Bier run

With Oktoberfest in full swing and the average flight from Durango to Munich costing a frothy $1,900, personal finance website WalletHub has some more budget-friendly options. The site recently ranked the best American cities for Stay-Oktoberfesting, with none other than our Mile High capital coming in at No. 2.

Now in its 50th year, the Denver Oktoberfest, which happens this weekend and next, attracts some 250,000 people to its biergarten. The event was voted by Maxim and USA Today as “The Best Oktoberfest” in the United States. According to WalletHub, Denver also ranks second in most breweries per capita (behind Portland, Ore., which arguably has much better drinking weather.)

Other top Oktoberfest cities – which may require a bit more of a haul to get to – include:

1. New York
3. Portland, Ore.
4. Philadelphia
5. Cincinnati
6. Las Vegas
7. Seattle
8. Chicago
9. Milwaukee
10. Orlando
The site also provides some fun Oktoberfest facts to chew on, along with your pretzel necklace: • 1.98 million: Gallons of beer consumed

• 510,000+: Number of roast chickens eaten at German Oktoberfest, plus 60,000 sausages and 59,000 pork knuckles

• $1.43 billion: Oktoberfest’s annual economic impact on Munich

Of course, if you’d like to just keep your lederhosen at home, Ska is now serving its award-winning Oktoberfest. Brewed for the first time in 2018, the Vienna-style lager sold out in record time last year. And locals weren’t the only ones wanting more – the beer won gold at the European Beer Star, silver at the Stockholm Beer & Whiskey Festival, and gold at the Great American Beer Festival.

For the true beer geek, Ska’s taster notes read, “Ska Oktoberfest is made with 100 percent German-sourced Munich and Vienna malts that impart nutty, bready, toasty flavors, all balanced by Noble hops. It finishes clean and crisp.”

And speaking of finishing, the brewery hopes not to run out before you do. This year, Ska brewed just a bit more Oktoberfest, pints of which are going for $4 at World HQ. And what better way to wash down the Bavarian soft pretzels with beer mustard from The Container? Local liquor stores are also carrying sixers while supplies last.