How to find beer, brats and oompah music
Suds will be diverse and flowing at annual celebrations, which begin this weekend
The Bay Area’s ever-growing microbrew movement sure has given Oktoberfest season a kick in the lederhosen. Celebrations here go on for weeks and weeks.
Here’s a chronological list of festivals. For restaurant events, check Sunday’s Eat Drink Play section or our big roundup at mercurynews.com/entertainment. OKTOBERFEST REDWOOD CITY >> Today through Sunday. There will be several days worth of festivities in the huge Oktoberfest tent in Courthouse Square. Entertainment is by Alpiners USA and Golden Gate Bavarian Club. Happy hour sessions with music is today, followed by five other seatings, Friday-Sunday with dancing and contests. Admission, $12-$24, includes stein and beverage; ticket deals online; redwoodcity.org/oktoberfest.
SCHROEDER’S BLOCK PARTY AND
OKTOBERFEST >> Friday. The historic San Francisco venue — believed to be the oldest German restaurant on the West Coast — will celebrate its 125th anniversary with a party that will shut down Front Street from 3 to 8 p.m. There is live music, plus costume and sausage eating contests. Free, but limited to 21 and older. Schroeder’s will host Oktoberfest celebrations inside every Saturday until Oct. 27, with music from Polkalicious, Joe Smiell and Schwabenland. 240 Front St.; schroederssf.com.
OKTOBERFEST BY THE BAY >> Friday to Sunday. Three days worth of German food, beer, singing and dancing on Pier 48 in San Francisco at one of the West’s biggest Oktoberfests. Headlining is the 21-piece Chico Bavarian
Band. Children allowed only on Saturday afternoon or all day Sunday. Admission: $25 general, $85 VIP (includes buffet, mug), $5 kids ages 13-18. Hours, tickets: oktoberfestbythebay.com.
OKTOBERFEST AT THE TRITON MUSEUM >> Saturday. The inaugural event features beer, food, music and games. It is a fundraiser for the Triton Museum of Art. Hours, 1-4 p.m. Admission: Free; beer and food extra. 1505 Warburton Ave., Santa Clara. tritonmuseum. org
GEEKTOBERFEST >> Sept. 27. The Tech Museum of Innovation will team up again with BioCurious, a nonprofit community science lab, to explore the science behind beer and brewing. What creates that foamy head? More than 12 Bay Area and Northern California breweries will be pouring. 7 to 10:30 p.m. at 201 S. Market St.,
ages 21-plus only. Tickets, $20$25; food sold separately. thetech. org
OAKTOBERFEST >> Sept. 29 and Sept. 30. Home Brewers’ Alley will join the dozens of breweries pouring at the annual fall fest in Oakland’s Dimond District. Root biergarten, games for kids, German fare. Live music on four stages. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 29, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 30, at MacArthur Boulevard and Fruitvale Avenue. Free admission to street fair; food, beer extra. $20 buys a stein and four beers, other ticket packages available. Brewer’s brunch is planned for Sept. 30. oaktoberfest.org. MOUNTAIN VIEW OKTOBERFEST >> Oct. 6, and Oct. 7. For two days, the 7,000-square-foot festival tent at Bryant and Dana streets, sponsored by Steins Beer Garden and the Mountain
View Chamber of Commerce, will feature local and German brews, food from Teske’s Germania and others, plus music by Alpiners USA, SF German Band, Big Lou’s Accordion Princess, plus contests. Children’s area with bounce houses. Free admission; beer, food extra. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. mvoktoberfest.com.
CLAYTON OKTOBERFEST >> Oct. 6 and Oct. 7: This historic Contra Costa County town hosts a two-day downtown festival that combines a traditional Oktoberfest with a street festival. Biergarten, Bavarian dancers, live music by The Internationals, German food, plus carnival, street performers, and arts and crafts. An Oct. 6 noon parade will culminate in the tapping of the keg in the biergarten. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 6, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 7. Free admission, parking, shuttle. claytonoktoberfest.com.
SAUSAGE AND SUDS MUSIC FESTIVAL >> Oct. 7. OK, so it isn’t technically an Oktoberfest, but the annual San Leandro event features more than enough sausages and Bay Area craft brews to count. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. along Parrott Avenue, five blocks from BART. Live bands. Free admission. sanleandrodowntownassociation.org/.
PENINSULA OKTOBERFEST >> Oct. 13. Hiller Aviation Museum again hosts the nighttime Peninsula Oktoberfest. Live music (Bayern Maiden, Rockin’ Oktoberfest Band, San Mateo Elks Oktoberfest Band), German beers plus local microbrews and German food to purchase. 6 to 11 p.m. outside the museum at 601 Skyway Road, San Carlos. Admission, $20 (glass, one beer); $11 (kids, seniors). hiller.org. WALNUT CREEK OKTOBERFEST >> Oct. 20. Biergarten, food booths, harvest-themed arts and crafts, plus Kinder Platz with pumpkin patch, rides and activities for children. Live music. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at a new location this year, Civic Park. Free. walnutcreekdowntown.com
JACK ROSE LIBATION HOUSE OKTOBERFEST >> Oct. 20. Hofbrau beer on tap, German food for sale, music by the Internationals. 4 to 11 p.m. Admission: $10 for ages 13 and over. 18840 Los Gatos-Saratoga Road, Los Gatos. jackrosebar.com.
CAMPBELL OKTOBERFEST: >> Oct. 20 and Oct. 21. The 24th annual event combines the German food, beer and music of an Oktoberfest with the arts and crafts of a traditional street festival. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 20, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 21 along Campbell Avenue downtown. Admission, parking free. downtowncampbell.com