For hundreds of years, beers lovers have been celebrating Oktoberfest all over the world.
Little Fish Brewing Company, 8675 Armitage Road, will host its annual Oktoberfest celebration on Saturday starting at 4 p.m.
“We wanted to have the celebration to pay homage back to the Germans for kind of paving the way in the brewing industry,” Beau Nishimura, the taproom manager at Little Fish, said.
For the celebration, there will be three brews on tap for people to enjoy: a German beechwood-smoked lager called Smoked Helles, a dry hops pilsner called Come at Me Bea and a Vienna lager called Karmanfest.
Nishimura’s favorite of the three beers is the Come at Me Beau because it is named after him. The pilsner is a bohemian style. The other beers are German-style beers.
The brewery specially brews the Come at Me Beau and Karmanfest for its Oktoberfest celebration. Brewers start brewing the beers at least eight weeks in advance to make sure they are ready for the event.
Along with serving German-style beer, Little Fish will be serving traditional food from the country. That includes bratwurst, sauerkraut, schnitzels and more. The Hot Potato Food Truck will also be at the brewery serving food.
William Ford, a junior studying accounting, said trying new foods would be fun.
“I love brats, but I hate sauerkraut,” Ford said with a laugh. “It’s terrible.”
There will be polka music playing from 4:30 to 6 p.m., and then Maggie The Band will play their own take on alternative Americana. The music was moved to earlier in the day compared to last year to make the event more family-friendly.
“It’s going to be a good day to come out and hopefully enjoy the weather and enjoy the polka music and local craft beer,” Nishimura said.
A stein-holding competition, also called Masskrugstemmen, will start at 5 p.m. There will be prizes for men, women and children. The steins can hold one liter of beer.
The competition is where competitors hold a full stein of beer directly out in front of themselves with a straight arm and see who can last the longest. The typical stein weighs 5.5 pounds when full. The record for U.S. men is more than 21 minutes, and the record for U.S. women is more than four minutes, according to the U.S. Steinholding Association.
“I would totally try (stein holding),” Ford said. “I think I could maybe hold it out for four minutes.”
