Birmingham Oktoberfest

1. Do you enjoy drinking beer?
2. Do you like singing and dancing on benches?
3. Can you forget about your bank balance for a few hours?
4. Do your friends enjoy all of the above?
If the answer is yes you’re going to have a blast. Yes it costs a minimum (tiered pricing) of £5.50 a pint and yes the food is of poor quality (stick to the beer) but the entertainment is great and the atmosphere in the tent is electric.
If the answer is no then it’s probably not for you, and that’s fine.

On arriving at Cannon Hill Park and not wanting to get caught up in the Great Birmingham Run, my head was really wondering what the day had in store. After some location finding challenge (still new to Bham remember!) I met up with the amazing team from Unilocal!As always everybody was very friendly and we also got some groovy Unilocal gloves — which made me wonder what I had let myself in for. As we stood there next to a big white tent, with a growing queue, the concept of Beer on a Sunday afternoon with a lot of people got quite exciting!
After being stamped into the tent, I was rather shocked to see very long tables, leading up to a good stage however, when I started walking I wish I had put other shoes on. The ground was uncovered and quite muddy, obviously from many a night being trampled on with plenty of beer spilt too. Not to dampen the event we were led by our host to the VIP area where our CM, Vicky O, brought the Elites their first half pint — thanks Vicky! Initially everything was quite sombre, relaxed and as the place began to fill, the energy came as well before the DJ hit some German classics on the decks before getting the crowd going with some tunes to make you dance — needless to say after another 2 pint beer glass (pricey at £11) we all got into the spirit of the event, having a boogie to some proper Disco tunes! Then inevitably, we were on the benches dancing away! Thankfully nobody fell from our table, but some close by weren’t on the benches for long!
There was one rule, do not go on the tables, however one lucky man did at the other end of the tent and danced away like Mick Jagger!
I did sample some of the food, Bavarian sausages and potato salad — it filled a hole but it was an expensive hole at £8.50 for what probably cost 50 pence!
If you look past the grotty tent, the muddy floor, the smell of stale ale, the poor food and the pricey ale, this event is an absolute must if you want a good time, some great entertainment from a band who constantly interact with the crowds! What really made the event was the people, the wonderful Unilocalers who are very welcoming, up for a laugh and always have a jolly good time!!!

This Birmingham version of an annual Bavarian festival held in Munich, was quite awesome, considering it had a lot to live up to. The entertainment from the live band was amazing and they got the crowds involved singing German songs including the famous ‘Ambrosie’ song. The music changed to a mixture of dance and pop music as the afternoon wore on. The toilet area was also conveniently the smoking area. The floor was slightly muddy, so comfortable footwear recommended. The wenches serving beer and food were very attractive and sort of enticed you to stay and keep drinking beer! The atmosphere was very good and everyone was in good spirit singing and dancing along and jumping on the benches as the beer took over. Traditional Bavarian food was on the menu and Bavarian beer, in half pint, 1.5 pint and 2 pint steins. The prices are definitely high so cash is definitely needed. The entrance is free on the opening day, then £5 after. The advantage of the Birmingham Oktoberfest is that they take debit/​credit card. I would love to see my beloved Weissbier available here. A fantastic afternoon and evening had by all Unilocalers, Victoria O organised a winner! Good form!

I was a little unsure of Birmingham Oktoberfest at first. We arrived bang on two and the place seemed a bit bare and uninviting. Despite it being relatively dry of late, there was mud everywhere, especially around the toilets. Those that came in traditional Bavarian clothing had the right idea– those long socks soaked up the mud and kept the rest of them relatively dirt-​free. Plus they just looked cooler than the rest of us, who had to resort to buying over-​priced tat to get into the spirit of things.
The reason why Birmingham Oktoberfest does not get five stars is because of the sheer expense involved. Luckily we got in free thanks to Vicky O, but normally it would have cost £5 on a Sunday. That wouldn’t be so bad, but if you want decent seating near the front with a few drinks and snacks included, the price escalates dramatically– the most expensive ticket being a whopping £80!
To be honest though, I think I would rather pay a higher entry free and pay less for the drinks. The best value was a two pint stein of beer for £11, but you’re still paying almost double for the novelty of having a huge drink. Food wise, a (mainly sausage-​based) meal was around £8.50, but you did at least get a large plateful. I had the sausage and fries which was totally acceptable, although the fries were very much the sort you get in McDonalds.
Entertainment wise I was impressed, especially as I didn’t think they’d bother much for the Sunday. The band were naturals, easily getting the audience involved and soon people were jumping up on the benches (I don’t think there was a single person without a muddy backside by the end of the night!) The DJ too really got into it as the night progressed, picking songs that the majority of people wanted to sing and dance to.
If you can afford it, Oktoberfest is a fun novelty, and their enthusiastic servers work hard to get that high-​energy atmosphere going whilst somehow still ensuring you all have a drink in your hand. Just one word of warning– hang on to your drink!
As the night got progressively messier, I was sad to return to our set of benches and find my 1.5 pint stein had mysteriously disappeared.

My natural cynicism was having a field day when we arrived. A giant tent resembling more of a war zone field hospital than a beer hall, the stench of stale beer, meat and animal faeces, and expensive beer reminiscent of the godawful Frankfurt Christmas Market that lands in our lives and causes disruption and chaos in the weeks leading up to Christmas (if you’ve read my review of that you’ll know my thoughts on it). I was geared up to despise Birmingham Oktoberfest.
Once the beer began to flow the somewhat laughable nature of it all dissolved into riotous fun. Giant 2 pint steins, beer wenches (ours was called Derek!) and more europop than the Eurovision Song Contest. Even the unintentionally comical band added to the atmosphere. Soon enough people were dancing on the benches, singing along (whether they knew what they were singing or not) and drinking in a little slice of Munich’s Oktoberfest (in a car park. In Edgbaston).
Yes, it was expensive. Yes, the food looked suspect. Yes, it was cheesy. But it was a hell of a lot of fun! I very much doubt that you could enjoy it to its fullest without imbibing at least a couple of pints but it certainly beat sitting in on a Sunday afternoon waiting for the inevitable doom that only a Monday can bring.

So I found myself on the nature centre car park staring at a big white tent with my fellow Unilocalers as company for an afternoon fuelled by German beer.
I heard about Oktoberfest a few months ago and thought it would be a good laugh to try it, then vic once again came up with another great sounding event and I couldn’t turn it down. I don’t know what I was expecting maybe abit more than a old looking tent and Picnic benches on a muddy car park, but never the least nothing ventured nothing gained as they say :)
I have been pondering what rating to give this event it might have been less if it wasn’t for the great company :)
The beer wasn’t nothing special maybe if there was abit of a choice the prices wouldn’t have seemed so steep but after your first 2 Pinter and the music following and everyone being in good spirits you don’t really care!
The Dj did his best and played all the traditional German music ;) the band that was on stage did their best to get everyone up and swinging their beers from side to side that made the atmosphere so much better.
I’m glad my friends who went a couple of nights before gave me a heads up about what footwear to wear because if you was fond of your shoes before you got there you would of been pretty P*****d off at the end of the night haha.
The staff were lovely and really helpful every other table in the venue seemed to have a lovely young lady serving the beer… we got derek!
All in all a great evening of drinking and the company 100% made the night even better.

Forget Munich or Blumenau (Yes, we have an Oktoberfest in Brazil) because nobody delivers a German celebration better than Birmingham. Seriously, what was that? I don’t remember having such great time in a Sunday afternoon for ages. I mean, not in that style.
To be honest, I was a bit suspicious of what the Brummie Oktoberfest would bring. When we were waiting the other Unilocalers to join the queue in front of the event’s tent, I wouldn’t imagine such a «wild» crowd would turn up to Cannon Hill Park. And I still think someone has put something else in those beers.
Fact is the recipe to a perfect Oktoberfest is a lot of beer, some food and plenty of pop songs. Birmingham nailed it. Not that bad for a second time holding a popular event like this.
To start with, I loved the fast beer was £ 11 for 2 giant glasses of beer. Bavarian style! My idea was sharing just ONE glass with my hubby, but it became pretty much a mess when I started losing the count of how many beers I had. Oh dear.
The atmosphere was pretty cool, especially when everyone (I mean almost everyone) started to dance (on the table or not) the tunes played by the DJ and the German (?) band. My German is probably better than my dance moves, but who cares? The important was having fun.
As we had a table in front of the stage so it was almost an invitation to invade the dance floor. And we did. My highlight was probably shouting Sweet Child O’ mine lyrics while doing some air guitar. Slash, sorry about that.
The rainy days brought some mud for the tent, which in the end helped to the Festival vibe. I am glad I didn‘t choose my best shoes.
The only thing that didn‘t appeal to me was the food. I thought my potato salad a bit disappointed. But the sausages were alright. Just didn‘t want to pay £8.50 for 2 of them! A bit of pricey!
To be honest, in overall it was an amazing experience. I really didn‘t believe Birmingham would make it so well. Now I can’t wait for the third edition of this fest.

Birmingham Oktoberfest… It’s a little taste of Munich in the confines of a carpark in Edgbaston… Ok, that sounds kinda rubbish, but let me elaborate…
So, apparently this is the second year Oktoberfest has come to Birmingham. I must have totally missed it first time around but when I spotted it on Twitter, I knew we had to go. Entry on a couple of days in the week was free, but it was chargeable on Sunday (the day we went). Tickets weren’t expensive mind (just £5 for entry alone in a non allocated seating area), but that’s not the pricey bit of this festival.
A gang of 20 of us met up in the carpark of the Nature Centre on Sunday filled with beer anticipation. Once we had all got our hands stamped, we headed into the tent and were sat in the VIP area (near the stage) to get ready for an afternoon of lederhosen and 2 pint steins. A beer isn’t cheap! A 2 pinter was £11, but it did make it cheaper than having lots of smaller beers (and they’re great for banging on tables).
The inside of the tent was very muddy, but that didn’t stop the atmosphere being warm and welcoming. The music wasn’t the traditional Germanic fair I would have expected and was more a german take on modern and popular classics. Clearly, this went down quite well with the attendees who were getting up on the benches and singing along.
There was food (I didn’t sample any), but again this was on the expensive side. It started at £3 and went right up to around £11.50 for larger plates. I have to give a big hand to our server who was helpful, prompt and attentive throughout the afternoon (making sure we all had a beer in our hand the whole time).
We had a really fantastic day and got into the spirit of things. I would defiantly go again, but make sure you take plenty of dosh if you really want to get into the hokey atmosphere!

I’ve been pondering whether to give this 3 or 4 stars. I had a 5 star experience– but that was down to the company! I had a great time with the Unilocal crowd, especially the dancing!
A giant muddy tent in a car park on a windy Sunday afternoon doesn’t sound that promising, and it did look a little bleak when we went in. We were sat on a long bench right at the front by the stage. The tables and benches were a little grubby, I assume from the previous day. This soon stopped being important once I started drinking!
The beer was pretty expensive to say the least. My 1.5 pint was £8.50. It did last a long time and saved 50p on buying half pints!!! Only one type of beer was available, it was cold and tasty. I also had a cider which was ok.
The food wasn’t great, I had schnitzel and fries. The fries were good but the schnitzel was very dry and tasteless. It filled a gap but was disappointing for £10.
Our server was Derek who seemed to be having a great time and whizzed back and forth from the bar with drinks for us all afternoon.
Onto the best bit… the entertainment! The band weren’t an oompah band but sang some German songs and encouraged crowd participation, everyone shouting German phrases after every song! Later, they performed what I’d call party classics– I Will Survive and so on. It ended up with everyone dancing at the front by the stage, exactly the best way to spend your Sunday evening.
Once the band got into the swing of things, I didn’t mind the price of the beer so much. As long as you accept that the price of the beer and food is subsidising the super entertainment you will have a great time. I had such a fun time and do hope it returns next year– though I won’t be touching the schnitzel!!!

It was a rather pleasant Sunday afternoon when a bunch of 20 ‘Yelpers’ descended upon a tent, in a rather muddy carpark. It was also the day of the Bupa half-​marathon. As such, many of the roads around Cannon Hill Park were blocked. I decided to avoid the traffic and walk the 2.5 miles from Harborne. After a couple of miner trespass issues, I found myself one of the first to arrive, and ashamedly felt rather smug at hearing of people’s traffic woes.
«Oktoberfest on 20^th October* surely that’s too late?» I hear you cry. Well, Brum’s Oktoberfest have been running this event every weekend in a different city for the last month. I believe the Birmingham one is the end of their ‘tour’.
Entrance was free on Wednesday, £5 on Thursday, Friday and Sunday, and a whopping £10 on the Saturday. We (or rather Vicky O as CM) however, managed to blag some free tickets to the Sunday session.
On entering we were greeted by buxom young women. It was later commented that their employment process probably included a series of questions involving ‘hair colour’ and ‘cup size’.
The tent housed long wooden tables with Bavarian blue and white diamond check print plastic tablecloths.
The ‘serving wenches’ (I apologise if you feel I’m being sexist, but I’m trying to represent the sexist nature I felt in the organisation of the event) all had numbers on their backs. However in the VIP area, we served by a pleasant gentleman in a t-​shirt (no lederhosen for him). Being in the VIP section meant that we were close to the stage, with a dance floor and had mud covered wood under our feet rather than just the bare mud.
We’re obviously here for some beer drinking. They serve only one beer, which is an Oktoberfest style from ‘Festival Brew’. It costs £3 for a half pint, £8.50 for 1.5pt or £11 for a 2pt pour. Note no standard 1pint measure. There were also cider and wine available, but I didn’t really pay attention to those. The beer was served in plastic jugs. Which is disappointing, but necessary at these kinda events, in case it all kicks off.
Unsurprisingly, there have been lots of people posting how ‘ripped off’ they felt from the event. It has rained quite a lot recently. Ok so paying premium prices to sit at a rickety table, under a tent, in a muddy puddle filled carpark, is not everyone’s idea of fun.
The food was basically bratwurst, with fries or sauerkraut, and pretzels. There was a weisswurst on the menu but I didn’t see anyone having this. They possibly missed a trick by not serving currywurst. I think currywurst would go down really well with British punters. I like currywurst, I might make currywurst for dinner tonight. Mmmm #currywurst
The music drifted between a band playing trad German songs and getting everyone to sway, to those classics one remembers from holiday entertainment discos in the 80s. In fact the event had an atmosphere of a family function about it. It was like your girlfriend’s, brother’s, wife’s, uncle’s wedding.
Despite all the extortionate prices, the cheesy music and the mud, I found the event rather enjoyable. I’m not sure if this is down to the company, and we could have enjoyed ourselves anywhere else? Or if it was the booze, which I’m sure did help. Or does standing on a rickety bench whilst swaying back and forth really put a smile on anyone’s mouth?
There seemed to be a united Unilocal rendition of ‘You Could Be Mine’. After which, I decided that it was time to merrily walk back to Harborne. Stopping of for a pint on the way back.
Advice to anyone looking at attending next year, or another similar elsewhere:
* Don’t go with any pretentions of getting an authentic Bavarian experience.
* Wear comfy shoes that you don’t mind being covered in mud.
* Expect to pay large amount for the beer
* Don’t take any food or drink with you as they make you throw it away at the entrance
* Loosen up and enjoy it for what it is
Advice for the organisers:
* Lower drinks prices — I would have probably stayed for more had it not been so expensive.
* More toilets — there was reports of huge queues for both ladies and gents Saturday night.
* British weather is wet, more ground covering is required.
* Currywurst.
*Munich’s Oktoberfest runs from late September to the first Sunday in October. This year it finished on 4^th October.

A wonderful evening, who knew drinking steins of beer and singing German songs could be so much fun?
One of our crowd had been to an event in Germany and he said the Birmingham Oktoberfest was pretty authentic, I loved it, our table server was having fun dancing and singing as he served us, the cloakroom was essential as several jackets got dropped and the floor was awfully muddy, luckily for us we was in the vip area which although still very muddy was nowhere as bad as the other end. £11 for a 2pint stein and £8.50 for sausage and potato salad or fries it certainly was a budget busting afternoon but the music was great, the live band really hot everyone on their feet, the dj played an eclectic mix but everyone seemed happy. I can’t wait to visit Germany now. If you like beer and rowdy crowds Oktoberfest is certainly an experience :-)

It smells, the beer is pricey and and loads of mud. But it so much fun, there is such a good atmosphere that the staff really help create.
If you want a good time and have the money go for it! Otherwise stick to your local spoons!

As usual as all my reviews a seem to be done there and then, I will cover the salient points with alacrity so I can get back to my plastic stein.
Do not wear your best shoes… There is mud even inside.
Yes the glasses are plastic but more importantly they come in every size up to two pints… Barring the single pint.
The food ranges but focusses on the sausage. It is nice sausage with fries. There was one dish. I think the schnitzel, that looks huge. Definitely not the flat version you’d see in Wien.
Prices are high. £11 for two pints in one glass and that’s the best value. Food is equally pricy for what it is.
I did not investigate the entry plus beer and food deal however as I got in with the help of Unilocal!
If you don’t mind the cost I would recommend with a group. In ones or twos you’d likely spend more time ruminating on the fact you could go to pretty much any restaurant and pub and get superior fare in superior quantities for the price. Although you’d definitely get inferior amounts of yodelling.