Tulsa's Oktoberfest

Thursday night I went out to Oktoberfest. I had access to the VIP tent where they were serving free beer. Score! Or so I thought. There was a small beer stand set up with two unmarked tap handles. I walked up to get a beer and the guy working the stand asked if I wanted light or dark. Light or dark? At first I took this as an insult because I figured he assumed I must not know anything about beer, so he just skipped the formalities of telling me the names so I wouldn't be confused. When I asked what the beer was I realized I was wrong in my assumption; he didn't know. "I would have to get out my glasses and look at the keg," he said. Oh, okay, that sounds like a lot of work. I guess I'll take the dark beer. I wish I could say I'm such an expert I could recognize a beer by the taste, but I'm not. If I had to venture a guess, I'd say it was probably Shinerbock. It was flat and unimpressive. The only redeeming quality was that it was free.

I definitely didn't go to Oktoberfest to drink lousy beer, so I moved onto the 'good' beer tent and got a pitcher of Spaten Oktoberfest. The lady working the beer stand here asked if I needed a fresh cup. Thinking I would be environmentally friendly, I declined. She gave me a look and asked what was in that cup. I don't know. Good point, I'll take a new cup. We wouldn't want to mix them. She obviously had a different outlook on beer than the visually impaired guy at the VIP tent, who figured beer was beer. The Spaten was a big improvement over the first mystery beer.

After the pitcher was empty, I had a Sam Adams Oktoberfest. I felt slightly guilty drinking an American beer at a German festival, but since it was an Oktoberfest style beer, I figured it was justifiable. The Sam Adams was a bit sweet, with a hint of a toffee nut flavor. The alcohol content was somewhat lower than the Spaten, which was probably a good thing since I already consumed a considerable amount of beer. It was very smooth and flavorful, but I preferred the Spaten over Sam Adams.

Oktoberfest is a great festival to experience German traditions. There was lots of lederhoisen, chicken hats, chanting, dancing, bratwurst, and yodeling. It was all fun to observe, but honestly, I was just there for the beer.