CLEVELAND — It may be mid-September, but Oktoberfest has arrived. 

What You Need To Know

  • Hofbräuhaus Cleveland will kick off its Oktoberfest celebrations by tapping a keg at 7 p.m. Friday

  • The brewhouse is celebrating 10 years since it opened its doors in downtown

  • Festivities will run through the first Sunday in October

It's the 10th anniversary of one northeast Ohio Oktoberfest that runs for four weeks.

Beer may be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Oktoberfest, but it’s much more for Barb Pesa.

“Good food. Good schnitzel. Good bratwurst, German potatoes, sauerkraut, and of course, the best music in Ohio,” Pesa said. 

Pesa is a hostess at Hofbräuhaus Cleveland, the German-style restaurant and bar, which opened its doors 10 years ago. Despite being in Ohio, the brewhouse stays close to its German roots including following a 500-year-old food and beverage law.

“We have to brew our beer following the purity law for it to be considered German which means only use water, hops, barley and recently added wheat,” said Mary Kate McGinty, social media and marketing manager, at Hofbräuhaus Cleveland. She said the monthlong celebration begins with nothing less than a keg tapping at 7 p.m. on Friday.

“Everyone here will get a free sample,” McGinty said with a smile.

For those who will be partaking in the flowing beer, having some food might be a good idea — there is no shortage of that on the menu. From goulash to good old-fashioned pretzels, which get incorporated into the celebrations.

“The second weekend of Oktoberfest — the pretzel-eating competition, which you are not gonna wanna miss,” McGinty said.

Celebrations will include live music, face painting for the kids, beer stein competitions and will run through the first Sunday in October.

If you sit in the main eating hall, you’ll get to sit under real pretzels that McGinty herself shellacked.