In just three months, the Oktoberfest begins in Munich. Everyone is already waiting with bated breath: How much will the beer cost this year?
It is one of the most important pieces of news in Munich’s year: the city of Munich will soon announce the beer prices for the Oktoberfest. It is already clear that the price will probably break the 15 euro mark in at least some tents. The highest price last year was 14.90 euros. In many tents, a liter of beer cost 14.50 euros, but the average price was 14.18 euros.
The media group Münchner Merkur/tz has already reported on some tents where a liter of beer costs more than 15 euros. The city has not confirmed this. When asked, Wiesn boss Clemens Baumgärtner (CSU) said: “The beer price will be announced by the city of Munich.” The prices should be announced in the middle of next week.
However, the city does not set the prices. Innkeepers and breweries submit their planned drink prices – including for lemonade and mineral water. The city simply checks whether the ideas are reasonable. Mineral water also often cost more than ten euros in 2023. For the first time, there were free drinking water fountains in 2023. There will be ten this year, twice as many as last year.
No matter what the price of beer is, it is – and this is also part of the tradition – an annual reason for grumbling. But the beer brewed especially for the Oktoberfest is not that expensive considering the effort involved. Last year, the price increase averaged 6.1 percent, which was on a par with general inflation in Germany – and below the slightly higher increase in food and catering prices. What’s more, you get more alcohol for your money with Oktoberfest beer: it is a little stronger, with an alcohol content of around six percent.
This year, a dispute over a beer tent is being fought out in court. The owner of the Herzkasperl tent at the Oidn Wiesn was denied a permit this year in favor of the owner of the Boandlkramerei – and now wants to enforce this before the Bavarian Administrative Court (VGH). The Munich Administrative Court had rejected the owner’s urgent application. He lodged an appeal against this. The VGH is expected to announce its decision on Friday. It is urgent – because construction of the beer tents begins on the Theresienwiese on Monday.
The Herzkasperl landlord received fewer points in the application than the Boandlkramerei, but he criticizes their cultural program as inadequate. It is not the task of the points system, which has been tried and tested for more than ten years, to create hereditary farms, said Baumgärtner. Music groups could also perform in a different tent. “I don’t see any loss of culture. I see that it’s about money.”
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