We all love a good beer now and then and what better excuse to cut loose and indulge our love for brewed beverage than to participate in one of the oldest ale festivals, Oktoberfest.
Originating in Germany in 1810 as a form of celebrating a local lords marriage, Oktoberfest quickly spiralled into a national holiday. It’s now celebrated in countries all over the globe as a time to appreciate good German ales, foods, customs and traditions.
Plus there’s a ton of great health benefits from drinking beer other than the associated merriness and lowering of inhibitions. Because of how popular it is you can take part in Oktoberfest in Norway, Germany, Sweden and even Hanoi of all places which strangely enough is ideal as the Vietnamese people love their beer.
In fact Hanoi regularly celebrates with various Vietnamese locals and Scandinavian ex-pats coming together over a mutual love of beer. In fact the Scandinavians in Hanoi love it so much that the events are regularly packed to the brim with members of this European community.
Although the Vietnamese economy still hasn’t managed to climb back up after crashing in the last few years, there’s one area of industry that’s seen unparalleled success and that’s the beer industry because as it turns out the Vietnamese are big beer drinkers.
For example in 2013 alone Vietnamese brewing companies churned out up to 2.9 billion litres in beer which according to market figures is a 7.4% improvement from 2012 and it’s a figure that’s steadily increasing.
In fact it’s so popular that there are even streets in the country named after Vietnamese brands of draught beer. It’s things like this that are the reason that Hanoi is becoming a major tourist destination for Oktoberfest fans as the countries loose approach to draught beer is quickly becoming a major selling point.
The actual Oktoberfest event itself in Hanoi is fantastic as they have several huge tents full of benches and big beer mugs for you to drink out of. They also have bands that range from traditional musicians to more modern rock or pop bands to keep the crowds entertained.
Also there’s raffles and lucky draws for amazing prizes in both cash and gadget form, it’s the same kind of prizes you would probably see top bingo sites giving out to their members as part of a special promotion or some sort of bonus event.
They also provide tons of delicious food that spans traditional European and Vietnamese dishes for you to gorge yourself on so you can space out your drinking and soak up some alcohol.
Oktoberfest in Hanoi is always one absolutely gigantic party and in a world where we all have so many differences both cultural and economic, it’s good to see that we can all put that aside for a day and come together over a love of one good alcoholic drink.
