Breaking the Oktoberfest's "cartel"
Oktoberfest began on October 12, 1810, as a public wedding celebration for Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (later King Louis I) and Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen in Munich, Germany.
A year after the wedding celebrations of 1810, everyone was in agreement: "We want more, without having to wait for another royal wedding”, and so, the world’s biggest beer festival came to be from then onwards.
Oktoberfest was financed privately up until 1819, when the city’s forefathers stepped in to make the event a top priority, after it was established that the Bierfest was guaranteed to draw a crowd, and that it would generate a wealth of revenue and should therefore be celebrated annually.
The beer mafia
In 1825, the municipal authorities issued a decree limiting the number of Munich beer vendors to 18. At that time, the festival grounds were characterized by the circular arrangement of the 18 wooden beer stalls: The first large beer tent, called the "1. Bayerische Riesenhalle" (“1st Bavarian Giant Hall”) was erected in 1898. In 1907, the many small stalls were replaced by six large festival halls belonging to Munich's major breweries.
And thus began the beer mafia. From then on, and for generations, only six breweries have been allowed to pour at the world's biggest beer festival, which generates ~$1.8B for the local economy and attracts upwards of 7m merrymakers.
Today, the city imposes strict rules on who can sell beer at the annual fete, which for over a century has included only six breweries: Hofbräu, Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Löwenbräu, Paulaner and Spaten.
The rules specify that all beer must:
Be made within city limits by "established and reputable" breweries.
Abide by the Munich Purity Law of 1487.
Be made from barley, hops, yeast, and water from a deep well.
Even Prince Leopold of Bavaria, whose family started Oktoberfest - couldn't get his beer into the festival. He sued, unsuccessfully, alleging a cartel and sales monopoly.
One brewery's mission to disrupt Oktoberfest's "cartel"
Now, Giesinger Bräu, founded by Steffen Marx in 2006, could be the first brewery to break up the "beer mafia." But he needs the city council's blessing or enough signatures for a citywide referendum — he's received 21k of 35k.
While Giesinger Bräu represents only 1% of Munich's beer production, it's received significant support, including a documentary — Straight Outta Giasing.
Local restaurant Münchner Stubn sued Munich after losing a bid to manage one of the festival's massive tents, which can sell ~$11m worth of beer alone - alleging the process unfairly favors families that have run tents for generations.
Here's hoping Giesinger Bräu can be among the ~7m liters of beer poured at next year's festival.
Source: External
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