5 things to know about Oktoberfest this weekend

Sep. 20—On the Sept. 16-18 opening weekend of Oktoberfest at Penn Brewery in Pittsburgh's North Side, revelers drank 65 half-barrels of beer — or just over 1,000 gallons.

If that sounds like a lot, consider this: At the granddaddy of Oktoberfests in Munich, Germany, about 6 million visitors will down about 2 million gallons of the liquid gold.

Of course, they have about two weeks to do it.

Penn Brewery's featured quaff is called — you guessed it — Oktoberfest. Head brewer Chris Rudolph describes it as "a medium-bodied lager; a nutty, toasted, roasted caramel malt with 5 1/2 % APV and 25 IBUs, so it's not high in bitterness."

It has the perfect balance between a light summer beer and the darker beers that come in with fall, he said.

Penn Brewery has one of the oldest Oktoberfests in Pittsburgh and, in owner Stefan Nitsch's estimation, the most authentic. The celebration continues this weekend, and Nitsch expects Saturday to be "a crazy one," with the appearance of costumed characters like the Yinzer Pope and Steelers Jesus.

Hours are 5-11:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday and noon-9 p.m. Sunday at 800 Vinial St. Along with the Oktoberfest beer, there will be other brews, food, music and fun. For information and tickets, visit pennbrew.com.

You can bet they'll be celebrating Oktoberfest this weekend at Hofbrauhaus Pittsburgh Brewery & Restaurant, too. There will be the eponymous lager, with "a slightly spicy hint of hops in flavor and finish." German-style food and music round out the fun.

Hours are 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Friday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sunday at 2705 S. Water St., South Side. For information, visit hofbrauhauspittsburgh.com.

It's Oktoberfest from 2 to 10 p.m. Saturday at All Saints Brewing Co., at Route 119 and Roseytown Road in Hempfield. The event will feature an Oktoberfest craft beer and release of the Hallowed Pumpkin Ale, along with live music and a food truck. For information, visit allsaintscraftbrewing.com.

Marino's Eatery at Four Seasons Brewing Co. in Latrobe will debut an Oktoberfest-inspired menu on Thursday, including a Brewhouse Jagerschnitzel, Bavarian pretzel, potato pancake poutine, bratwurst hoagie and bratwurst and sauerkraut pizza. The menu, along with the brewery's special Oktoberfest beer, will be available for about two weeks, said Four Seasons owner Mark Pavlik.

The brewery at 745 Lloyd Ave. Ext. will have German accordion music from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday. For information, visit fsbrewing.com.

Here are a few fun facts about Oktoberfest:

Oktoberfest started with a wedding — The precursor of Oktoberfest was the marriage celebration of the crown prince of Bavaria, later King Ludwig I, to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen that began Oct. 12, 1810, and ended five days later with a horse race. The following year, the race was combined with a state agricultural fair.

In subsequent years, food, drink and other features were added until the modern-day festival in Munich evolved to include parades, entertainment, games, amusement rides, music and dancing.

Oktoberfest takes place mostly in September — These days, the Munich Oktoberfest is held over a 16-day span leading up to the first Sunday in October, which segues into the celebration of the public holiday Tag der Deutschen Einheit, or Day of German Unity, falling on Oct. 3.

Pushing the festival forward made for better weather conditions, with the longer daylight hours and warmer temperatures of September giving visitors better opportunities to enjoy strolling the gardens and fields surrounding the beer tents.

Lagers are the traditional Oktoberfest beers — Penn Brewery is on the money with its Oktoberfest brew. The beer traditionally served at the Munich Oktoberfest is a Marzen, or March beer, a lager that originated in Bavaria. Marzenbier has a medium to full body and can vary in color from pale to amber to dark brown.

Oktoberfest is a celebration of Munich beer, so only six local breweries serve on the premises: Paulaner, Spaten, Hacker-Pschorr, Augustiner, Hofbrau and Lowenbrau.

If you can't make it to Penn Brewery this weekend, Rudolph said the Oktoberfest brew will be available through the end of October.

Paris Hilton is permanently banned from Oktoberfest — The reality show star and hotel heiress attended the 2006 event clad in a shiny, golden dirndl to promote a brand of canned wine. Locals were offended by her take on the traditional Bavarian dress and prevailed on organizers to ban her.

Cincinnati hosts the largest U.S. Oktoberfest — With more than 700,000 visitors annually, Oktoberfest Zinzinnati is the second-largest such festival in the world, eclipsed only by the original in Munich.

Founded in 1976 and held this year from Sept. 16 to 18, the downtown event showcases the rich German heritage of Southwest Ohio with German-style food, polka bands and — of course — a bier garten. There is also a "best-dressed" contest, a chicken dance and the Running of the Wieners, a race for dachshunds clad in hot dog costumes.

Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley by email at smcmarlin@triblive.com or via Twitter .