Ever think about how you should drink your beer at Oktoberfest? Sure, you’ve mastered the whole lifting the stein and opening your gullet to let the amber goodness flow, but at what pace and how can you keep track of your drinking? These are some overlooked questions you should answer so you can make the most of your Oktoberfest experience.

How You Should Drink

When drinking, you should empty your stein slowly, but without dawdling. If you’re really thirsty, you can drink a bit faster than usual. Just don’t be careless when drinking German beer. You should test your own tolerance before Oktoberfest and set yourself a drink limit before entering a beer tent. If you know how many glasses you can tolerate and how long you want to stay in the tent, you can easily work out how often you will need to order more drinks. Once you have all this sussed, you’ll be ready to have an ideal time in the tent.

Remember: Oktoberfest Beers Are Different

Remember, all Oktoberfest beers are more flavoursome and, above all, higher strength than normal beer. A stein of Oktoberfest beer with an average of six per cent alcohol equals about eight servings of schnapps. This fact should be taken into account before planning your drinking.

Other Things to Consider

The number of drinks and how frequently you order drinks are not the only factors to consider for strategic drinking. As you get drunker, there are more elements you’ll have to consider. So, for example, when you notice that you’re nearing your drink limit, it’s an ideal time to take a bathroom break and stealth it over to the food stand (there will be one outside each beer tent), secretly buy a mineral water, drink it on the spot, so that your Oktoberfest experience doesn’t veer off course too quickly. By employing this tactic, you are saved from the judgemental remarks of your table friends (“What are you doing drinking water when you should be drinking beer?”) and you can last longer.

The Three Stages of Drunk

Drunkenness is a great thing if you can handle it. Your drunken state should progress harmoniously, and include a timely finale. Trust your intoxication to let you know when you’ve reached your limit. Although sometimes that intoxication-limit threshold is delayed for a long time, since intoxication is thoroughly enjoyable all the way up to its zenith. So for convenience, you can split your intoxication levels into three different categories:

1. Tipsy: You’re a bit silly but still very much in control.

2. Buzzed: You’re in high-spirits and happy, and your inhibitions are lowered.

3. Sloshed: You’re thoroughly drunk. Bleary-eyed and swaying all over the place, that type of thing.

All three stages have their benefits and drawbacks. So to enjoy your beer tent visit, you should employ the above strategic drinking techniques. That way, once you reach your limit you decided on beforehand, you should stop. You should also stop if you’ve realised you set your limit too high (eyes are bigger than your liver). So, for example, if you’re seeing double and can’t get up from the bench without a friend’s help, you’ve long since passed your limit and that rarely ends well. Try to combine strategic drinking with eating a lot. And be sure to go on the fun rides before you’re wasted.