This event is why I love Oakland. The food this year was off the chain. Octopus balls, sushi, BBQ oysters, vegan options, there is something for everybody. The bands are so fun with lots of folks up and dancing. The homebrewers killed it this year and the local brewers were out in force. For those that don't love beer there are cocktails, mead and a stand that had every juice combo known to man. They also brought in a hydration vat so there was always super cold water available. This year I stopped by Farm Fresh to sign up for local fruit and veg delivery - I have wanted to do that for so long! read more

Oaktoberfest in the Dimond - BBQ oysters are the bomb! - Festivals Near Me - Oakland, California

Oktoberfest Fruitvale-MacArthur today variety of food today three stages of music very crowded. Lots of breweries. Also, a lot of booze really big this year. read more

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This is my second year attend the oaktoberfest in the dimond and it's always fun. For $25 you get a souvenir mug and 4 drink tickets. Not a bad deal since most vendors give you a 3 finger sampling pour before you commit. Don't be suckered into buying tickets online. It's not worth the inconvenience fee and the lines aren't that long. It's a great neighborhood event if you live in the area. The local library and shops attend so you can get to know what's available. Oakland recycles, bart, dimond library, and state farm were represented. It's nice to have beer vendors from all over. Some came from livermore to mendocino including the local ones. There's a little of everything for those with particular palettes--blondie, ales, cider, lagers and stouts. I'm all for ciders and Gowan's Herloom cider is always a hit. Food vendor lines were definitely moving a long. I can't stand those lines that make you wait forever because they can't be efficient. There were also good local vendor representation literally from the street they reside on. Festival is free to attend, just pay for the things you want to eat and drink. One stinker is some of the vendors started running out of some or their lines and it was only 2pm! read more

Fun times at Oaktoberfest! If you're a beer and/or cider lover, I would definitely recommend a visit to this festival! This was my first time ever attending Oaktoberfest and I had a really fun time overall. The festival is free to attend, but you must purchase a glass and tasting tickets to participate in the beer/cider/wine tastings. They have a few different ticket options, but I purchased the $20 ticket which included a beer mug and four 12 oz beer tasting tickets. To be honest, this is probably the best value if you're a semi-beer drinker. What's great is that the majority of the booths will let you sample the beer before you decide if you want to use your ticket. Let me just say, many of the breweries were quite generous with their "samples". You could literally just sample beers from all of the booths and you'd probably get toasted just from that! For someone like myself who isn't a big beer drinker, those 4 drink tickets were plenty! I actually ended up giving my last ticket to my friend for a wine glass. We met some nice people who bought the unlimited pass, and they donated a full pour of cider to me! So in the end, it all worked out. I would NOT recommend coming here to do any wine tasting. The wine glasses are hella tiny and they have a very limited selection of wine available to taste. If you're not into beer, they also have several hard cider booths available! I thought the cider selections were great and I ended up using a few of my tickets for full cider pours. If you have kids, there's a cute kids play area to keep them occupied. There's a good amount of food options too, but you should expect them to be overpriced. I had a corn dog when I first got there and then later on, I got a revuelta pupusa and a pork tamale from the Tamales Martha stand. Both were delicious but pretty pricey. My friend got garlic fries, an ice box lemon pie, and we split a strawberry funnel cake. You gotta go ALL in at these festivals! Eat and drink like a piggy with no regrets, people! If you like handcrafted jewelry and clothing, there are several booths with handmade items for sale. They had a whole section dedicated to marijuana products from creams to gelato. Yep, you heard me right! Lots of vendors and the live entertainment was fun! They had two stages with live performances from open until close. We arrived to the festival around noonish and didn't leave until 6 pm! I was surprised that we even lasted that long, but it was fun! By around 5 o'clock, some of the beer booths ran out of beer completely. I would definitely recommend that you came early or you'll run the risk of missing out on some of the selections. It started to get crowded around 4 pm, but it wasn't overly crowded. Parking is horrible! I ended up parking a half mile away on a residential street and just walked. If you can take public transit or get dropped off, it would be easier and quicker. All in all, I had a great time and enjoyed being able to sample different beers and ciders. This isn't a festival that I would attend every year, but maybe every other year. Looking forward to attending again in the future. read more

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More like 3.5 stars!! This was my first time attending the Oaktoberfest. First things first, parking is a nightmare, but I knew it would be tight, it's tight in the Dimond District on normal days, so that took some doing. The beer tasting thing is cool if you love beer like that. But even if you're not a big drinker, the stage shows are good. There's a lot of talent and originality in Oakland and the Bay Area, the Festivals in Oakland almost always bring that out. Very crowded, but a cool crowd, and another good Bay Area Festival!! read more

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What a great event! I had been several years ago and it was rather lame and not very well put together...jammed beer tent and just not pleasant or much variety. But now, WOW, what a change! Lots of great booths, food, beer, and just a fun atmosphere. And it is expanded in area too. Many families and a jovial crowd of folks just out to enjoy being outdoors. Plus the entertainment, top notch. I especially enjoyed the Deutsche Musikverein. So wonderful to hear a broad selection of polka and contemporary stuff too. Being of Bavarian ancestry it warmed my inner senses. In a matter of fact I was sending messages and pics of them to folks at the actual Munich Oktoberfest while they returned pics of them there...OK, they truly got us beat in the scale of atmosphere. However it put ours out there on the international map too! I had a really delicious tasty Bratwurst and although I wished for more authentic German selections of food, it was satisfying nonetheless. Definitely going back next year. Such relaxed fun. Go! read more

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I absolutely loved it here! My husband and I randomly stumbled upon this place while being in Oakland, we found a park and joined the fun! It was lots of people here, and lots of vendors. The food was endless from shrimp burritos, empanadas, fried fish and chicken, lobster fries, organic soaps, clothing vendors I mean you name it. They had music blasting and bars almost on every corner it felt like. I like how they distribute beer, you pay 25 dollars for two jugs and it comes with 5 tickets so instead of paying for beer at each station you just give them a ticket! And the first one was on the house! Pretty cool. We had a great time and was introduced to some great restaurants. Will be back next year. read more

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I love Volunteering at the festival. My daughter and my 3rd time volunteering. My only concern Mike the cornitator should be A lot More Kinder. He isn't very friendly. He needs to learn to speak to people as, adults not as if their his child! I tried to speak to him he elevated his voice. I'm volunteering have more respect! I will diffantly be emailing him! Other than that the festival is FANTASTIC! You will not be disappointed at all. It is so much fun great entertainment,root beer floats for children. All kind of beers,wines foods etc. read more

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Came an hour before closing on the first of two days in 2022. The parking can be tough but it's expected for that area, definitely get the first spot you see as you're driving in if it's less than a 8-10 minute walk (there is a commuter lot next to the nearby Farmer Joe's that is worth checking out). It was our first time attending so unsure of how it compares to other years, but this is a full on street festival with plenty of food, beer, and things to buy (there were stages for performances, but those finished up before we arrived). We got two take-home mugs and four total drink tickets for $31, which is pretty great since it came out to $8/pint (note that you have to purchase a mug to drink in). There are probably about a dozen brewers' stations that each have a handful of things on tap, including a hard kombucha spot that was quite delicious. The highlight was the Dokkaebier stand which had some very different offerings from the rest, which was mostly IPA and lager-centric. There are a couple of areas to sit if you want to relax with your food and drink instead of walking around the whole time. Some of the businesses on these streets (e.g., Dimond Slice Pizza) are also open and don't mind you walking in with your pint. Definitely worth checking out if you're into beer or just enjoy this kind of vibe. read more

Oaktoberfest in the Dimond - Festivals Near Me - Oakland, California

Attended the Sunday with the unlimited option. I love the venue. I have been coming to this event for years, and I always love the people and the vibe. This year's vendors were top-notch. Thank you to everyone who had a hand in making this event super. read more

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Date: 10/3/2015 Time: 12:00 Noon 69° Sunny It's my first time attending Oaktoberfest. Parking at this event sucks big time - one could be driving around in circles, trying to find an available spot. My husband got frustrated with the parking situation, dropped me off at the event and headed on home to Alameda. I should have followed another yelper's tip - get there early to find parking. There are several local breweries at the event (Faction Brewing, Drakes, Linden Brewing, Line 51 Brewing, etc.). I don't imbibe in either a stein of beer and/or ales. There was a root beer float booth; that's okay, too, because I don't drink sodas either. Then, why would I even attend such an event? I enjoy going to street fairs, festivals, outdoor events, etc., to see what food vendors are around, the different arts 'n crafts, the various fundraisers by private schools, free entertainment by musicians and the freebies I can get from the banks, local businesses and local politicians (Assemblyman Rob Bonta, County Supervisor Keith Carson). Highlights: Charlie Frank and his various small sweet potato pies (2 for $9.00) and his key lime pie ($7.00?). I haven't seen him since the 2014 Eat Real Festival in Jack London Square. It's always a pleasure talking to him. The drum corp and dance troupe doing some Samba Funk. Party/partee time down Fruitvale Avenue. Getting a freebie canvas tote bag from the Keith Carson booth. Safeway was handing out free 1-ounce bags of Kettle Brand Potato Chips (Maple bacon, salt & vinegar and sriracha). The only unpleasant experience I had was the glaring eyes, bad and sour attitude of a vendor who thought I was going to take photos of her hand weaved baskets with my cell phone camera. I apologized for the faux pas, but she was still glaring at me. Then I realized she displayed the same attitude with other people at the event, so it wasn't just me. I will return to this event next year, as I did not do a complete tour of all the vendors on Fruitvale Avenue heading in the direction toward the MacArthur Freeway. Finally, Flavor Brigade was selling beer flavored ice cream in front of the business. I passed on it, but I headed indoors (at the suggestion of the owner) to see what flavor Italian ice they had on hand. read more

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Bites and brew go hand in hand especially when you've got an array of beers to sample and choose from ranging from IPAs, lagers, stouts, ales - you name it. What somewhat disappointed me about this year's Oaktoberfest was the limited food selections. Nearly every food vendor sold the quintessential street food fare - corndogs. I probably ran into 5 different corndog / fish and chip / chicken tender stand. Honestly, while lines are a good indicator of "likeability," I could not distinguish the difference between one stand and the other. I was hoping for more variety in the food selections, or at least more food trucks present at this festival. Otherwise this event was great. It was nice to see a bunch of my fellow Oakland A's and Raider fans out there to bask in what was a great weekend of Oakland sports. Now while the website indicates that Oaktoberfest is a family friendly event - which it really is - I was quite puzzled seeing parents push a stroller with one hand, with a beer in the other. But hey, you do you. I bet parenting is tough so I hope you enjoyed your brew or brews...plural. read more

Oaktoberfest in the Dimond - Festivals Near Me - Oakland, California

2014 Festival Review I did some growing up and guess what?! Drinking beer in the morning and afternoon is A-O.K. now! Why?! Because Oaktoberfest said so! This is not your typical festival, it was more like an open-air pub. There's beer to the right, beer to the left, beer here, beer there, beer, beer everywhere. To get access to this beer, you had to buy a $5 stein mug and if you want, you can buy beer tickets @ $5 a pop, this will get you a full filling of your favorite beer. Otherwise, there's plenty of vendors with free tasting, all you need is that stein to get you buzzed in the hot blazing sun. Our Chinese radars were trying to detect German food and drinks. It was quite a challenge since most of the vendors were your typical vendors and food trucks serving non-German food. If you looked hard enough, a few German inspired vendors popped up like a needle in a haystack! But we found those few needles! 1) Brotzeit - Munchen beer - it was a refreshing beer with hints of honey, very pale and it screamed out Munchen. 2) Brotzeit - Bratwursts - this is the best I've ever had. The sausage had a crunch texture with a juicy porkish flavor. Topped with hella good home made sauerkraut and a fat drizzle of hot mustard. Everything about this bratwursts was so good. 3) Mad Zymurgists - they get 10 freakin' stars first hand for handing out free sips of samples!! But OMG! I discovered my inner German blood from them... I HEART their Dopple Moulder, which, by the way, won 2nd place in beer category of its kind (whatever that may mean, but whateve's! it was good stuff)! This festival is larger from prior years, its family friendly, even with all those beer guzzling folks (ie: me). I don't know what happened to this old hood but it's not the same as it use to be. It's different and the people are more diverse now. But just like the previous years I've attended, I had fun. Last time, I didn't get a drop of beer into my system and called myself a loser but this year, I drank until I was slightly buzzed! I win this year :) See you again, Oaktoberfest!! read more

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This was my first time attending the Oaktoberfest and it was a hot sunny day when I attended. I mainly came to see the entertainment on the main stage and there were plenty of seats to sit and watch the performance. I got to see two of my favorite groups, Namorados Da Lua and Batala SF! After the shows, I looked around the festival but it was a bit hot and I hope next year that I will bring a friend to join me so I can drink and not worry about driving home. read more

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Fasntastic beer, friends, so much variety of FOOD music, shopping, promotional booths with FREEBIES (highlighters, photo booth, totes)... o my gosh! a day of FUN. $8 for lonnnng sausage which you can add your own toppings/condiments for that perfect bite. $10 for a medium sized dish of seafood paella. Impressive how that is prepared/cooked in the humongous skillets right there! Buy tickets online to avoid the wait in lines. Lines get long and this is a crowded event. Really wanted to try the spiral fries (amazing how they make it!), but the wait was 25 minutes. I walked by it twice and decided nooo I cant wait that long for fries-- if I can be getting some beer instead! SO many breweries. Interesting beers: -chocolate -basil honey -coffee based The bay needs more community events like this. Great THANK YOU to those who organize. read more

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This was my second year coming and it was just as fun this year as it was last year. For $20 I got a souvenir mug and 4 drink tickets and it's well worth the price because there are tons of beer options. If you're a cider drinker like me you might want to just buy 2 tickets because there weren't as many tents. Buy the time I got there 1 of the 3 were all out, and within an hour there was only one left. All of the places let you sample so you don't waste a ticket on something you don't like. Ked Cider City offers a hoppier tasting cider. The other place I went to, can't remember their name, offered a home brew apple cider that reminded me of eating a Granny Smith. Some of the beer options included Drakes and Lagunitas. There were local brews and a tent offering micheladas too. The reason why I gave 4 stars isn't because there weren't cider tents...it's because the people selling the tickets weren't knowledge about the event they volunteered to help put on. Before I bought my tickets I asked how many cider tents there were. Two people didn't know and one person said there were 5 but didn't know where they were. Even the people at the info booth didn't know where everything was which was off putting because after all, your the information tent lol. I heard Sunday is a better day for cider drinkers because most of the companies are coming on Sunday. Despite that I still had a great time. Lots of families were there and they had a root beer stand giving out root beer floats in a color changing mug. There was also a kids play area and plenty of food stands to feed the drunken masses. read more

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I can say this was a wonderful and friendly event. I didn't expect to see so much people and many vendors. I will definitely be back again next year. I had so much fun!! read more

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First time here. Didn't have much historical context so didn't know what to expect. It was surprisingly larger than I thought. Wayyyyy more beer places than I expected. $50 gets you a mug and all you can drink essentially. The beers range from the super small breweries I've never heard of to the larger staples. I had an absolute blast walking around checking out the different beers and chatting it up. There are a few streets blocked off with a few stages for different music options. The music stages are pretty far from the center of the event which is nice as well, kept the volume down a bit. There are other vendors there as well, selling random products. Picked up some great BLM merchandise. There was a decent amount of food. The standard fried options, BBQ choices, plus some other randoms. Wound up eating at a local burger spot instead. I absolutely would come back next year. read more

Oaktoberfest in the Dimond - Festivals Near Me - Oakland, California

I was at home getting ready to Roll to the Oaktoberfest when I turned to the Discovery Channel and they had Oakland Gang Wars 2 on this features East Oakland's Gang Wars . I laughed to myself as this reminded me to bring my Lucky Rabbits foot with me. I jumped in the Weekend Whip cranked some Jimi Hendrix and rolled to Oak town I was able to find parking on Fruitvale Ave 2 blocks away from Oaktoberfest easily and Street Hiked to the Info Booth. I picked up my Drink Package and went to the Beer Tent and got into line . I was then engaged in a Conversation which made the line wait pretty quick . I was able to get a Pour of Linden Street Brew one of my local favorites and it was tasty. There were a lot of Beers to choose from like -Drakes ,Linden Street, Oakland Brewing , Trumer, Gordon Biersh ,and a few others. The Crowds werent bad and everybody was pretty Mellow and Open to Conversation. It Reminded me of a giant Block Party . I had a Great Time The Hip Hop Dance Groups and the Djs were off the Hook and the Zedeco Band was Jamming. I Drank so much Beer I got pretty Blasted LOL. Lots of Food Vendors my favorite was the Fried Catfish and Wings with the Garlic Fries and the Funnel Cakes YUMMMY!!!! Ill be back next year!!! read more

Going early to Oaktoberfest 2011 definitely made a difference. -the lines were shorter. -it wasn't so crowded -still, lots of dogs, kids to avoid, and standing bikes everywhere. positives -more food vendors, -more activities for children -more beer outlets negatives: -no authentic german food. -expensive "sausages" (7) read more

From what I understand, this was the 2nd Annual Oaktoberfest event with last years event being quite a bit smaller. There were four city blocks closed off for the event - one block in each direction from the intersection of Fruitvale and MacArthur. While this was still not a particularly big event in terms of square footage, it certainly was a big event in terms of density. This place was packed!! Especially the beer tent. (Actually, packed to the point of where it was very difficult to move at times!) I suspect that holding this kind of event has a learning curve...maybe it takes a few years to get the hang of things. I mention this because of the aforementioned density and the fact that they seemed to oversell the event just a bit. Of the "Over 15 breweries from around the Bay Area" I think just two were still pouring when I left around 5:30 and there was still a huge mass of people wanting mugs filled. That all being said, this event is still 5 star worthy! Besides the beer tent, the other vendors, food and booths were great! There were two stages set up with a rotation of great musicians as well. I have to admit, part of this 5 star review is sentimental. Oakland is my home....has been for 40 years. So much of what is portrayed about Oakland is violent and negative. Oaktoberfest '09 was not the lead story on the 10 o'clock news...Oakland being just another city with great events and beautiful people doesn't make the news, but this is what people should know: Oakland is hella cool!! I saw friends and colleagues at this event. I saw and heard great music at this event. I saw people chillin', drinking and having fun at this event! I saw lots of smiles.....Oakland smiles. Check it: http://streetshooterphoto.blogspot.com/2009/10/oaktoberfest-in-diamond-10109.html Peace! read more

Oaktoberfest in the Dimond - Clicky link at bottom of review for more pics! - Festivals Near Me - Oakland, California

It was my dad's birthday weekend and because I am an *AMAZING* daughter, gf, and sister, I volunteered to be the DD. Don't fret because I did have about 3 rootbeer floats from the Root Biergarten. No shame in my sugar game. As you would expect for an event like this, finding parking was a total pain. I was lucky enough to find parking in a residential area about 10 minutes from the event. Although, it did feel more like a 20 minute walk because of the heat! It was so hot that I wanted to give up my DD duties and drown my sorrows with a cold one. There's always Uber!! haha My dad, boyfriend, and brother all had a blast tasting different types of brew. However, by the time we got there (around 2 pm), some of the breweries were already running out of beer. They got to discover some new breweries and even got to speak with some of the homebrewers. Also, since homebrewers are not allowed to sell their alcohol, they were just giving away half pour samples of their stuff! I'm surprised people did not set up camp by their booths! lol Being the DD, I only had one thing to look forward to: food. I was pretty disappointed with the food selections. The choices reminded me of fairground food booths. It was your typical funnel cakes, corndogs, tacos, brats (which we're disappointly just okay....come on now!). There was a vendor who was selling paella and it looked amazing, but with the scorching sun I didn't want to wait in a long line. Overall, I had fun because there was so much going on. I liked that they had a special section for the kids. Although, I didn't understand some of the people bringing babies and newborns to this event. I hope that they will have more options when it comes to food next year! read more

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Another fun festival! The festive is very affordable and family friendly. I really like the fact that it wasn't too big, so if you're with your friends and you split up you'll eventually run into them shortly. All in all good food good music and I'll be there again next year. read more

Oaktoberfest in the Dimond - Festivals Near Me - Oakland, California

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This event was better then what i thought it would be! ;) I was alittle discouraged at first because of parking. But luckily I was able to find parking between the houses. Near the exit of the freeway. Mind you it was a hot day today. The lines were long as ...:/ but i arrived at 2pm. The music was nice! People were dancing w As I was walking in which was nice to see the older individuals enjoying themselves. I walked in and noticed the long line to purchase tickets to drink wine, beer or cocktail. For $20 dollar's I received a glass and 4 tickets to drink any beverage. yayy (Pretty good deal). There was nice venders and pretty good food. I didn't eat much so I can't talk much about that. I was happy to see Wing Wings there from San Francisco. The drinks were pretty good. I ended up having 2 vodka shots and 2 vodka &cranberry and it hade pretty lite. Lol . I enjoyed the ice cream and root beer floats and I received another cup ;). It was near banks so perfect location as it seemed like everyone there received cash only. I would definitely come back next year as I realized that this is a one day event only on the first Saturday of October. I would recommend to come early especially as to day was hot as hell and lines were long read more

Oaktober fest held every year in the Dimond district brings local brewery and local restaurants in so the local Oakland residents can try what Oakland have to offer. Their designs on the mugs differ every year and i have them all (except last years). Oaktober fest features all of your favorite local brewery and even new and upcoming breweries you never heard or tried before and with $20 you get a mug and 4 or 5 beer tickets. They did change some rules however, as before you could get free samples to try out beers now, with $50 you can have unlimited tastings or with less money you can have a limited amount of sampling which kind of sucks if you're trying new beers and if it's not good you're stuck chugging the unwanted beer and wasting a ticket. It's understandable as people tend to sample beers until they get drunk without purchasing any beer. Come here early as parking will be extremely limited and the district gets really packed. Uber or lyft is your safest bet. There are also other venders that do giveaways like the raiders booth or oaklandish booth and many upcoming Oakland apparel shops. if you're in the area it's a definitely must go with some friends to see what Oakland have to offer. read more

Oaktoberfest in the Dimond - This years mugs - Festivals Near Me - Oakland, California

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I finally got my self-together and finally ended up at the Oaktoberfest at 3:00 pm. The original plan was to head to SF and go to the festivities on Pier 48 but the gf and I had too many things planned. So time for plan B. When we arrived it seemed that the large crowd was having a great time and the dogs were well behaved too. Those pit bulls got along with those small terriers just for this one day. I thought the bier garten with the different beers was a great idea even though the lines were long. Nice selection from the Linden Brewery, Anchor Steam, Truman Pils, Stone Creek, Drake and others. Four beers tickets for $20.00 wasn't too bad. In terms of food the booths offered a large variety but I think they could have focused more on the different kinds of sausage, kraut, pickle beets, potatoes and other German favorites. I saw this couple eating Mickey D's next to me. I guess I came too late for the German Ommpa music but I must admit that Zydeco group had people up their shuffling their feet and stomping. There were three different music locations. Thank goodness for the many chairs and tables set-up to sit and relax. I heard that this venue was twice the size as the year before and they had a large activity area for children. A fun Saturday afternoon... read more

so I really wanted to attend the big festival at fort mason.But I was on vacation and missed it. One of my friends thank god told me of this one. I am so grateful!! I had such a good time. The beer was awesome! My fav!!! there were 2. There were 2 different cider beers by the same maker. aspall dry english cider draft with a 6.8 or 6.9 alcohol content. And also aspall english draft cider. They were both delicious!! I have found my favorite beer!! I also had a sausage with kraut and onion that was sooooo good my mouth is watering even thinking about it again. This is one festival I will for sure be attending again next year! FYI-Get taste tickets 5 tastes for 5$ and most booths were very generous on tasting = ) I changed to that after 4 beer tickets haha!! I will know for next year also read more

Had an awesome time today at the Oaktoberfest in the Dimond. Walking around the Street Festival and sampling various brews was the right way to spend the first weekend in October. Arrived early, which turned out to be a good idea, since the lines weren't as long as when we were leaving. Parked really close too which was a bonus. Enjoyed the Bay Area Mashers Club and Mad Zymurgists Hefeweizen. Also liked Linden Street Brewery and Triple Rock brews too. Ate a Giant Bad A$$ Sausage, garlic fries and washed everything down with a root beer float from Dryers. Went to La Farine Boulangerie Patisserie for some goodies to take home. Lastly, met Leia and Meredith from the Raiderettes. read more

Just good ole' fun! It's pretty awesome being able to consume beer in the middle of the street. Is this an authentic Oktoberfest experience? No, but I don't think the event organizers market it to be so don't compare it to the real thing. This was my first time attending and I would attend again next year. The longest line I waited in was probably 15 people deep but it moved quickly. You can also get mixed drinks if you're not into beer. Tips: 1. Try to get there before 1PM. By 2PM some breweries were running out and the lines were getting long. 2. Try a sample. A lot of the breweries will let you sample and I discovered some new beers. 3. Try to wash your mug (they call it a stein but its a mug) when you get it because it comes straight out of the box. 4. There's a couple of ATMs around so don't worry if your low on cash. 5. Don't try walking from the Fruitvalle Bart station. It's a lot further then you think. read more

2010 was a great event, and there was plenty of beer for all, so I am updating to make this a 5-star review! And hip, hip, hurray for the Burning Oak Black Lager from Linden St. Brewery--incredible! Love you guys! read more

I have been wanting to put on my own beer event for a few years now. To do so, I felt I had to work a beer event to get a feel for what needs to go on. After working OAKtoberfest this year, I now know the kind of event I want to put on, but I doubt it will be as cool as Mike, Dan, and Dave's. I feel any beer event must start with the beer. This seems simple enough, but the Lafayette Art and wine festival or the Clayton Oktoberfest do not seem to grasp this. However OAKtoberfest does. Right on the corner of Fruitvale Ave and MacArthur is where the beer takes center stage. The mainstays of most Bay Area Beer festivals are there, but the real allure is across the way. I am speaking of the row of homebrewers who are only too excited to let you taste their creations. That was the real allure of Mike, Dan and Dave's event. The fact that I could enjoy samples of homebrew along with the well established craft beer from the area. Nothing made me happier. Unlike those festivals that are through the tunnel to conservative land, OAKtoberfest features local vendors that fit right in with the Dimond neighborhood. The food also fit this traditional German event. Sausages galore, hearty pizzas, classic and avant garde style corn dogs and pizza, and a full bar on the street featuring couches? That was a site to see. Families had plenty to do at this event The root beer tent, the children's zone, and stage activities featuring live entertainment and breakdance lessons were just so much fun to watch. So, if this was such a great event, why only 4 stars? Well, I worked the event, I saw the behind the scenes, and I when I am so involved, I can't give it a perfect score. Seems like a conflict of interest. Still, I think there should be a beer hall, I think there should be a wider choice of beer, I think that there should be a charity auction that features copious amounts of the homebrew that was present. All of these are mere quibbles compared to the fun time I had. So, would I bring a whole crowd with me next year to the Dimond District of Oakland for OAKtoberfest next year? You bet! Will I spend time helping MIke, Dan, and Dave put this show on? In a heartbeat. Do I think that OAKtoberfest is a great way to spend a Saturday in October? Without question. read more

Oaktoberfest 2011 SsssWow!! Do they know how to pick it, the sun was shining, the beer for flowing, and the surrounding attendees were vibing to the music. This year Oakland designated 4 streets to the event, in the heart of the Dimond District. If you were looking for parking, it was super simple, just 1 block away from the event was the morning carpool parking lot which magically turned into the Oaktoberfest parking lot, parking signs you can't miss and it was FREE; a shaded area to keep your car nice an cool. Once you founded the ticket booth, let the drinking being. Carrying your new souvenir mug, you had several vendors to choose from. All delicious in their own right and all friendly filling your glass to the brim for the price of 1 ticket. There was something to do for all family members, Kids Corner was localed at the B of A parking lot; which housed a square brick fence keeping kids safe from the streets and entertained within the red walls. Kids had several stations to go crazy: face painting, coin toss with prizes, free music lesson (instruments provided), jumbo size checkers, arts and crafts, and a jumpy jump. Only happy faces was given, kids faces was stuck in laughing and smiling mood in the Kids Corner. For the Adults: There was plenty to entertainment to be had. The beer lines was long but quick. The different varieties of food was enough to keep one drinking: BBQ stations, 5&10 burger (food truck from off he grid was there), German Sausages wrapped in hot dogs buns, root beer floats, and etc. Dancing the afternoon away was another great way to shake off the beer and food. Live turf dancing had a crowd clapping and cheering throughout the day. And if your dance shoes brought you to the house DJ on the opposite end, a dance floor was set up to groove and shake. The event started at 10am and ended at 7pm. The hours melted away. What a great way to start October!! read more

Oh Oakland, you've got character. Oaklandish also hosted this event during the same weekend as Fairyland. There were a ton of booths and food options here. There was also live music and really tasty Guinness Chip Ice Cream. OMG so good! I can't remember the vendor but I highly recommend trying it. I think it was more chocolate than Guinness but who cares. I also grabbed a rootbeer float with all of the kids at the event. This was a great event hosted on a very nice afternoon. Worth checking out. read more

Fun fun fun commmunity love. If you're looking for some fun in Oakland and you want to get out and join the community this is the place to go. read more

This is a fantastic community event that brings out all of the best of Oakland. There are plenty of events for kids and families, an amazing array of craft beers, and music and dancing. Oaktoberfest is about celebrating the diversity of Oakland and it's German heritage. So come enjoy what makes Oakland exceptional. read more

After a morning of rushing around, my bf and I decided not to try and fight the masses at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. Instead, we took a nice little walk over to the Dimond for Oaktoberfest and were pleasantly rewarded. Besides any event that involves people walking around in liederhosen pretty much rocks... The beer selection was awesome (triple voodoo, linden street, Oakland Brewing Company, Trumer Pils to name a few) and 20 bucks for a stein and 4 beers?! SO cheap! The sausages were awesome. I wish I could remember the name of the truck we got our brats from but it was very authentic. We got there early so we avoided the crowds that began around noon. I will definitely be back next year! read more

This is basically a regular street fair with beer and a bit of German food thrown in. There is the usual variety of food booths (non German), information booths, etc. The Oktoberfest was very crowded. It's hard to find parking or a place to sit, but it's bigger than another similar event in Clayton. It could be fun anyway I suppose if you like street festivals, but be realistic about what this event really is and expect to stand in lines in the heat. Don't go expecting Oktoberfest, go expecting a regular street fair with a little German stuff throw in. Oh, and a lot of beer. There were some local business which was nice. p.s. the Zymurgists were very nice and we had a great chat about brewing beer. read more

Nothing makes me happier then beer festivals in Oakland. Great location. Great vibes. "Good People drink good beer". HS. The only complaint is in 2009, they ran out of a lot of great beers early. Other then that, it was a good time. Cheers!!!!! read more

Oaktoberfest in the Dimond - Cheers Fu@k Face!! - Festivals Near Me - Oakland, California

I was very excited when I heard about this one passing by the San Francisco Oktoberfest experience for something a bit more homespun. All in all it was a fun time but don't go if you want to celebrate Oktoberfest, do go if you want a decent enough beer fest. First off, while there were quite a few beers present, there were only a few German beers. The reason I gave this rating a third star is because one of the Alameda beer restaurants brought beer from Klosterbrauerei Andechs. Andechs is a monastery brewery outside of Munich and to many of us is the holy Grail of beer which you can't buy in the US.....usually. Hats off. Now for the food - "Oh look, there is bratwurst, and there and there and there, its German food! Whatever and blah. Only one place had decent brats and knockwurst but none of the other fixings. But there was lots of pizza to go with the non German beers. Went to Leopolds in the city afterwards to address my yearnings for German food but that is another review.(amazing place) Now for the part that bugged my 1/4 German side the most and that was the music consisting of a multi piece German band stuck in the corner way down at the end of the block with 10 people listening to them. No singing, no toasts, just a tired sad band playing to the few. Felt like Oktoberfest in the geriatric ward. I left and watched the kids break dancing which is where everyone was. Lame if you want an Oktoberfest experience. Fun brew fest. Depends upon what you want. read more

I wished I had known how much beer I was going to get for free :-P. So the festival is in the middle of the Diamond district in Oakland. Lots of beer and lots of people. I liked the fact that some of the smaller booths offered free samples forever. That's right unlimited samples so if I had known that, I would have just bought the stein and drank that beer :-P. Of course if you like the actual breweries, they offer beers for 5 dollars each. I think I was kinda tipsy when I was there, so it's kind of hard to review this event, but if Im around here for next year, I'll try to keep in mind a review :-P read more