Our Daily Show Interview! Old Bakery Beer Company Ready for Oktoberfest in July
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ALTON - The Old Bakery Beer Company will host their annual Oktoberfest in July event to celebrate German culture and usher in fall.
From 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 26, 2025, community members are invited to stop by The Old Bakery Beer Company for the free event. In addition to an Oktoberfest brew and lots of German specials, attendees can compete in a steinholding competition and enjoy the fall feeling in the dog days of summer.
“It’s really a kind of chill event, just a day to come enjoy some German specials,” explained Lauren with OBB. “It’s a great day to have a little lager flight, pretend you’re in Germany, enjoy that nice, crisp beer.”
As part of their special Oktoberfest menu, Lauren promises “all of those German favorites that pair so well with beer,” including schnitzel, brats, pretzels and German potato salad. She added that OBB’s summer menu will also be available, but only until Aug. 19, so Oktoberfest is a great chance to stop by and try some of those specials.
But Lauren is mostly looking forward to the Oktoberfest beer, which will be released on July 26. While the Oktoberfest brew isn’t always her “go-to,” it’s her number one drink during the Oktoberfest in July event. She shared that the beer takes three to four weeks to ferment and she can’t wait to get a taste of it this year.
“Our Oktoberfest beer, it’s like an amber German-style lager. It’s really kind of crisp, easy to drink. It’s got some of those nice bread-y, biscuit-y malt notes to it. It’s really just a nice taste of fall,” she said. “I look forward to my pint of beer after my Oktoberfest shift every year. It tastes so good on that day. The first day it’s ready, out of a stein, I just love it.”
While the event runs all day, Lauren encourages attendees to stop by a little before 3 p.m. to sign up for the steinholding competition. It costs $15 to compete and you get to drink your liter of beer and keep the stein. The rules are “pretty strict,” she warned, but the winner receives a $25 OBB gift card, a t-shirt, and the chance to compete at the state championship in October in Peoria.
“It's really a lot of fun,” Lauren added. “I think that our winner last year [held the stein for] a little over three minutes. It feels a lot longer than it sounds.”
Looking ahead, OBB will host a variety of other events throughout the next few months, including a Nerd Market on Aug. 16 and the Fuddle Duddle Huddle on Aug. 31. You can read more about both events at OBB’s special events calendar.
The brewery also hosts music bingo every Wednesday, and they give tours of their space at 3 p.m. every Sunday for $10. Lauren emphasized that the goal behind all of their events is to welcome the public into their space and share the fun of the brewery with the community.
“We want to be able to provide that to people,” she said. “We have the space to do it, certainly, so we try to make sure that all of our events are free or low-price of entry so that people can just come hang out. You don’t have to spend that much. If you just want to share an appetizer and come play music bingo, go for it.”
For more information about Oktoberfest in July, visit the official Facebook event page. To learn more about The Old Bakery Beer Company, including their upcoming events, check out their official website at OldBakeryBeer.com.
