Raise a mug at River Rat’s ColaTown Oktoberfest

Sept. 19 marks the official start date of Oktoberfest in Munich.

It’s also the day of the first ColaTown Oktoberfest at River Rat Brewery.

So if you want to celebrate the fall festivities of Oktoberfest but can’t afford a flight to Germany, quench your thirst at 1231 Shop Road this Saturday.

“Columbia doesn’t have enough festivals on the premise of beer, so we decided to see if we could pull one off,” River Rat founder Mike Tourville said.

He invited nearly 50 breweries from all over the country to bring their taps for locals to try.

The selection includes seasonal and hard-to-find beers that aren’t usually available in South Carolina.

“There’s some pumpkin beers, high-gravity beers, imperial IPAs, some sour beers, pretty much a little bit of everything,” Tourville said.

River Rat will release a special beer for the event called Sour Cherry Sucker Punch. It’s a tart beer (not a sour beer; there’s a difference), made with 10 gallons of molasses, about 40 pounds of cranberries and 100 pounds of cherries. And at 10.5 percent alcohol, it will definitely pack a punch.

“We enjoy beer and like to try other people’s beer,” Tourville said.

We’ll drink to that. Prost! (That’s “cheers” in German.)

DETAILS

The River Rat Tap Room, its covered deck and green space will be packed to the gills with brewery tents from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday. There will be 58 breweries and more than 100 tap beers to try.

FOOD

Food vendors include German sausage cart The Wurst Wagen. River Rat Brewery barbecue will be available for purchase.

TICKETS

You must have a ticket prior to the event to get in. No tickets will be sold at the door.

Tickets are $65 and come with a commemorative sampling glass. You will receive access to the entire property, along with all vendors and beer tents. It does not include access to the Brewers and VIP areas.

VIP Tickets are $90 and come with a commemorative sampling glass, exclusive entry into the Tap Room and front yard space where special beers will be poured. Food in the VIP area will be available at no extra charge.

Tickets for designated drivers are $25 and include a food ticket and soft drink.

Purchase tickets at www.eventbrite.com.

PARKING

There will be no parking at River Rat for this event. You can park at The State newspaper lot next door, at 1401 Shop Road, for $5.

Event organizers urge drinkers to get an Uber, cab or designated driver to and from this event.

The Brew Bus will take reservations for round-trip service from several Columbia hotels for $10 per person. Call (757) 871-8150 or (803) 422-1190 for information.

BEER LIST

Check out these breweries at ColaTown Oktoberfest:

Abita Brewing Co., Covington, La.

Against The Grain Brewery, Louisville, Ky.

Allagash Brewing Company, Portland, Maine

Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Boonville, Calif.

Bell’s Brewery Inc., Kalamazoo, Mich.

Birds Fly South Brewery, Greer/Greenville

Boulevard Brewing Co., Kansas City, Mo.

Brewery 85, Greenville

Brooklyn Brewery, New York

Cigar City Brewing, Tampa, Fla.

Coast Brewing Company, Charleston

Conquest Brewing, Columbia

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, Del.

Evil Twin Brewing, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Finch’s Beer Company, Chicago

Foothills Brewing, Winston-Salem, N.C.

Frothy Beard Brewing Company, North Charleston

Green Bench Brewing Co., Charleston

Green Man Brewery, Asheville, N.C.

Highland Brewing Company, Asheville, N.C.

Holy City Brewing, Charleston

Left Hand Brewing, Longmont, Colo.

Local Option, Chicago

Maine Beer Company, Freeport, Maine

Natty Greene's Brewing Co., Greensboro, N.C.

New Belgium Brewing, Fort Collins, Colo.

New Holland Brewing Company, Holland, Mich.

Off Color Brewing, Chicago

Old Mill Brewpub, Lexington

Oskar Blues Brewery, Brevard, N.C.

Prairie Artisan Ales, Tulsa, Okla.

Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project, Somerville, Mass.

Revelry Brewing Co., Charleston

River Dog Brewing Co., Ridgeland

R.J. Rockers Brewing Company, Spartanburg

Rogue Ales, Newport, Ore.

Samuel Adams Brewery, Boston

Sixpoint Brewery, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Stillwater Artisanal Ales, Baltimore

Stone Brewing Co., Escondido, Calif.

St. Somewhere Brewing Co., Tarpon Springs, Fla.

Swamp Cabbage Brewing Co., Columbia

SweetWater Brewing Company, Atlanta

Sycamore Brewing, Charlotte

Terrapin Beer Company, Athens, Ga.

The Unknown Brewing Co., Charlotte

Thomas Creek Brewery, Greenville

Tradesman Brewing Co., Charleston

Victory Brewing Company, Downington, Pa.

Westbrook Brewing, Mount Pleasant

This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 5:57 PM.