biscuity malt flavour and a balanced bitterness that makes you want to reach for another sip. For eats, there’s the seasonal Bier Lecker Platter. This indulgent platter features crispy pork knuckle, grilled garlic brats sausage, served with warm potato salad, sauerkraut cabbage and coleslaw, and should hit enough notes to scratch that Oktoberfest itch.

Brewerkz’s Oktoberfest promotions are available from 19 September to 4 October 2020.

Brewerkz (Riverside Point) | 30 Merchant Road #01-07 Riverside Point, Singapore 058282 (link) | Other locations | 11am to 10.30pm daily | Tel: 6883 2572.

Celebrate at home with Erdinger.

Leading German beer brand Erdinger normally celebrates Oktoberfest in a very big way here in Singapore. Aside from being the choice beer at the Oktoberfest festivities at The Swiss Club, it also throws huge public festivities around town. In 2017, for example, it brought a full gamut of Oktoberfest themed activities to three different malls for a full-on Bavarian beer experience.

Thanks to COVID-19 this year’s bash is more subdued; instead Erdinger has heeded the guidance of the authorities and will instead be bringing its vaunted Oktoberfest experience to your home. It’s launched a “How to Oktoberfest” kit, which contains everything you need to celebrate Oktoberfest in the comforts of your own home. The kit – which includes beer glasses, cutesy lederhosen and dirndls get-ups, and even festive decorations and props to convert your living space into a biergarten – lets you celebrate Oktoberfest at home with your loved ones in a responsible and socially-distanced manner.