California’s beer scene is legendary, spanning from the Old West days to the modern craft brew movement. And with its balmy autumn, the Golden State makes a natural home base for lively Oktoberfest festivals, complete with rich cuisine, oompah music, and yodeling or stein-holding competitions. Here are 10 celebrations worth a visit, many featuring local brews.
Weekends Sept. 12–Nov. 14: Oktoberfest Big Bear
First launched by a pair of German immigrants in Big Bear Lake in 1969, this series of weekend parties in the San Bernardino Mountains is one of the biggest German festivals on the West Coast. Festivities include live music and dancing, as well as log-sawing and beer-stein-holding contests.
Weekends Sept. 19–Oct. 25: Lake Arrowhead Village Oktoberfest
The San Bernardino Mountains, which surround the Inland Empire town of Temecula, make an idyllic setting for lots of beer, sausages, pretzels, and traditional German music—along with yodeling and beer-stein-holding contests.
Weekends Sept. 25–Oct. 10: Wurstküche Restaurant Oktoberfest, Venice Beach
This German restaurant in Venice Beach, which also has a Downtown L.A. location, boasts of being “a purveyor of exotic grilled sausage,” and indeed its regular menu spans from brats and mango-jalapeño links to sausage made with rattlesnake, buffalo, pheasant, and more. But its four weekends of Oktoberfest fun at the Venice branch are pretty traditional, with yodeling, stein-holding contests, and a live German oompah band.
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Sept. 25–26: Walnut Creek Oktoberfest
The Contra Costa county town hosts this free-admission Oktoberfest at its Civic Park, with live music and dancing, gourmet food vendors, and dozens of craft beers and wine, along with a lederhosen competition. Kids are welcome too and will be entertained by crafts, a giant slide, train rides, a petting zoo, and more.
Sept. 26: Mom Said Yes Oktoberfest, Torrance
The L.A. County town of Torrance has a cutting-edge craft beer scene, but this Bavarian outpost plays it all-ages each year, with German-style pretzles and cheese, a bounce house, a full retro arcade, a stein-holding contest, a beer pong tournament, and lots of beer.
Oct 3–4: Camp Richardson’s Oktoberfest, South Lake Tahoe
This is the 31st year for this Oktoberfest at the historic Camp Richardson compound on Lake Tahoe, which first opened in the 1920s. The weekend activities in South Lake Tahoe include lots of beer and authentic cuisine, live music, a climbing wall, pumpkin patch, and a bungee platform.
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Weekends Oct. 3–25: Oktoberfest at Die Bierstube, Brea
Thanks to its founding by German immigrants, Anaheim has a serious beer scene that dates back to 1870. Its local Oktoberfest, held on weekends in nearby Brea, features beer, music, and food at this longtime German restaurant.
Oct. 9–10: OB Oktoberfest, San Diego
German culture fits in just fine in Ocean Beach, one of San Diego’s quintessential surfer communities. Enjoy the beer garden, featuring nine local San Diego beers, listen to music from the beachside stage, or take part in the stein-holding, bratwurst-eating, or balloon-blowing contests.
Oct. 10: Cotati Oktoberfest, Sonoma County
The same Sonoma County town that hosts its own accordion festival in summer also hosts a great Oktoberfest. The fall party in Cotati includes German-style food, beers, wiener-dog racing, yodeling, stein holding, costume contests, and live music by Polka Casserole.
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Oct. 24: 10th Annual La Quinta Brewing Oktoberfest, La Quinta
The Palm Springs area is rarely confused with Bavaria in terms of terrain, but this Oktoberfest at the La Quinta Brewing Company easily compensates with its German-style beers brewed specially for this event. There will also be plenty of German cuisine, games, and live music from the Bavarian band Hazelnuss.
