Beer and food prices at Oktoberfest 2008

I received a first reliable comparison this week: A reservation at Hippodrom during their *cringe* Happy-Hippo-Hour (3:30 - 6:30pm) on a weekday costs €28 per person as opposed to €24 last year. That is an increase by roughly 16.5% and made my mind boggle.

Not quite the right topic but faute de mieux: Sieber Wurstbraterei has got the chop. Founded in 1825 and appointed to the Court around the end of the 19th century, Sieber was a regular at the Wiesn for more than a hundred years and served stand-up snacks such as Schaschlik, Schweinswürstl, Currywurst and - midday special - Weißwurst for €0.60 each until 12 noon. Seems they didn't get enough points to survive the competition of a stand dedicated to veal operated by a "large gastronomical company".
Sic transit gloria prati, as said before.

And the price for the Maß has been announced: With prices between €7.90 (Wienerwald, Able - the veal specialist mentioned in my last post) and €8.40 the Maß has once again reached an all time high.
Toni Roiderer, owner of the Hacker tent and spokesman for the tent owners, claims that the increase is abolutely necessary.


It includes 19% VAT, 15% waiters' charge and 9 cents for the higher costs for raw materials. Further increases are 3.5 - 5% for tent contruction, 3% personnel costs and higher energy costs. "It may not look like it but the owners' profits are not higher than last year", Roiderer claims. According to my source that is €3 per Maß.

I don't like the way he lumps the VAT and the waiters' charge together with other increases and makes them look like new and unexpected costs.

Your Maß Weißbier will set you back up to €8.80 or €13 (!, that's how much I pay for a whole crate at my local Getränkemarkt), nonalcoholic drinks such as lemonade or Spezi €5.20 to €9.33, and good old mineral water €5.20 to €9.80.

Last year in the Weinzelt it was 6.20 for a weiss bier, and my brother in law and I done in 27 between us. That's a lot of crates of Augustiner

Why, why , would you go to a winezelt and drink a). Weissbier and b). 23 of them, at such an extortionate price? I'm a bit strapped for cash this week, can you send me €150, I'll give you a crate of Weissbier in return?

you could ask any attendee of the Fest! Why go pay 9Euro for a beer, when you can sit at home and drink one with your friends for next to nothing.

While a Maß is expensive, although it doesn't cost €9, yet, it is at least a liter, or thereabouts, but €6,20 is for a half liter, so €12,40 a Maß, and according to OP it will be €13! That's madness.

Unfortuately that was the only tent where, at short notice, i could reserve 8 places...and i'm not a big fan of Wine, and since they dont sell Helles in there, there was only one option remaining... Weiss bier...and p.s. it was 27 of them, not 23 )

It gets worse!

Ok, we're talking about two weeks of fun where you're drinking lots of beer for a few days/nights. Of course it gets more expensive, maybe the prices rise a bit more than the general currency depreciation, but this fest attracts more and more people every time. We're talking about economy here, and of course I am not looking forward to pay over 8 euros for my Maß at the Oktoberfest, but I don't blame the tent owners on the other hand.

I will be just as irked that I have to pay these prices, but I will just have as much fun with my visitors, and I'll have the exact same feeling in the morning that I have spent way too much money for a night out.

I'm American, in which case I'm broke once I set foot in Europe.

How many euros should I have on me for a day of Oktoberfest?

200 Min. per day

8 Eur. is on the low side per mass, some of the mass will be going for 13 Eur.. (As per previous newspaper stories)

Bit of daft question really, isn't it. Do you intend to drink...if so what do you reckon your consumption over a day might be? Also factor in buying a few drinks for friends or people you might meet. Normally I will bring a couple of hundred to the Wiesn and spread it out in different pockets...usually my own. But it totally depends on you, your drinking habits, your eating habits and your general spending habits.

Do a rough estimation and treat it like a casino. Bring enough so that you don't run short and don't bring any more than you would be comfortable losing.

200 is what I was thinking (and fearful of)

That's approximately $300 USD, sucky conversion, but well worth every penny (euro).

Thanks for all the help, this forum is good stuff.

200 is too high I reckon. You drink 5 mass (45 euro), eat (25 euro), go on a few rides (25).. you'll get out for under 100 euros..

If you want to keep value for money do the rides first, then the eating and drinking.
Reckon another €15 to €20 for a t-shirt or sweatshirt, the latter are good quality generally.

Definitely save the €20-30 for the t-shirt if you decide to eat and drink first and then go on the rides

€200 could last you two days! Even better, because after the first day you will be hooked!

And don't forget to calculate a bit of cash for that stuff that you buy after your drinking... stuff where you ask yourself the question on the next day "Why the hell did I get this?". Stuff like funny hats, shirts, funky sunglasses, etc...

Probably better if you DON`T calculate the cash for these extras then