Bringing Bavaria to Birmingham: Oktoberfest at Albert's Schloss
A people's festive tradition originally from Bavaria, Oktoberfest has become increasingly popular in the UK in recent years. Birmingham is no exception with numerous events held across the city to commemorate this occasion. Tonight, we find ourselves at Albert Schloss in Paradise.
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00:00 So yeah, so Oktoberfest runs for a couple of weeks and throughout that we've had quite a lot of
00:06 entertainment and a few other things happening. Last Saturday and the Saturday before,
00:12 to mark the start of Oktoberfest, we had a keg on the stage. It was also sort of supported with a
00:19 umper band, a German style umper band, who came in, brass band. We had a sausage eating contest,
00:25 I think we have that every Friday. If you can, whoever can eat the most sausages in I think 60
00:31 seconds. The keg tapping is obviously, it's a free beer for everyone who gets there in time
00:36 because it's first come first serve, but yeah it's quite fun. With the cost of living on the rise,
00:40 hospitality businesses have been searching for innovative ways to attract customers.
00:45 Oktoberfest, Germany's annual festival, has become a popular cultural import in Birmingham and the UK
00:52 and offers a significant tactic to aid the revitalisation of the city's hospitality industry.
00:58 Well we are a beer drinking country from what I've gathered as someone who doesn't really drink
01:06 beer. So Oktoberfest has really brought in like a lot of people that appreciate different types
01:11 of beer, not just what you'll get in like your regular pub, your car lane and everything. So
01:17 people really enjoy the wide range of beers that we offer here and the fun that we then have during
01:23 Oktoberfest is then brought on to them and their friends and their family. So yeah. Birmingham is
01:29 famed for its diversity and naturally there is a deep enthusiasm towards events like Oktoberfest
01:35 and what better way to celebrate cultural events than through great food and drink.
01:41 Yeah so with the food and drink offering we have our Bavarian and Alpine inspired menu,
01:49 inspired by the Alps. A little bit of Italian thrown in, a little bit of sort of French Alps,
01:55 a little bit of Swiss Alps. So it's quite sort of Alpine inspired menus. And then next week
02:03 we will be releasing our new winter drinks menu. Again sort of Alpine inspired drinks,
02:10 more sort of focusing on winter and obviously with Christmas coming up so lots of different winter
02:18 flavours in there and that's starting on the 4th of October. What's more, during such tough
02:25 economic times, Oktoberfest serves not merely as an entertaining festival but a much needed
02:31 respite for the community. This jovial event offers Birmingham's local businesses a platform
02:37 to attract new and old customers alike. I mean as a community hub it really brings in a lot of
02:44 different people, a lot of people that you wouldn't really put in the same kind of scene
02:50 if you would, so to speak. So we are very accepting as a place amongst staff and guests.
02:58 It's just a really fun place to be around really and the drinks are also really nice.