Yellowhammer Oktoberfest

Huntsville, Alabama

Yellowhammer Oktoberfest is the annual Oktoberfest thrown by Yellowhammer Brewing at 2600 Clinton Avenue West in Huntsville, Alabama, on the Campus No. 805 site the brewery moved into in 2015. The 2026 edition was held on Saturday, September 19, 2026, from noon to 9 p.m., sponsored by SAIC. Huntsville's Little German Band played the afternoon from 1 to 4 p.m., New Atomic closed the night from 6 to 9 p.m., a run of German-style beer releases carried the taps, and the Wiener Dog Races started at 4:30 p.m.

Those races are a proper competition rather than a photo opportunity. Entry costs $5, dachshunds run in age brackets, and the 2026 brackets for zero-to-two and three-to-seven-year-olds filled before registration closed, leaving only the eight-and-over class open. Owners agree to keep dogs current on vaccines, leashed at all times except when racing, under control and cleaned up after. The mix of a German band in the afternoon, a second act at night, and a dachshund sprint in between is a fair summary of what this festival is - a German-format party thrown at a Southern brewery without much reverence.

The event has a short and consistent history. The 2024 edition ran on Saturday, September 14 from noon to 9 p.m., with Huntsville's Little German Band, the Silver Silos and the First Lady on the bill, food from the trucks Wiener Von Braun, Gary's Unique Eatery, Fry Box, Beast Mode and Happi Pappi Beignets, and a makers' market of local vendors including Fig Brew, J and C Lavender Farm, Greene Books, Little Macs, Seriously Simple Soap, The Cookie Truck, Rave.Sake. Studios, Novel Noodle Crafts and Rocket City Pride. The 2025 edition followed on Saturday, September 13, again noon to 9 p.m., and was built around a German-style beer list of the house Oktoberfest Lager, America Runs on Dunkel, Hammerator and a radler.

The house festbier is straightforwardly named Oktoberfest and is brewed with German Vienna and Munich malts into what the brewery calls a crisp but hearty lager, a classic brew for the fall season, at 5.8 percent and available from August through October. The rest of the range explains why a German festival fits this brewery: Rebellion Red Lager at 5.4 percent blends imported German malts with domestic hops, Midnight Special at 5.4 percent is crafted in the spirit of a German Schwarzbier from imported Munich and dark roasted malts, Mic Czech at 5.3 percent is a Czech-style pilsner built on Saaz noble hops and German lager yeast, June Pils at 5.0 percent is a French-style pilsner, and Nussknacker at 6.6 percent is a slightly darker take on a traditional German bock with a touch of Belgian chocolate malt. The Belgian side runs to the 4.8 percent Belgian White witbier brewed with lime leaves, fresh ginger and chamomile, the 9.0 percent Miracle Worker tripel, the 9.2 percent Frankenhammer dark ale and the 10.8 percent Darkhammer quad. There is also T-Minus, a 5.0 percent tangerine Kolsch inspired by the powdered orange drink sent into space with America's first astronauts - a joke that only really lands in Huntsville.

Yellowhammer was founded in 2010 in West Huntsville by four partners who wanted to bring quality traditional beer to Alabama, and it describes its own house style as premium ales and lagers drawing on Belgian and German brewing traditions with a Southern interpretation. The 2015 move to Campus No. 805 gave it room to grow, and the brewery has since doubled in size, adding brewing space, a private Bierhall event space and a distillery. The taproom is open Monday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., with Earth and Stone Pizza on the same campus. The brewery belongs to the Alabama Brewers Guild and supports Free The Hops, and it throws a second festival each November, a Medieval Fest and Market run jointly with fellow Huntsville brewery Straight to Ale.

This page is the permanent home of the Yellowhammer Oktoberfest on Beer.Social. When the next edition is announced we link the current dates and details here, and past editions are archived below.

Past editions

All festivals · Browse breweries