Oktoberfest 2008 Update

We have the following places available for this year's Oktoberfest tours.

Tour 1
Friday 19-Monday 22 September FULL
Tour 2
Tuesday 23-Friday 29 September FULL
Tour 3
Friday 26-Monday 29 September FULL


Cheers,
Bier-Mania!

Oktoberfest 2008 Last Minute Bookings

Bookings for this year's Oktoberfest tours will end this Sunday 24 August!

Only 32 days to go.....
We have only a few places left.
Don't wait another 12 months!

Oktoberfest Beer Now Out-Hacker-Pschorr

Yep, I know it's now August but the Oktoberfest Märzen beer is now out!
The Hacker-Pschorr is excellent, had a 'few' over the last week and it really goes down well. As is usual with Festbier, it is upped in alcohol and has 5.8% ABV.
Looks good! Darkish in colour.
Smells very malty.
Tastes very malty
Aftertaste in all honesty after 3 or 4 it can get a bit 'thick'. And that includes the head!
Don't take my word for it, to find out what it is like you'll have to come over the the Oktoberfest! Or go to my local 'offie'!

German lesson (I did ask the wife!).

• Hacker-Pschorr is quite hard for the English speaking world. So, to pronounce Hacker-Pschorr....
  
• say Hacker.
  
• Then say For surrrre.
• Then say Per surrre.
• Put it together and you have Hacker Per Surrre.
  

Cheers,
Andy @ Bier-Mania!

Ardennes Special Beer Tour Promo Film!

The Belgian Ardennes, great beer, lots of cows and Trappiste Monasteries...awesome!

Oktoberfest Training-Part 3 (Using Mobile Phones)

Part 2 of your Oktoberfest Training Package showed you how to improve and strengthen your drinking arm.

Part 3 of your training takes you through the use of mobile phones (=cell phone for the Americans, =handy for the Germans).
As we have experienced at previous Oktoberfests, it can be very frustrating for you trying to have a telephone conversation at the Oktoberfest when the oompah band is too loud (at leat you know the words now!) and the other 8000 festers just don't care that you are on the phone!

So at Bier-Mania! we believe that the old motto 'train hard-talk easy' is very appropriate-this training guide will help you at least maybe appreciate that trying to have a phone conversation at the Oktoberfest is futile and/or at least realise no-one will ever know what you were trying to say anyway.

If you do however succeed in your training then no-one is going to be impressed except your mobile phone company.

1. Get your mobile phone out.
2. Put in all the numbers (if you don't have them already) of everyrone you vaguely know and/or haven't contacted for at least a year.
3. If you don't have any people that fit into this category then distant relatives or mums, dads, sisters etc would be just as appropriate.
4. You now have 6 weeks to hit your local disco every Friday and/or Saturday. We suggest you only go once a week otherwise you will have no money left for the Oktoberfest.
5. Where were we?
6. Stand close to the speakers at the disco and phone as many people as possible on that list until your friends tell you they are leaving.
7. Say what a great time you are having.Say how you wish they were here.
8. Tell them you miss them.
9. Good luck!
   

Summary
This is excellent training for the Oktoberfest. The next time you talk to those people they will still have no idea who rang them (on your phone!), what you said or where you were.

Cheers!

Oktoberfest Training-Part 2 (Arm Stengthening)

Just 6 weeks to go till the BIG O.
At Bier-Mania! we believe that the old motto 'train hard-drink easy' is very appropriate for the Oktoberfest so we have a few things which we think will ensure your time in Bavaria is as enjoyable as it should be!
This exercise helps to ensure that you can lift your 1 litre Masskrug (=Stein) with ease and waitresses and waiters are seriously impressed...

1. Without further ado (read this first!), start walking around your home with a 2 litre jug in your left hand (or the opposite hand you normally use).
2. Bump into everything (mind the kids and pets).
3. After a week or so you should start to become quite adept at not spilling any liquid, or you have been kicked out of the house.
4. If you have been kicked out of the house then go back to point 1 but replace water with beer and start again.
5. Good luck!
   

Summary
When you get to the Oktoberfest, drinking only 1 litre with your good arm will be easy.

Oktoberfest Training-Part 1-Song-In München steht ein Hofbräuhaus

Hope everyone is looking forward to the 175th Otoberfest this year.
As part of your Oktoberfest Training Package, it is imperative that you learn certain things before the Big O.
We recommend that you sing this very quietly at first and gradually build up to a higher volume.

In München steht ein Hofbräuhaus
Good luck, one two, three.....

In München steht ein Hofbräuhaus: Eins, zwei, ... g'suffa!
Da läuft so manches Fäßchen aus: Eins, zwei, ... g'suffa!
Da hat so manche braver Mann: Eins, zwei, ... g'suffa!
Gezeigt was er so vertragen kann
Schon früh am Morgen fing er an
Und spät am Abend kam er heraus
So schön ist's im Hofbräuhaus.

In English this would sound something like this...

In Munich stands a Hofbräuhaus: one, two ... cheers!
There run out so many steins: one, two ... cheers!
There are so many brave men: one, two ... cheers!
Show what he can endure
Already early in the morning he begins
And late at night he comes out
So beautiful it is in the Hofbräuhaus!

You can see sort of how it goes at the Hofbräuhaus. Oh dear!
Cheers,
Andy

Oktoberfest Tours Bookings

Bookings for this year's Oktoberfest tours will end on Sunday 24 August!

So book your places now and avoid disappointment, we have only a few places left.
Don't wait another 12 months!

Our first Oktoberfest tour starts on Friday 19 September.
Oktoberfest 2008 kicks off on Saturday 20 September and finishes on Sunday 05 October.
Cheers,
Andy Bier-Mania!

Colorado Byways and Beer Tour-Special Offer

This year's Coloardo Byways and Beer Tour is from Saturday 18-Saturday 25 October.
This the week after the Great American Beer Festival in Denver.

As a special 2008 offer, the price of the 8-day tour has been reduced by €140.00 and is now €1260.00 per person. This is a 'half-board' tour with all hotels, breakfasts and evening meals included as well as transport and a leader/guide/driver.

For more details see Colorado Byways and Beer Tour.

You will find a downloable itinerary, a map of the route as well some photographs of Colorado.

Cheers,
Andy