MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile joins the world's annual Oktoberfest

Chile this past Saturday joined with countries around the world to begin the annual celebration of Oktoberfest.

The 16-day beer festival originated in Munich, Germany in 1810 and was first held from mid September to the first Sunday in October. Now, however, it is mostly held in October.

Beer first arrived in Chile in 1850 when Joaquín Plagemann opened the nation's first brewery in Valparaíso. Chile now consumes 28 liters of beer per person each year, well below the average per capital consumption in Europe ? the 160 liters drunk by the average Czech, for example.

There are several ways to enjoy the festivities in Chile. Special programs are slated for both Santiago and Valdivia, and there will be exotic beers available from India, China, Pakistan, as well as fruit and berry flavored beers from Europe.

One of the largest beer selections is at Eurohappy in Santiago (Maturana 516), where 220 different types of beer will be on sale. Amongst these is the English beer "Ardis Sale," which sells for 7,900 pesos or US$16 per bottle. Only two crates have been imported to Chile.

Some beer connoisseurs insist the best beers are from Denmark, England, Ireland and Scotland, but there will be some hard-to-find Chilean beers ? like Capital, Colonos, Kross, Szot and Cerveza Del Puerto ? that will be worth a special effort to try this coming Oktoberfest.

Chile consumes over 90,000 liters of beer every month, says Fernando Magnatera of the National Beer Association, and consumption is increasing at a 10 percent clip each year. The Santiago Times - News about Chile