[1] Pumpkin ales and beers can be found from late September through year-end, “while supplies last” (photo courtesy Dogfish Head Brewery.

[2] Bake a batch of soft pretzels to go with the beer (photo courtesy Taste Of Home).

[3] Freaktoberfest Pumpkin Ale adds a layer of flavor with espresso beans (photo courtesy Coney Island Brewing Company).

[4] You can even find cranberry beer, like this lambic from Samuel Adams (photo courtesy Boston Brewing Company).

Updated September 2026

We received this beer menu from Empire City Casino, in the suburbs of New York City, part of their Oktoberfest celebration:

1. Spaten Premium Lager (Spaten Münchner Hell)
2. Spaten Oktoberfest Ur-Märzen
3. Goose Island Oktoberfest
4. Franziskaner Hefe-weisse
5. Coney Island Freaktobefest
6. New Belgian Cranberry Pumpkin Ale
7. Two Roads No Limits Hefeweizen
8. Captain Lawrence Pumpkin Ale
9. Victory Fest Beer
10. BitBurger Pilsner
11. Bells Best Brown Ale
12. Southern Tier Pumking Imperial Ale
13. Warsteiner Oktoberfest Lager
14. Badass Hard Apple Cider
15. Atwater Blueberry Cobbler Fruit Beer
16. Dogfish Head Punkin Ale

 
They’ll be served with German-inspired foods, from brats and soft pretzels to schnitzel hoagies.

While we don’t gamble, we do drink craft beer; and we’ve had only one beer on the list. The solution was simple:

Below:

> How to have an Oktoberfest beer tasting.

> How to plan an Oktoberfest party.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The history of beer.

> The history of craft beer.

> Craft beer vs. indie beer.

> The different types of beer: a photo glossary.

> The difference between beer and ale.

> The year’s 38+ beer holidays.
 
 
1. HAVE AN OKTOBERFEST CRAFT BEER TASTING PARTY

 
While the original Oktoberfest in Munich runs for two weeks, through mid-October, you can hold a party anytime in October.

Unlike the beers at the Munich Oktoberfest, which represent just six breweries, you can try all the craft beer you can find, along the themes of:

1. DETERMINE THE ATTENDEES. Then determine how much beer you need. If you’re not buying all the beer yourself assign a brand to each person. The easiest way to do this is to have attendees scout out options and let you know what they’d like to contribute.

Provide juice glasses or 4-ounce disposable cups. The idea is to taste smaller amounts of 10 beers, not to drink 10 bottles of beer.

2. DECIDE ON THE FOOD. Brats, sauerkraut, soft pretzels (recipe) and mustard will do the trick. If anyone asks if they can bring food, German potato salad, Blaukraut (red cabbage sauerkraut) or a dessert (see #4 below). Or, they can bake soft pretzels. Here’s more about Oktoberfest food.

3. BUFFET OR SIT-DOWN? The choice is yours. Be sure to have soft drinks, a non-alcoholic cider or punch, or other alternative to keep blood alcohol levels down.

4. DECIDE ON DESSERT. Easy-to-make or -find desserts include the Berliner (a jelly donut sprinkled with powdered sugar), Black Forest cake, carrot cake, cheesecake here’s a no-bake pumpkin cheesecake), Gugelhupf (Bundt cake—here’s an apple streusel Bundt cake recipe), Lebkuchen (spice cookies—gingerbread is fine, along with a gingerbread dip), Linzer cookies or torte, pfeffernüsse (spice cookies with black pepper), strudel, stollen (fruitcake) and our favorite German treat, chocolate-covered marzipan.

5. PLAY GERMAN MUSIC. See if anyone already has Oktoberfest music (there’s plenty of it on Amazon). Polka music, which originated in Bohemia (the modern Czech Republic), will also work. If you’d prefer German rock, here are the Top 10 German rock bands.

6. BONUS: Consider a small prize for the best German folk clothing: Lederhosen or a dirndl skirt and apron.

Some German mustard or Weisswurst†, perhaps?

†Weisswurst is the famous Bavarian white sausage made from ground veal and pork.
 

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