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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.
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!!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!!
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.
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.
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.
1 year ago
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
3 years ago
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
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
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
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
8 years ago
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
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
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
4 years ago
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
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
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
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
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
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
9 years ago
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
7 years ago
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
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
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
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
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
12 years ago
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
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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
13 years ago
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More info about Oaktoberfest in the Dimond
Dimond District
Intersection of MacArthur and Fruitvale
Oakland, CA 94602
Upper Dimond, Lower Hills
Directions
Visit Website
http://oaktoberfest.org/
Hours
Indoor Amenities
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