There is so much about tailgating, and Oktoberfest is one of them, steering the spotlight away from knockwurst and sauerkraut— the Oktoberfest tailgate is, naturally, mostly about the beer. Empahsis on “mostly,” since there should be room on your tailgates and tables for some fine Bavarian fare. Awaken the braumeister in you, make your own biergarten behind the car or, whenever possible, under the tent—and while doing this, bring out all your northern Alpine and southern German charm.
This party started out in Munich in 1810, during the celebration of Ludwig's (son of Bavaria's King, Joseph Maximilian) marriage to the princess
Theresa of Saxonie. The small get-together went over a great deal that they did it once more the following year, and the volk came back yearly in ever-increasing numbers. Aside from Royal wedding anniversaries, there's a different reason for these festivities.October actually is a splendid month for beer. Marzen lager, the real Oktoberfest beer, is brewed in the month of March and left to mellow and ferment till it becomes a sort of puckishly sparkling, deliciously aromatic, delightfully crisp brews that appear and taste much like autumn in a glass.
To raise the experience of the tailgate, the elemental tailgater employs this Bavarian heritage . Call your team using a German-sounding name or a player-inspired title to call your tailgate domain. When you're in Arizona, you could choose something like Der Kardinalhaus. The possibilities are virtually endless. The first Munich celebration was held on the Wiesen—short for the Theresienwiese, or Theresa's Field, in honor of Prince
Ludwig's bride. Make this as your reference and work on it. A huge banner in Gothic letters making known your tailgate site as the Chiefswiese offers a sense of legitimacy to your purpose.
Open up your Oktoberfest tailgate with style. Start out using the traditional holler of Munich's Mayor: "O'zapft is!" ("The keg is tapped!") Nothing more can back up this proclamation when you literally hammer a spigot into an oak barrel and fill your mug to the rim. If this is not possible, holler away and pop a top. The phrase can surely be employed and appreciated symbolically.
With the size of most stadium parking spots in mind, you'll have to scale down the original festival of its collection of twelve stupendous tents, each having its own beer, to twelve beer stations on your table. Make this potluck affair. Have everyone bring a different beer and award prizes. Be creative.
Although the tapping of the keg (or opening of the bottle) starts-off your Oktoberfest tailgate, and there's no denying that it's the beer that has aided to make Oktoberfest among the biggest parties in the world every year, you would want to preserve the integrity of your Oktoberfest tailgate with the menu. That implies that you leave your burgers in the icebox this week. Bratwurst should be served.