Ever since Bernhard Stroh brought his great-granddaddy’s recipe from Kirn, Germany, 176 years ago, Detroit has had a love affair with German beer. Names like Goebel, Pfeiffer, Eckhardt, and Becker resonate throughout Detroit’s bars — though the actual breweries are long gone.
Since the Germans seem to have a compound word for just about every ephemeral feeling, they’ve given us gemütlichkeit. It’s that sense of coziness, of belonging, warmth, and good cheer. Like the feeling you get when you’re hoisting a pint of lager and singing a song about sausage at the top of your lungs with 200 strangers who are fast becoming friends.
That’s what Oktoberfest is all about, both in its original city of Munich and here in metro Detroit. And like any great tradition, the international holiday welcomes all — German roots or otherwise.
For almost a century, the Dakota Inn Rathskeller has celebrated German food, beer, and culture at the core of its business. Every fall, near the corner of John R and McNichols in Detroit, the Rathskeller turns that cheer up a dozen notches. Owner Paddy Lynch took over the traditional German restaurant in 2025. “At the Dakota Inn,” he says, “based on the Kurz family roots coming out of Bavaria, Oktoberfest has been celebrated there since 1933. It’s a tradition we’re happy to continue.”
That means 11 imported beers on tap and many, many more German pours, including a revamped wine list featuring Alpine grapes. Lynch expects this year’s Oktoberfest — stretching from mid-September through October — to be packed to the gills with folks clamoring for sausages, pretzels, and a rousing chorus of the Schnitzelbank song.
The Dakota Inn isn’t the only place in southeast Michigan embracing the season. Over at Kuhnhenn Brewing Company in Clinton Township, the annual tradition involves a live German brass band, special beer releases, and a full menu of sausage, pretzels, and other Rhineland specialties. August Gitschlag has been going to Kuhnhenn’s Oktoberfest celebrations for years; he even brings out his custom lederhosen and helps run the games, including beer stein-hoisting and mug-sliding competitions.
“There’s nothing like Oktoberfest at Kuhnhenn,” he says. “The pretzels, the music, the perfectly poured beers of every style imaginable, and that crisp fall weather that I swear makes the beer taste better. It’s become a family favorite tradition the last few years.”
Downtown, Jacoby’s has reveled in German brewing traditions since the 19th century. Originally opened as a family biergarten, Jacoby’s holds onto its roots by offering a dozen or more German brews and hearty fare year-round.
In Eastern Market, Lagerhaus No. 5 keeps its coolers stocked with unique German pilsners, kölsches, dunkels, and just about every style of German beer imaginable. Its annual Oktoberfest holds a contest to see who can hold up a massive beer stein the longest. Something about the market setting and the long, wooden communal tables at Lagerhaus No. 5 evokes autumn in Germany.
However, whenever, and wherever Oktoberfest celebrations take place, the occasion brings family and friends together. Like the warmth of gemütlichkeit, Oktoberfest is all about cozying up, laughing, and singing with loved ones in the crisp fall air.
This story originally appeared in the September 2026 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Click here to get our digital edition.
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