How to Make the Most of Oktoberfest in Your Venue

Oktoberfest is arguably the biggest date in the beer calendar and a great opportunity to give customers another reason to head to the pub. But simply putting a couple of Oktoberfest beers on the bar is only part of the job.

From making your venue look the part to shouting about what you're doing online, a bit of planning can turn an Oktoberfest listing into a proper event. If you're taking part in our Paulaner Oktoberfest activation this year, here are seven ways to make the most of your beer and POS kit.

1. Make the Beer Front and Centre

First things first: make it obvious you're celebrating Oktoberfest.

Your Oktoberfest beers shouldn't be hidden among everything else on the bar. Use your tap badges, menus, chalkboards and POS to draw attention to them and give customers a reason to ask what's pouring.

If you've received one of our Paulaner Oktoberfest POS kits, use it! The idea is to make the venue feel noticeably different during the activation and create a proper sense of occasion.

You don't necessarily need to use everything in one place either. Think about the customer journey through the venue, from something eye-catching outside or at the entrance through to the bar, tables and drinking areas.

2. Pour the No. 1 OKTOBERFEST BEER

If you're going to celebrate Oktoberfest, make authenticity part of the story.

Paulaner isn't just one of the six Munich breweries permitted to brew beer for the official Oktoberfest, its Oktoberfest Bier is the No.1 Oktoberfest beer in Germany. Paulaner has been brewing beer for the festival since 1818, giving your customers the chance to enjoy the real taste of Munich without leaving your venue.

Make that part of the story when you're selling it. Tell customers they're drinking Germany's No.1 Oktoberfest beer and one that's poured at the festival itself. A little bit of background can turn an unfamiliar beer into something people actively want to try.

3. Offer a Proper Oktoberfest Line-Up

One beer is good. A whole Oktoberfest selection is better.

Having a few different beers available gives customers the chance to explore the festival properly and creates an easy opportunity to encourage a second or third purchase.

Cave Direct has a huge selection of authentic German beer available for Oktoberfest, including beers from Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, Augustiner and Hofbräu, so consider putting together a dedicated Oktoberfest section on your beer menu or chalkboard.

You could also offer a tasting flight, allowing customers to try several Oktoberfest beers side by side and find their favourite.

4. Shout About It on Social

Don't wait for customers to walk past and notice that Oktoberfest is happening.

Social media has become an important part of how people decide where they're going for a drink. Research from KAM found that 18% of UK adults turn to social media when researching a hospitality venue, while 13% have made an unplanned visit after seeing friends or family at a venue on social media.

Start posting before your Oktoberfest celebration begins and keep it going throughout the activation.

Show the beers arriving. Show the venue being decorated. Get a good shot of the first Paulaner Oktoberfest being poured. Post what's on tap. Share pictures when the venue is busy and repost customers who tag you.

And don't forget to tag @CaveDirectUK in your Oktoberfest content. We'll be keeping an eye out throughout the festival and supporting participating venues by reposting and sharing some of our favourite activity.

Most importantly, make sure every post actually tells people where you are, what's happening and when they can visit.

Paulaner Oktoberfest Media Database

5. Turn It Into an Event

Oktoberfest 2026 runs from 19 September to 4 October, giving you more than two weeks to make something happen. So why limit your Oktoberfest activity to a single night?

Give people a reason to choose a particular night rather than simply saying "we've got Oktoberfest beer on".

That doesn't need to mean putting on a huge event. A dedicated Oktoberfest evening, launch night, tasting session or weekend celebration can be enough to create urgency and give you something specific to promote. Or go bigger and run activity across the whole festival, giving customers multiple reasons to come back.

You could mark the beginning and end of your celebrations with a ceremonial barrel tapping, creating a natural opening and closing event and a great piece of content for social media.

Food is another easy way to build the occasion. If your kitchen allows it, think bratwurst, schnitzel, pretzels and other Bavarian-inspired specials that can be paired with the beers.

You could even run a simple Oktoberfest Passport, encouraging customers to try several different festbiers over the course of the activation.

And don't forget the music. Paulaner has its own Oktoberfest Spotify playlist, so get it playing in the venue and add another bit of Munich atmosphere to your celebration.

6. Get Your Team Involved

Your staff are one of the best marketing tools you've got and have a massive amount of influencer over what customers choose when they get to the bar.

Make sure everyone behind the bar knows what the Oktoberfest beers are, what makes them different and why they're worth trying. You don't need a ten-minute history lesson, just a couple of useful talking points that can turn "What's that?" into a pint sold.

It's worth getting the team clued up on Oktoberfest itself too. Why does the festival exist? Where did it start? Why are only six Munich breweries allowed to serve beer there? Giving staff a bit of the history and origin story behind Oktoberfest gives them more to talk about with customers and helps bring the whole activation to life.

If you've got branded T-shirts, hats or other wearable POS in your kit, getting the team involved also makes the activation much more visible and helps differentiate it from a normal weekend.

7. Make It Something People Want to Photograph

Good POS doesn't just make the venue look better. It gives customers something to share.

Try creating one particularly strong Oktoberfest area rather than spreading every decoration thinly around the venue. Blue and white Bavarian decorations, Paulaner branding, steins and other POS can create a focal point that looks great both in person and on Instagram.

If customers are taking photos, encourage them to tag your venue when they post. That's extra exposure to exactly the kind of local audience you want to reach.

Make Oktoberfest More Than Just Another Tap

Ultimately, the venues that get the most from Oktoberfest will be the ones that treat it as an occasion.

Great beer is obviously at the heart of it, but combine authentic Oktoberfest beers with strong POS, a bit of theatre, knowledgeable staff and plenty of promotion and you've got something customers can actually get excited about.

If you've received one of our Paulaner Oktoberfest POS kits, get it up, get the beers pouring and start shouting about what you've got planned.

And remember, Paulaner isn't just for Oktoberfest. Once the festival is over, explore the rest of the Paulaner portfolio, from the iconic Paulaner Münchner Hell to the world-renowned Paulaner Weissbier, and consider making Paulaner a permanent part of your range throughout the year.

Finally, start thinking about next year. Take what worked this Oktoberfest, learn from what didn't and think about how you could make your activation even bigger in 2027. We're always looking for venues to work with on larger-scale activations, so if you've got ambitions to go bigger and better next year, speak to your Cave Direct Account Manager.

And if you still need to stock up for Oktoberfest, speak to your Cave Direct Account Manager or explore our range of authentic German Oktoberfest beers.