Mountain View Welcomes Third Annual Oktoberfest Celebration
Oktoberfest is upon us, and there are still plenty of opportunities throughout Silicon Valley to bust out your Lederhosen or Dirndl. Many of the celebrations will feature large, happy crowds, German fare and, of course, plenty of German and German-style beers. The biggest and best of the bunch – in my humble opinion – takes place annually in Mountain View and comes closest to replicating the festive revelry of the real one.
The third annual Mountain View Oktoberfest – a collaboration between Steins Beer Garden and Restaurant, Tied House Microbrewery and the city’s Chamber of Commerce – will be held on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 3 and 4, from 11am-7pm in the open-air parking lot located directly behind Steins at Bryant St. and Dana St., one block west of Castro St. The weather forecast looks to be picture perfect for the 12,000 or so expected to attend over the two days.
Since even before the opening of Steins back in early 2013, owner Ted Kim envisioned a big, family-friendly Oktoberfest in Mountain View. Of the third iteration, Ted says: “We’ve spent months planning and preparing to bring the city of Mountain View yet another fun-filled Oktoberfest with an even larger selection of beer, more food options and a robust entertainment line-up.”
German and German-inspired beers to be poured under the festival beer tent include Andechs Doppelbock, Franziskaner Dunkel-Weisse, Franziskaner Hefeweizen, Hofbräu Oktoberfest, Paulaner Oktoberfest, Spaten Premium Lager, Spaten Oktoberfest, Weihenstephaner Pilsner, Stiegl Radler and South Bay specialty beers Sunny Pale, Apricot Hefeweizen and Lemon Basil Hefeweizen. Tied House will pour their Helles Lager.
Ted will kick off the celebrations with a ceremonial tapping of cask ales provided by Tied House’s sister brewery Hermitage Brewing Company. The tappings take place at 11am on both days. Saturday’s cask ale is Fruit Crate Pumpkin Ale (dry hopped with Centennial and Cascade hops). Sunday’s cask ale is Peach Saison (with four pounds of fresh peaches).
Traditional German dishes will be available from Teske’s Germania, along with a number of beer-friendly food trucks provided by Moveable Feast, including Cluck It Up, Takoz Mod Mex and H. Butler’s BBQ. Look for food dishes to cost between $6 and $12.
Admission to Oktoberfest is free, but purchasing a large 1-liter stein ($15) or smaller 0.5-liter stein ($10) plus drink tickets are required to drink beer. One beer ticket is $8, and four tickets can purchased for $30. One ticket fills a 0.5-liter stein, while two tickets fill a 1-liter stein. The steins have a Mountain View Oktoberfest logo. Pre-purchasing via EventBrite will allow you to skip to the front of the ticket line without the wait.
Family-friendly entertainment includes live German music with performances by Big Lou’s Accordion (Saturday at 11am), The SF German Band (Sunday at 11:30am) and The Alpiners USA (Saturday and Sunday afternoon, 3:30pm). Kid-friendly activities include two bouncy houses, carnival games, a pretzel eating contest, face painting and more.
Proceeds from the event will be donated to non-profits Can Do MS, Community Services Agency and the SOAR (Student Outreach Award Resource) scholarship program.
Ted shares, “Big thanks to our fantastic community for the outpouring of support and for making this the best Oktoberfest in the Bay! Dust off your lederhosen, bring the family, and we’ll see you at the 3rd Annual Mountain View Oktoberfest!”
[This post was shared on Examiner.com.]