Gridcrosser: Silver Lining and Golden Showers: San Miguel Beer Oktoberfest Kicks Off

The highlight of the night, apl.de.ap performs Black-Eyed Peas songs

Despite the intermittent rain, thousands of people, mostly restless youths, trooped to Aseana City on the sprawling reclaimed land along Macapagal Avenue, for the San Miguel Beer (SMB) Oktoberfest, attesting to the popularity of the country's iconic beer brand and the annual music and beer-drinking marathon.

The September 28 grand event kicked off a series of Oktoberfest celebrations all over the country. The tradition of German origin has been adopted by the world, and in the Philippines the celebration was popularized by San Miguel Beer and has been customized and modernized as a largely rock music festival with bands, pulutan and overflowing beer, which many people anticipate yearly. These, as well as other elements, according to SMB president Roberto Huang, are what draw the SMB customer. The idea, he said, is to "bring to the customer what the customer really wants in a beer festival, without fuss, and with a variety of choices in one grand venue for celebration."

San Miguel Beer could be bought at the event for as low as P12 per cup, said to be the lowest -priced in the country. Moreover, other brands of San Miguel were made readily available: San Miguel Pale Pilsen, Red Horse Beer, San Mig Light, San Miguel Super Dry, Cerveza Negra, San Mig Strong Ice, San Miguel Premium All-Malt, San Miguel Flavored Beer, Gold Eagle and the seasonal San Miguel Oktoberfest Beer. These brands have received the Gold Quality award from the annual Monde Selection Awards, the world's prestigious organization that acknowledges the products' adherence to international standards of taste and quality.

San Miguel Beer endorsers Ely Buendia, Michael V., apl.de.ap, Lovi Poe and Sam Pinto and guests Department of Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez (third from left), MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino (fifth from left), and Paranaque City councilor Florencio Bernabe III (fourth from right) are led by San Miguel Brewery president Roberto N. Huang (third from right) in the ceremonial SMB Oktoberfest toast.

Then, of course, there was a grand show featuring celebrities, rock stars and hot bands. Additionally, there were six themed tents with their own mini shows, gimmicks, games, raffles and other events.

"We are excited to bring our six brand tents to the San Miguel Oktoberfest kickoff party in Manila. Our valued customers will not only enjoy must-see performances from our world-class, home-grown artists, they will also enjoy all their favorite San Miguel Beer brands with their friends over activities that represent their diverse lifestyles," Huang explained prior to the event.

The San Miguel Pale Pilsen had a "Beer Plaza," most likely a Filipino version of Germany's beer garden, where beer maidens served the iconic San Miguel Pale Pilsen and the so-called "Flipino Pulutan Legends." Featured performers here were Bloomfields, Ygro and the Baby Dolls, Dagta and the Brownman Revival.

The San Mig Light Parry All Night Tent catered to the clubbers with performances by Kat DJ, Patty Tiu, DJ Nina Saputil, DJ Mars Miranda, DJ Funk Avy and DJ Callum David. The Cage of San Mig Strong Ice tent was for mixed martial arts and hip-hop enthusiasts with a Segway acitivity and competition. On the other hand, hardcore rock and roll was the theme of the Red Horse Beer Pinoy Rock tent. For the San Miguel Flavored Beer, SMB created a digital hub. The San Miguel Lifestyle Brews Bistro Lounge tent served delicious dishes that can go with the SMB's lifestyle brews (Cerveza Negra, Super Dry and Premium All-Malt) with food demos by chefs Sheila Lopez of Brewkus Cafe and Restobar and RJ Garcia of Purefoods Culinary Center, and performances by Statics, Puresound and Diane Elise.

The center of the whole event, however, was the big main stage graced by San Miguel Beer brand ambassadors Michael V., Ely Buendia, Pepe Smith and Sam Pinto, all known for their talent, charisma and status except for Pinto who is celebrated for her body. The beer-drinking Filipinos have a lot of growing up to do before celebrating a strong woman of substance as model and sex symbol.

The main stage features performances by Jonan Aguilar, Someday Dream, Pupil, Pepe Smith, Tanya Markova, Moymoy Palaboy, Boyet Almazan, Techy Romantics, Good Vibes, Brownman Revival, Slapshock and Razorback. As the rain poured, the acts were taken a notch higher, making some attendees toss their plastic cups of beer. Audience was soaked in rain and beer. It prompted apl.de.ap to stop performance to ask people not to toss beer cups.

The Filipino-American member of the Grammy Award-winning group Black-Eyed Peas and SMB endorser was the highlight of the event, performing popular Black-Eyed Peas songs. Apl.de.ap did not fly in just for the show. Prior to the SMB Oktoberfest kickoff, apl.de.ap , whose real name is Allan Pineda Lindo, Jr., went to Tarlac to attend the turnover his donation of two new classrooms to the Santo Cristo Elementary School in Concepcion, one of the five school recipients of the ongoing school building program of apl and San Miguel Pale Pilsen, through the San Miguel Foundation and the Aklat, Gabay, Aruga Tungo sa Pang-angat at Pag-asa (AGAPP) Foundation. Before this, the apl Foundation and its partners also turned over two new classrooms to the Sapang Bato Elementary School, where apl attended, in Angeles City, Pampanga. Apl also went to Cagayan de Oro City to witness the opening of new classrooms in Iponan Elementary School. In nearby Iligan City, two classrooms were donated to the Pugaan Elementary School in August.

"I feel sorry especially for our elementary students in public schools who often miss their classes during the typhoon season. I hope that instead of getting discouraged to go to school, they take these unfortunate events as a challenge for them to study harder," apl.de.ap said.

Talking to students and teachers of Santo Cristo Elementary School, he said: "If poverty is not a hindrance to one's dream of success, then even the strongest of typhoons should not stop us from learning."

Education is a top advocacy of apl.de.ap. He is regularly in touch with the SMB group on the progress of their endeavors. Two more classrooms are expected to be completed this year in Bayawan, Negros Oriental. Aside from building classrooms, the program also includes gives away learning materials for the students and conducts trainings for the teachers.

"Be excited to go to school everyday. Believe me, learning is fun. Make friends. Go ahead, open that book, and if you don't have one go to the library. Be resourceful and never stop learning!" apl.de.ap encourages the youth.

Apl.de.ap also continues to work with SMB to promote the brand, which he said to be "iconic" and has a "world-class taste."

Barkadas join in the fun of SMB Oktoberfest

Filipinos bring in their foreign guests to experience the Filipino kind of Oktoberfest

Apl.de.ap jams with local bands

In the occasion of the Oktoberfest, SMB is giving away collectible items until the end of the year such as limited-edition flash drives in the shape of the San Miguel Beer bottle and tool kits in San Miguel Beer brands. To win instant prizes, one has to collect 20 Oktoberfest-marked crowns of any San Miguel Beer brand to be exchanged for the items in San Miguel Brewery sales offices nationwide, Baliwag Lechon Manok branches in Luzon, and selected convenience stores in Visayas and Mindanao.

After the Manila kickoff, the San Miguel Beer Oktoberfest was brought to Santa Rosa, Laguna, on September 29; and the EPZ II in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, on October 13. It will be at the Limketkai Mall in Cagayan de Oro City on October 19; and Robinsons Starmills in San Fernando, Pampanga, on October 20.