Bear & the Butcher brought the experiences and foods of Oktoberfest to Lexington, Ky., through German foods, drinks and a steinholding competition on Thursday, Sept. 11. 

According to Jason Huff, the assistant general manager of Bear & the Butcher, the event has occurred annually for the last eight years to celebrate the restaurant owners’ German roots.

“When we first opened, we opened with homemade sausage, craft sausages,”  Huff said. “One of the owners owns a beer trap, which is well known for their international craft beers, so they’re very much into that (German) culture as well.” 

For the event, the standard menu for the Bear & the Butcher was adjusted to include some German-based dishes, such as giant pretzels with beer cheese and boar bratwurst with Sauerkraut, according to Huff.  

“We have some great German food,” Huff said. “Of course, there’s take-home steins tonight from Hofbrau, so they get to take a little souvenir with them, and it’s just a cool community.”

According to Huff, Oktoberfest started in October in Munich, Germany, but over the years it has slowly been moved up to September to avoid the cold of the original month.  

Charles Maroudas, bar manager for Bear & the Butcher and a UK alumnus, said the event helps draw a bit more of a crowd on a weekday.

“It gets everybody out in the local community, we see a lot of our regulars, gets them excited about something on the menu we usually don’t have, the steinholding competitions are a lot of fun, it gets everybody in a good mood,”  Maroudas said.

According to Maroudas, the steinholding competition consists of the contestant holding two liter-sized cups, called steins, in each hand. Contestants have to hold out both arms, straight out, as long as possible until their arms drop. 

“I’ve learned a little bit over the years about the festival itself,” Maroudas said. “I might actually take a trip up there one year, and how we’re embracing it here, I guess it’s exposure to the local community about what Oktoberfest is.”

According to Maroadas, the event feels more like a party for the community of Lexington to come and try something they may not be familiar with.

“Some events we do, people don’t know what’s going on and they show up like, ‘What’s this?’ But this one, people that don’t know what’s going on, they can still have a good time,” Maroudas said. “They end up sticking around, becoming a part of it (Oktoberfest). It’s really welcoming.” 

Lindon May, UK alumnus and financial planning analyst, said his mother’s side of the family is German. Although he doesn’t know much about the culture, he said enjoyed learning about it through Oktoberfest.    ​​

“Spending time with my mom’s always cool. I don’t get to do that as often as I’d like, so it’s been nice,” May said. 

Nathan McCullough, bar manager for the Bear & the Butcher and a UK graduate student, said they make an effort to expand and embrace German culture through Oktoberfest. 

“Honestly, I feel like basically everything always gets bigger each year,” McCullough said. “We add new decorations, we end up adding more specials and stuff like that, and we just try to make it a great experience for all of our customers.”