Mayor taps barrel as packed Tuppenny launches fifth Oktoberfest

Cllr Neil Hopkins, who is Swindon’s Mayor for the current municipal year, officially opened the festival on Friday evening, 18th September, following the Bavarian tradition of ceremonially tapping the first keg.

With the Devizes Road venue full for the occasion, the barrel tapping kicked off an evening of live music from the Oompaps, German beer and Bavarian dress.

The ceremony followed the tradition of Munich’s world-famous Oktoberfest, where the first barrel is ceremonially tapped to mark the beginning of the festival.

Once the beer was flowing, a live Bavarian Oompah band took over, playing for around three hours as the celebrations continued into the evening.

The band mixed traditional Bavarian music with brass versions of well-known pop and party tracks, with many of those attending also embracing the occasion by arriving in lederhosen and other Bavarian-inspired dress.

The event marked the start of Oktoberfest celebrations, which has brought the festival to Old Town for five successive years.

Jamie, owner of The Tuppenny, said

“It was brilliant to see the pub absolutely packed for the opening night and everyone really getting into the spirit of it.

The festival brings together beers from all six of Munich’s traditional Oktoberfest breweries, Hofbräu, Spaten, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, Augustiner and Löwenbräu, alongside Oktoberfest-inspired beers produced by UK craft breweries.

The ceremonial opening saw Cllr Hopkins take centre stage to tap the barrel before raising a beer with those gathered inside.

Mayor of Swindon, Cllr Neil Hopkins said:

“It was a real pleasure to open Oktoberfest at The Tuppenny and, importantly, I managed to tap the barrel without covering everyone in beer.
“The atmosphere was fantastic and the pub was packed. Events like this add something different to Old Town and it was great to see so many people coming out to support a local independent business.”