IN the absence of a burly Bavarian Burgermeister, who better than Manchester’s Lord Mayor Carl Austin-Behan to follow tradition and broach the first keg of Albert’s Schloss’s inaugural Oktoberfest? And he did it with all the requisite oompah, assisted by a crew straight out of Munich Bierkeller central casting. ToM was there as the amber nectar burst from the barrel.
Indeed if you dare to show up in lederhosen or dirndl at the Peter Street mega-bar any time during the beer festival that’s on until October 19 there’s free beer for you. And what beer – five specially imported small batch brews from Munich’s Spaten, Hacker Pschorr, Lowenbrau, Paulaner, and Hofbrau that are normally confined to the original Munich Fest.
Oktoberfest in full, traditional Bavarian dress too.
Launch guests were treated to a sausage eating competition, the first of many, every Thursday throughout the event, which is at the heart of the Manchester Food and Drink Festival. To enter entrants just need to turn up at Albert’s Schloss before 6pm on any Thursday between September 15 and October 9 to register their sausage entry.
Enjoy too a a specialist sausage menu, sauerkraut, pretzels and fancy pink cupcakes (OK we made the last one up) plus a decidedly eclectic musical offering
Adelaide Winter, creative director for Albert’s Schloss said: “Oktoberfest is massive and our beer brewery friends in Munich have very kindly allowed us to create our own Oktoberfest here in Manchester with their special and incredibly rare beers.”
Albert’s Schloss, 27 Peter Street, Manchester M2 5RQ. 0161 833 4040. Tables are now available to be booked online at http://albertsschloss.co.uk/book, or by calling 0161 833 4040.