The brass music makes the beer mugs vibrate on the long wooden tables where people in dirndls or lederhosen sit. Oktoberfests or Wiesn based on the Bavarian model are also gaining more and more fans in Saxony. "Our Oktoberfest at home has grown considerably in the last three years and still has a lot of potential," says Thomas Münzer, Head of Marketing at Sternquell-Brauerei GmbH in Plauen. The company was the first in Saxony to start the season with the "Sternquell Wiesn". Several thousand guests attended the first run three years ago. This year, the number is likely to have been around 20,000, estimates Münzer. "But as we don't charge admission, we're only estimating."
According to the head of marketing, the majority of the brewery's annual turnover is still generated through trade. "But we use the Wiesn to present our beer brand as part of the Vogtland region and to charge it emotionally." A separate "Stadl" - a marquee with an adjoining beer garden and seating for 3,000 - was decorated in the Saxon state colors of green and white. Mainly regional brass bands played and a "Wiesn beer" was brewed. According to Münzer, the focus is on a cozy get-together and regional beer culture.
