“O’zapft is!” Old tradition or modern custom?
The tapping, i.e. opening the first beer barrel of Oktoberfest, is a tradition — albeit a rather young one: In 1950, then-mayor Thomas Wimmer called the famous words “O'zapft is!” (Strike it lucky) for the first time. Since then, each of his successors has probably had more respect for the tapping than for election day, because the reputation of the mayor depends on the number of strokes required. It took former incumbent Christian Ude seven blows on his first time, much to the amusement of some of his colleagues at city hall. But Ude practiced diligently, learned the right technique, and set a new record with only two strokes. His successor, Dieter Reiter, may have copied some of his predecessor’s technique. He only needed four strokes at his premiere – and has now landed at two.