As we approach Oktoberfest...... I yearn for the comfort of those smoke filled establishments in dear Munich.

I recently picked up a 6-pack of Widmer Brothers OKTO beer. On the bottom of the cardboard case they give a "Brief History of Oktoberfest"... thought I would share it with you....

"It's true. For reasons unknown to us, the centuries old Munich tradition of Oktoberfest actually begins in September and runs only through the first week of October. One theory is that "Septemberfest" just didn't sound quite as cool.

In any event, it all started way back in 1810, when Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (not to be confused with "Mad" King Ludwig II, which is another story altogether...) decided to throw a little shindig to celebrate his marriage to Princess Therese of Saxony Hildburghausen. It seems he put together a little horse race and 40,000 of his closest, lederhosen-clad friends showed up for the feast. This being Bavaria, a little beer drinking soon broke out. Okay, a lot of beer drinking.

Since then, Oktoberfest has grown to become the world's largest festival. Today, an average of 6 million visitors descend on Munich for the two-week celebration of beer, sausages, pretzels, parades and oompah bands. Did we mention beer? Nearly 11 million pints are consumed during a typical Oltoberfest. Can you say "heaven"?

Heck, the Munich Oktoberfester's have their own special beer drinking song, which we encourage you to try singing the next time you crack open a couple of OKTOs. Seriously, it goes like this:

Ein Prosit, ein Prosit, der Gemut-lich-keit!
Ein Prosit, ein Prosit, der Gemut-lich-keit!
Prosit, Prosit, Pro-o-o-sit!
Eins,Zwei, Drei-----G'suffa!
Zikki-zakki, Zikki-zakki, Hoi! Hoi! Hoi!
Zikki-zakki, Zikki-zakki, Hoi! Hoi! Hoi!"

They go on to say some marketing stuff about their beer... which I found to be very similar to Dunkle and is quite good.

After first reading that beer drinking "cheer" it became quite obvious to me where those crazy guys from "The Man Show" got their song! They took it from Oktoberfest.