To pay homage to Oktoberfest we thought we’d give you our top 10 most interesting facts about the World’s largest beer festival…

1. Oktoberfest is held in Munich Germany and bizarrely starts in September, running for approximately 16 days through to the first week of October.
2. The first ever Oktoberfest was held on October 12th 1810 and was organised for the public commemoration of Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen whose marriage took place five days prior. The original Oktoberfest included a horse race which persisted until 1960.
3. 2010 is the 200th anniversary of Oktoberfest, to mark the occasion a horse race in historical costumes was held on the opening day.
4. On average 6 million people attend the festival each year– that’s just under half of Australia’s total adult population!
5. On average a 1 litre beer at the festival, known as a stein, will cost attendees 8.50 Euros (approximately $12AUD).
6. Approximately 7 million litres of beer, 80 thousand litres of wine, 32 thousand litres of sparkling wine, 220 litres of tea/coffee and 1 million litres of water/lemonade will be consumed over the course of the festival.
7. Many beer drinkers forget that the beer served has on average a 7.5% to 8% alcohol content and as a result often pass out due to excessive drinking. These drunk patrons are called “Bierleichen“ which is German for “beer corpses“.
8. The festival covers grounds which are about 0.5 km2 (103.78 acres) in size.
9. In total the beer halls have seating capacity for 100,000 people. The largest beer hall / tent has seating capacity for 10,900 people (8,450 inside and 2,450 outside).
10. After 2004 the queues for toilets became so long that the police had to regulate the entrance.

If Oktoberfest has put you in the mood for a beer festival then don’t forget the 6th Annual Australian Beer Festival at the Australian Hotel (The Rocks, Sydney) will be held on Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th October 2010.

As always lots has been happening in the brewing world with the most interesting news story we came across an update on which brewer holds the title for the world’s strongest beer. For those of you who haven’t heard about it yet, experimental European brewers have created a 60% alcohol (ABV) beer! That’s no typo and no joke either!

Over the last 12 months the battle to own the title of champion extreme brewer has been fierce with three brewers fighting for bragging rights. Here’s a quick snap shot of the action:

Nov 09  – Tactical Nuclear Penguin by Scottish brewery BrewDog (32% ABV; $180/330ml)

Dec 09 – Schorschbock by German brewer Schorschbrau (40% ABV)

Feb 10  – Sink the Bismark  by Scottish brewer BrewDog (41% ABV; $210/330ml)

May 10 – Schorschbock by German brewer Schorschbrau (43% ABV)

Mar 10  – Oblix by Dutch brewer ‘t Koelschip (45% ABV)

Jul 10  – The End of History by Scottish brewer BrewDog (55% ABV; $800/330ml)

Jul 10  – Start the Future by Dutch brewer ‘t Koelschip (60% ABV; RRP $45/330ml)

So how do you get a beer to 60% I hear you ask?

Reasonably simple…. brewers start with a high alcohol beer such as a double or even quadruple IPA (Indian Pale Ale) and freeze distil it – effectively the opposite to how spirits are distilled. Water is frozen out of the brew, with a higher concentrate beer remaining. This is done a number of times to create a very high ABV beer. These beers are designed to be sipped like a spirit and enjoyed in small quantities.