3 Beer Festivals in Germany

to Visit in 2024

“Humankind was built on beer. From the world’s first writing to its first laws, in rituals, social, religious, and political, civilisation is soaked in beer.” As William Bostwick pointed out, beer was, is and will be an important part of our culture. Yet, in some countries, it’s praised even more than in others.

In Germany, for example, there are numerous beer festivals (yes, not only Oktoberfest!). All of them are a fun way to cultivate the beer culture, though some are visibly better than others. Which ones are worth visiting the most, then? Find it out in this article!

The Best German Beer Festivals in 2024

So, let’s not prolong the wait any further—here’s a list of the best German beer festivals to visit in 2024.

Oktoberfest

• Date: 21.09-06.10.2024
• Location: Munich, Germany

Beer festivals in Germany are more than Oktoberfest, but each list with the best ones has to include it! Taking place on the verge of September and October, this is the most famous beer-related event—according to the organisers, it was visited by around 6.3 million people last year!

If you plan to visit it, remember to book a place in a brewery tent. Each of these has its own booking portal, and you don’t want to miss out on visiting at least one of them!

Stuttgart Beer Festival

• Date: 27.09-13.10.2024
• Location: Stuttgart, Germany

Also known as Cannstatter Volksfest, you can treat this festival as Oktoberfest’s younger sibling. A mature younger sibling, to be more specific, as Stuttgart Beer Festival does a lot of things better than their predecessor.

For instance, during this German beer festival, you’ll see the tents open for longer, and the restrictions on traditional German music will be less strict. Moreover, you can also drink many more beverages than just beer.

The best part of this festival is that it’s not so well-known abroad as Oktoberfest, despite being similarly good. It’s the Oktoberfest quality minus the crowds of tourists, so we strongly recommend it!

International Berlin Beer Festival

• Dates: 03.08-04.09.2024
• Location: Berlin

This German beer festival is just different. Firstly, it’s organised much earlier than its main competitors; secondly, it’s much shorter than the others. What’s so special about it?

Well, this festival is well known for beating the Guinness World Record for the longest beer garden. It’s characterised by a diversity of beers from over 80 countries, along with more than 240 breweries.

It’s a short but intensive celebration and not the only one in Berlin, but if you have time to visit the city during the beer festival, trust us, you should do it! And if you can’t, there’s the Berlin Beer Week on the verge of August and September—it’s a good alternative!

German Beer Festival Costumes—What’s the Deal with Them?

If you have ever seen photos from German beer festivals, you probably spotted the unusual outfits. These are called Lederhosen (for women) or Dirndl (for men). Do you need to get them? Not at all.

The point here is that you shouldn’t try to dress up too much. A casual beer festival outfit will be fine; it does not need to be a full-on traditional costume. There is no strict dress code that you need to follow, though a shirt (mind that it does not have to be checked, despite what most sellers say) will also be fine!

The Takeaway

These are just the three best beer festivals in Germany that you should visit in 2024. We have one final tip for you: pick accommodation somewhere in the centre of the country (e.g., Berlin) and tour the different festivals held in the country. What else should you visit? Here’s a short list:

• Starkbierfest (Munich),
• Freimarkt (Bremen),
• Kölner Bierbörse (Cologne),
• Bierbörse (Hamburg).

You might also read: Safestay Berlin is Located Right in the Center of Berlin