Over the weekend, we attended our first fall festival, the long-running Oktoberfest in tiny Minster, OH. There is apparently a dense German population in rural northern Ohio with some cities having a German population greater than 70%, and it seems every town has an Oktoberfest. Minster’s drew thousands of folks from the region, and it was a heavy drinking spectacle, as expected.
The festival served beer on tap in half-gallon milk jugs. Most everyone seemed to tote a half-gallon of beer, drinking it quickly before it warmed. Ohio State’s trouncing of Rutgers that afternoon seemed to really rile up the crowd. By the end of the day, the ground was littered with half-gallon jugs, and the cleaning crew could not keep up with consumption.
Though we weren’t wearing Buckeye jerseys or drinking beer by the half-gallon, the locals welcomed us and we had great fun. We drank German beer, ate authentic German tenderloin, brats, and sauerkraut, played fun kids games like sausage toss, and danced to Polka.
Here are some photos and video from the Minster Oktoberfest.
Share your comments...