Which beer tent hosts the traditional keg tapping ceremony?

The Schottenhamel tent hosts Oktoberfest’s traditional keg-tapping ceremony.

At the official opening, Munich’s mayor taps the first beer barrel in the Schottenhamel tent and declares “O’zapft is!”—Bavarian for “It is tapped.” The ceremony takes place at noon on the first Saturday after September 15 and marks the moment when beer service officially begins throughout the festival grounds.

The ritual is relatively modern. It began in 1950, when Munich mayor Thomas Wimmer tapped the first barrel. After the opening barrel is tapped, twelve gunshots signal the other Oktoberfest tents that they may begin serving beer. The first Maß is traditionally presented to Bavaria’s minister-president.

Schottenhamel itself has much older roots than the ceremony. The family’s Oktoberfest operation dates to 1867, when Michael Schottenhamel ran a small shack behind the royal tent. The current tent is also known for its student associations and Spaten beer, but it is the mayor’s opening tap that gives it its most famous ceremonial role.