Oktoberfest, known to the world as a 16-day celebration in Germany filled with fun, games and beer, made its way to Columbia last Saturday.
World of Beer hosted their own Oktoberfest, complete with live music, a partnership with Sam Adams and festive hats for attendees to wear. The event had been in the works for about three months, according to general manager Calvin Miner.
With blue skies and the sun out, the back patio at World of Beer was the perfect setting for customers to come out and enjoy different types of beer, the various food offered on World of Beer’s menu and Jaeger shots courtesy of a Jaeger machine. If customers wanted, they could get a picture inside of a large stein to commemorate the day.
Local bands were featured alongside the local beers that World of Beer is well known for offering. The bands included Just for Kicks and Brent Lundy, and between acts a DJ took the stage to keep customers in the party mood.
Miner noted that while he could have brought in bigger names and break his budget by doing so, he enjoys promoting local bands and thinks it fits well with the local theme he cultivates with his beer.
According to Miner, what really separates World of Beer outside of the Oktoberfest held Saturday is the people and the atmosphere that World of Beer brings in.
“I’ve worked at other bars, I’ve worked at commercial bars, I’ve worked at big name bars you’ve seen at Bowl Games, and World of Beer will get there eventually, but the message is still clear," he said. "We're beer first."
World of Beer employees have to go through extensive training, totaling 40-50 hours, before they even make it out onto the floor.
“Anybody can read a menu, but our servers and bartenders and managers, we love the product,” Miner said.
One of Miner’s favorite parts about World of Beer is the fact that he gets so much foot traffic from different hotels and gets to meet a variety of people.
When it comes to Miner’s personal preference, he jokes that his favorite beer of all time is the $40 kegs of Natural Light he used to buy in college. Jokes aside, he admits that he does not have a favorite beer of all time, but recently has been drinking a lot of River Rat Brown, from River Rat Brewery located right near Williams-Brice Stadium.
“Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale is really good. [It’s] aged in bourbon barrels for about a year," Miner said. "It’s high alcohol content, so you have three you don’t weigh yourself down, you’re like ‘Eh, I could probably call it a night.'"
Whether it’s the Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, River Rat Brown, Oktoberfest or the craving for a good beer and a great atmosphere, World of Beer isn’t slowing down anytime soon.