After having gone to the original Oktoberfest in Munich last year, one might think any festival of that type in New Mexico could not possibly live up to that experience for the Crew.
Well, yeah, nothing comes close to that event in sheer size, but that does not mean the Crew cannot be impressed. And, impressed we were at the Ruidoso Oktoberfest hosted by Downshift Brewing at their Riverside location this past Saturday.
If there is a right way to bring a (much) smaller version of the Bavarian bash, Downshift pretty much pulled it off. It was well organized, filled with delicious food and beer, featured plenty of games/contests and live entertainment, basically everything an honorary German could ask for these days.
The weather was picture perfect, sitting in the 70s during the day and never dropping too cold at night. The crowd stayed strong throughout, a mix of Lincoln County locals, travelers from elsewhere in New Mexico, and quite a few people from out of state.
They wore their lederhosen and dirndls, and some sported some sharp German national soccer team jerseys. There were parents and grandparents and children of all ages. The kids behaved, the adults had fun, and everything was expertly managed.
Because we gotta highlight the staff here. Downshift brought in all of their employees from both Riverside and Hidden Tap (and gave them Sunday off, which is truly a great gesture). They worked and worked and yet kept on smiling, kept on treating everyone with patience and respect. Owners Eddie and Shelby Gutierrez had to be proud of their entire team. This old man would have wilted around hour five or six.
In the end we cannot recommend this festival enough. Make some plans to attend in 2027. Or, heck, just make plans to visit Downshift and neighboring Lost Hiker Brewing (who were also at Oktoberfest, with Cloudcroft Brewing joining in as well) in Ruidoso this year. There have been no fires, no floods, no devastation within the town in 2026. Everything is running just fine. There’s plenty of hotel rooms, cabins, AirBnB’s, and more waiting to be filled.
Everyone we spoke to at Downshift said they believe Ruidoso can rebound. They just need a little help from the rest of us here in New Mexico. Just know that when you go, you’re gonna have fun with some of the best people in the state.
Thank you, Downshift. It may be a few years before we visit Germany again. It will not nearly be that long before we’re enjoying a pint or two on the back patio at Riverside.
We’ll have more on Downshift’s awesome new brewing facility later this week, plus our interview with the new and wonderful owners of Lost Hiker. Hey, we did some actual work on this mini-vacation.
Keep supporting local!
— Stoutmeister
