THEY’RE PULLING OUT all the stops on Oct. 19 to 21: they’re bringing in beer from Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan (the Bavarian State Brewery of Weihenstephan; or just Weihenstephan), the world’s oldest brewery — if one goes by records that date it to 1040 (though the first written record is from the 1600s; scholars are out whether the 1040 record is authentic). Either way, Newport World Resorts’s beer fest will include Weihenstephan’s Helles lager and Korbinian dark beer.
David Jorden, Chief Marketing Officer for Newport World Resorts also said, “The chefs have spent a lot of time researching specific German food.” For a preview held on Sept. 7 (which included a chugging contest and a stein-lifting contest), guests were treated to platters of Laugen pretzels and soft rolls, Munich-style sausage salad, an assortment of bratwurst, sauerkraut, and regional sausages, pork knuckle and chicken schnitzel, and finally, apfelstrudel (really an Austrian dessert). Mr. Jorden did point out, “We’ve got an Austrian band — which is really close to Bavaria.”
The bonds between Austria and Bavaria run deep, both nations having been ruled by Catholics in an increasingly Protestant Germany. Austrian Archdukes favored Bavarian brides for this purpose, and in fact, Oktoberfest goes back to a wedding. The first Oktoberfest (traditionally opened in mid-September) in 1810 was for the wedding of then-Prince Ludwig I of Bavaria to Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.
While it was announced that this was the property’s first Oktoberfest, we recall that we attended a Filipino craft beer event last year centered around the same theme. Mr. Jorden said that that had been an “October-fiesta.” “We played around with a craft beer Filipino October-Fiesta,” he said. But now, “If we’re going to do this, we’ll do it properly and traditionally.”
Oktoberfest is an effort to have another occasion to celebrate before Christmas, according to Mr. Jorden. The other is Halloween. “It seemed like the city locks into Christmas from there,” he said. “It’s really about giving people a reason to come out. Something different, something very substantial, and authentic.”
Meanwhile, he gave other reasons to come out to Newport: “We’ve got a huge array of Filipino and international artists (coming) as well,” he said, pointing out Air Supply’s show in December, among others. (Ticket to the Air Supply show sold out in 72 hours, according to Mr. Jorden.)
Oktoberfest will be held on Oct. 19-21 at the Hilton Manila’s Grand Ballroom. Early birds can still avail themselves of the discount promo rate of P4,800 net per head until Sept. 17. The regular price of P5,200 net starts from Sept. 18 to Oct. 21. For tickets, visit https://www.newportworldresorts.com/oktoberfest2023 or e-mail hiltonmanila_events@hilton.com. — JLG