Hoxtoberfest
There will be sausage. There will be music. There will be BEER. This is Hoxtoberfest!
Can you smell the alpine air? Can you feel the balmy Bavarian heat? Can you see the dirndls and lederhosen sashaying down the aisles laden with absurd amounts of lovely, lovely beer? Well, no actually. You’re in London and what you expect is a job-lot full of German-ish clichés and an occasional burnt sausage masquerading as a bratwurst.
Well friends, we’re not about to sell you down the river. Nein sir, we’re going to sell you down the canal. The Regents Canal to be precise – because that will be the proud home of the inaugural Hoxtoberfest. Not another of those soul-crushing UK Oktoberfest tragedies, but a joy-inducing fusion of the best of German food, beer, and cocktails, spiked with just a trace of East London. It will be something you want to see.
Starting on Thursday 20th and running through to Saturday 22nd October, Hoxtoberfest will not be contained by four walls alone. Instead we’re creating a multi-room Bavarian extravaganza, taking over a whole block of canal side warehouses and yards. Within the Hoxton Docks Timber Warehouse, we’re building a full sized alpine chalet to contain ludicrous amounts of Erdinger Fest Bier. And, as with all great alpine chalets, you’ll find a large biergarten alongside it, although ours is covered so our Hoxtoberfest-ees can gleefully jig around, stein-handed, without the fear of getting soaked.
And if that’s not enough for you (whattaya crazy?), dive into the main warehouse, a live music space, decked out like a traditional Oktoberfest tent where you’ll stumble across the first Berliner Pilsner bar (for East German balance). Taking a little jaunt outside, you’ll find the legendary Herman Ze German, on hand to deliver mouth-watering Germanic delights straight from the bratwurst grill, besides more Berliner and Erdinger goodness.
Meandering further, take a trip canal side where Fritz Kola will be hosting a Berlin cocktail bar, pairing booze with eye-opening mixers like rhubarb and Mischmasch (look it up), and when you’re in need of a snack to soak up those spirits, swing by the currywurst imbiss for your fix.\
And then there’s the music. We’ve flown in Albfetza Oktoberfest Partyband: a group so insatiably committed to creating the ultimate German shindig that they don’t even bother with a space between ‘party’ and ‘band’ (yes, that good). And they’ll playing with the Old Dirty Brasstards, bringing a bit of brass class to the whole dang thing.
So yes, we have tables, yes we have steins – but we’ve also got bratwurst, cocktails, brass bands, a fresh-pine chalet and a canal. You get the point. We’ll see you there!
Tickets are £30, coming with a huge 1 litre stein of genuine Bavarian Fest-Bier, alongside a German snack courtesy of Herman ze German and a whole host of other Germanic wonders. For more information and to get tickets, visit: www.hoxtoberfest.com
What: Bavaria, meet Hoxton: Hoxtoberfest
When: 20th – 22nd October from 6pm to midnight
Where: Hoxton Docks, 55 Laburnum Street, London, E2 8BD
Tickets: £30 including 1L stein of Erdinger Fest Bier and food
