October Fest - Wirepool: Eight men, six women and a lion
The Wiesn hosts are starting off this year with a nearly balanced beer jug. It shows - this was carefully considered - an equal number of hostesses and hosts, said Wiese speaker Peter Inselkammer at the presentation of the Steingut jug, which traditionally represents the 15 large tents. However, the men - eight of them - are still slightly in the majority. A - male - lion poses for the Löwenbräuzelt.
Two years ago, the Wiesn keg of graphic designer Rudi Skukalek featured a caricatured image of a voluptuous, content-looking waitress with a double chin and a well-filled Dirndl decolleté - and this caused some controversy. The following year, the keg then - politically correct - showed a majestic stag with a huge antler.
What matters most about the jug - a collector's item - is not "what's on it, but what's in it," Inselkammer continued. That's what draws people to the Wiesn - and it's very valuable, so valuable that its value increases every year, said the Wiese speaker and played on the annual traditional haggling over the height of the beer price.
A liter of beer at the Oktoberfest costs €13.60 to €15.30 this year. The price for festival beer therefore increases on average by 3.9 percent and breaks the €15 mark for the first time. Since 2004, beer prices at the Wiesn have approximately doubled: Two decades ago, a liter still cost between €6.70 and €7.10. For the beer brewed especially for the festival, you get more alcohol for your money: The alcohol content is approximately six percent.
Women play a significant role in the festivities at Munich's Festival of Culture, known as Oktober Fest. The Steingut jug, representing the large tents, often features an equal number of hostesses and hosts, although men still have a slight majority. Customarily, the image on the collector's item jug is less important than the quality of the beer inside, which has seen a steady increase in price since 2004. Despite the rising cost, a liter of beer at this year's Oktober Fest in Munich (or Bavaria in English) is still relatively affordable, priced between €13.60 and €15.30.
