Eins, Zwei, G'Suffa!

One thing separates Oktoberfest from the Fulton County Fair: world class beer. And, man, does that make a difference. Without those six world-renowned breweries setting up tents, the Theresienwiesen would be just a second-class carnival and 4H fair with 5.9 million fewer people for these precious two weeks.

But Spaten, Löwenbräu, Hofbräu, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, and Augustiner (order does not indicate preference here!) do set up 12 different beer tents and serve six million liters of beer to millions of thirsty patrons. These six Munich breweries already make pretty strong (and tasty!) brews, but the alcohol content shoots up to around 6% for their Oktoberfest brews. And you can only order the beers a liter at a time. That's why you've heard of Oktoberfest before.

Does it get crazy? Yes. Does it get out of hand? It depends who answers this question. I've observed that most Bavarians like to get to the "Wies'n," drink slowly, eat a "brezel" or two, and chat over a chicken dinner. Thus, they stay in control. Italians like to drink slowly, too, but then the males starting hitting on every girl in sight. The Brits like to drink quickly. The Australians and Americans drink slower than the Brits, but make up for that in singing volume and table dancing extravaganzas.

Speaking of singing and dancing, each tent has its own Bavrian oompah band. But they can play more than "Roll Out the Barrel." "Country Roads" is a favorite, along with "Living on a Prayer" and a few German drinking songs. But the one every Oktoberfester must know is "Ein Prosit"-- a toast. Every 15 minutes, the band breaks this bad boy out, and every 15 minutes, the tent erupts into a frenzy of clinking beer steins. Glorious!