Oktoberfest: four Metro Detroit stops for German beer season

DETROIT. Metro Detroit's German beer tradition runs deep, and four spots carry it into Oktoberfest this fall. Dakota Inn Rathskeller, on John R and McNichols, has poured since 1933 and starts its celebration Sept. 25 with 11 imported beers on tap. Kuhnhenn Brewing in Clinton Township adds a live German brass band and stein hoisting contests.

Downtown, Jacoby's keeps a biergarten menu running year round, and Lagerhaus No. 5 in Eastern Market holds its own stein holding contest at long wooden tables. All four lean on a Detroit brewing history that goes back 176 years, to names like Stroh, Goebel, and Pfeiffer.