Tag Archives: Oktoberfest

The Biggest Drinking Days of the Year

Featured Story / February 28, 2017 / No Comments.

Does this Tuesday make me look fat?

Today is Fat Tuesday, better known as Mardi Gras. Which got us thinking: where does Mardi Gras rank among the best drinking holidays of the year? We did some highly scientific calculations to find out.

Honorable Mentions:

Valentine’s Day — If you’re in a relationship, meh. If you’re not, go nuts.
Mother’s Day — Catch a chardonnay buzz with Mom!
Father’s Day — Get drunk on light beer with Pops!
Labor Day — Long weekend: Nice. Summer’s Over: Not nice.
Christmas — Just don’t get so drunk you can’t figure out wrapping paper.

The Top Ten:

10) Super Bowl Sunday. It’s the culmination of a full season of eating and drinking to excess because football is on the TV. But we have to dock the Super Bowl some points because it’s followed by a not-so-super Monday morning.

9) Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras is amazing, if you’re in New Orleans or another city that goes hard for the last day before Lent. If you’re not, it’s just a Tuesday in February. Moral of the story: Get on a flight to New Orleans right now.

8) Oktoberfest. Is this cheating to put a two-week festival on a list of holidays? Maybe, but Oktoberfest makes the list because it’s awesome. Beautiful fall weather, huge steins of beer, pretzels, oom-pah music… OK maybe scratch that last one.

7) Kentucky Derby. You don’t have to go to Kentucky to put on a funny hat, drink mint juleps and pretend you know anything at all about horse racing on the first Saturday in May. Bonus points if you drink your juleps from a baller silver cup.

6) Cinco de Mayo. Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican Army’s surprising victory over– Oh you’re just here for the margaritas? Gotcha, thanks for your honesty.

5) Thanksgiving. Now we’re getting to the elite drinking holidays. The night before Thanksgiving, you hit some questionable local bars with friends. Then you’ve got Thanksgiving itself, when the beer, wine and post-dinner drinks flow freely. It adds up to a sneaky-great drinking holiday.

4) Halloween. It’s the holiday you loved as a kid (costumes and candy!) made even better (costumes and booze!).

3) Independence Day. You’re not drinking for “fun” on the Fourth of July. No, you’re doing your patriotic duty. Nice American flag tank top, BTW.

2) St. Patrick’s Day. Sure, St. Patrick’s Day can fall on a weekday, which is a logistical challenge, But if you’re doing St. Pat’s right, it’s a multi-day-and-night celebration of [pick one: your Irish heritage / magic leprechauns]. Also, you’re making boozy shamrock shakes.

1) New Year’s Eve. You’ve navigated all the family time of the holidays. Now, it’s time for a different kind of holiday. You drink while you wait for midnight, drink at midnight, then drink some more after midnight. And it’s all guilt-free because you’re totally going to be healthy and productive — starting tomorrow.

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Please Note: This article was originally posted on 2/28/11 and updated on 2/14/23.

Man Cave: Fall Weekend Getaway

Man Cave / September 8, 2015 / No Comments.

Summer is officially over but that doesn’t mean it’s too late to have one last weekend adventure with your favorite drinking buddies. Fall has a lot to offer: seasonal brews, the return of football, and getting ready to talk a lot of smack about your fantasy team. If you’re looking to kick off fall with something out of the norm, gather up the wolfpack and check out one of these weekend events featuring food and, more importantly, booze.

California

Brewers Showcase Beer Festival

Over 150 California-only craft brewers from all over the state will be present. Entry gains you unlimited tastings (yup, all you can drink) and there are food trucks on site. Sample 400+ beers—including some that have never been poured outside the brewery before. Event is this weekend so get tickets before they’re gone!

New York

Sixth Annual Pig Island celebration

Head to Brooklyn this weekend for the Sixth Annual Pig Island pork and beer extravaganza! 20+ chefs will be serving up specialty dishes sourced from local Flying Pigs Farm. All tickets include all you can eat pork and all you can drink beer provided by Sixpoint, NY. There will also be wine, cider, and whiskey! Tickets are going fast this year so get yours while you can!

Maryland

The Annapolis Craft Beer and Music Festival

This combined music and beer fest has everything you want and more. This Saturday, enjoy live music, fresh oysters on the half shell, barbeque and other fine cuisine, and, of course, beer. Over 125 craft beers from national and regional breweries are available to taste while enjoying the start of fall in our nation’s capital.

Chicago

Oktoberfest

If you need a little more time to plan, block out the weekend of September 25^th for Chicago’s Oktoberfest. Beer, brats, and bands—what else could you want? Friday and Saturday are craft beer nights where you can enjoy tastings from local craft and European breweries. In addition to the good beer, your ticket gets you a glass and a pretzel necklace—always a bonus.

Got other suggestions of places or events in your area to drink with friends this weekend? Let us know!

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5 REASONS TO DRINK THIS WEEKEND

5 Reasons To Drink This Weekend / October 3, 2014 / No Comments.

We’re not the type of people who need a reason to drink. If we’re breathing that’s reason enough. But for those who need more, here you go:

1- Oktoberfest: It’s October. Which means beer festivals, pretzels, and beautiful Germans everywhere you look. (Ok… maybe not that last part, but we can dream). If you’re not drinking beer from a boot, you’re doing it wrong.

2- Adam Sandler: The Waterboy himself is teaming up with Netflix to produce and star in 4 original films that will begin airing in the year 2015. Looks like we wanna grow old with him, too.

3- Michael Phelps: He added another DUI to his record this week. Apparently you can drink heavily AND win an Olympic medal (or 8). So drink away this weekend as long as you have a DD.

4- Ello: The new online social platform is up and running and kind of throwing us off. We’re gonna stick to socializing at the bar for now.

5- The D: Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, released a teaser ad this week announcing a new model he referred to as “The D”. Buy us a drink first, Elon.

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Oktoberfest 101: History, Rules and Beer

Beer / October 3, 2013 / No Comments.

It’s that time of the year when Oktoberfest celebrations start popping up in cities and towns around the country. We’ll grab our economy-sized steins and venture to the festival for our fill of magnificent beer. But what is Oktoberfest and why are we celebrating? Contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t invented as an excuse to wear lederhosen and drink beer before noon.

The first Oktoberfest happened in Germany on October 12, 1810 and it was originally to celebrate the wedding of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Sachsen-Hildburghausen (say that 5 times fast). It obviously has evolved through the years, but it was their wedding that started the festival tradition.

Now Oktoberfest is actually more of a September event due to the warmer weather. The official Oktoberfest in Germany usually starts on the second to last Saturday of the month and then runs through the first Sunday of October. For example, this year it started on September 21 and it will end this Sunday, October 6. In America, we’re all over the place and there are celebrations happening throughout the nation from September through the end of October. We love this because we’re able to hit up multiple events, and make sure to take advantage of our favorite fall activity – drinking beer outside with friends (sometimes while wearing a necklace made out of pretzels.)

When it comes to the beer of (the official German) Oktoberfest, there are actually some strict rules in place. All of the beer served has to be from one of Munich’s six breweries: Paulaner, Spaten, Hacker-Pschorr, Augustiner, Hofbrau and Lowenbrau. There’s also a purity law called the Reinheitsgebot and it says that the recipe can only include barley, malt, yeast and hops. The beer is fermented and lagered for over 30 days and ultimately ends up at 6 percent alcohol.

If you want to seem completely authentic, raise your glass and say “prost” before drinking – that’s the Oktoberfest version of “cheers.”

Want to hit up a hardcore Oktoberfest, but don’t really have the time or funds to make it to Germany? Try to find a local one near you, or host your own. Buy your own stein and drink with some friends. It’s close enough.

Prost and enjoy Oktoberfest this weekend.

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5 Reasons To Drink This Weekend

Our Stories / September 21, 2012 / 1 Comment.

We’re not the type of people who need a reason to drink. If we’re breathing, that’s reason enough. But for those who need more, here you go:

1. Oktoberfest – Munich is tapping their first Oktoberfest beer barrel tomorrow at noon. That means the United States can officially start our varied celebrations – and breweries all over the country are doing just that. Find one in your state here.

2. Ladies Night – The ladies we know don’t need an excuse to get together and sip on (or chug) some drinks, but it doesn’t hurt to have one. Consider this your permission to gossip, laugh until your stomach hurts, and indulge.

3. Drink Like A Pirate… Weekend – September 19th was the tenth anniversary of Talk Like A Pirate Day, and we think it deserves a whole weekend. Drinking helps you talk like a pirate (it’s a fact) Arrrr!

4. Google Maps – Sometimes you don’t appreciate what you have until its gone. We were spoiled having Google Maps on our phone, and with iOS6 came the lowly Apple Maps. So lets have a drink to thank Google for its wonderful navigation capabilities.

5. First Day of Fall – Summer was fun, but the fall brings all sorts of new drink cravings. Apple Sangria, Pumpkin Beer, Hard Cider, the list goes on…

This Milkshake Brings All the Boys to the Yard

Our Stories / September 17, 2012 / 1 Comment.

The Red Robin chain is known for having some serious burgers…or rather, “gourmet burgers” as their logo so proudly states. But everyone knows that an awesome burger requires the company of either an equally awesome shake or beer. Red Robin has always had a few different boozy milkshakes, but they’ve come out with a very special one for Oktoberfest that makes it so we don’t have to choose between having a shake or a beer (drum roll, please)….the Sam Adams Octoberfest Milkshake.

The ingredients are basic, but the taste is magical:
• Vanilla soft serve ice cream
• Caramel
• Vanilla Syrup
• Sam Adams Octoberfest Beer
The Sam Adams Octoberfest Milkshake will be on the Red Robin menu until November 11, so you should probably make some plans to get down there stat. If you are feeling super Oktoberfest-y, you could pair the shake with the Oktoberfest burger…this masterpiece is no joke and they make sure to throw more beer in there for good measure:
• Toasted Pretzel Bun
• Fire-Grilled Beef
• Beer Mustard
• Black Forest Ham
• Beer Mustard Sautéed Onions
• Melted Swiss Cheese
We always love spiked sweets, so Red Robin…we salute you.

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