Pre-Oktoberfest at the Nichols Building

Here at Exposed we love to party. So imagine our delight when we receive an invite to a pre-party-party.

Pre-Oktoberfest at The Nichols Building was Sheffield’s answer to the popular Bavarian beer festival held in Munich for 17 days from the first Sunday in October.

In true Bavarian-style our welcome included a gaggle of huge sausages (what is the collective term for sausages?)  – quite intimidating for any man on an empty stomach, but a pleasing sight when you know that the main focus of the evening will be beer.

As well as bratwurst’s we were also offered Zebra, Kangaroo, Bison and traditional beef – all in a convenient burger package – a veritable herd of delicious goodies. In the interests of authenticity, the vegetarian option was sauerkraut.

So, sated by a meaty sausage, our attention turned to the vast array of Oktoberfest ales on show. Geeky fact: for a beer to officially be certified as ‘Oktober-festive’ it has to be at least 6% alcohol by volume and brewed within the city limits of Munich.

Though Munich may be 864 miles away (thank you Google Maps) the German beers went down a treat, with Hofbräu Oktoberfestbier being my personal favourite – though we obviously tried all the others in the name of research. I was personally disappointed that the GTA V beer Pißwasser wasn’t on offer, but I guess that was a good thing.

Fed and watered, a walk around the stalls at the fascinating Nichols Building brought a few welcome purchases, mostly vinyl records. I was tempted by a couple of my childhood favourites, a $6,000,000-man doll and a Raleigh Chopper – but I managed to resist, mainly because I thought cycling home after a few steins may prove risky, and illegal.

A comfy pew, several more beers, plenty of great banter and live music presented by the charming and dynamic CK Golding saw the rest of the night dwindle by in a pleasant haze.

All-in-all, for a first attempt at capturing the famed Bavarian-bash and then plonking it in the middle of post-industrial Sheffield, the night was an amazing success. Even with sporadic power cuts, a flat tyre and a shortage of toilet space, we still all had a great time and will be oom-pah-pah-ing it again next year!

Words & Pictures: Paul Cocker