What Is Wiesn Koks, the Fake German Oktoberfest Coke?

Ah, Oktoberfest. Known as “Wiesn” to the locals, millions descend on Munich every year for a Bavarian bonanza with a beer festival checklist like no other: Vigorous, lederhosen-clad men. Waitresses decked out in dirndl, slinging frothy steins. And if you’re really lucky, what you might see is an older, rosy-cheeked man with a silly hat on, elegantly breaking off mid-conversation to snort a white powder off a tabletop. 

Nope, it’s not cocaine. And the use of this legal powder at Oktoberfest is very traditional, actually.

Sniffing regular tobacco snuff goes way back in Bavarian culture, but this non-tobacco version is a harmless, legal pick-me-up that comes in little clear bottles and delivers a sugary hit, with a fresh menthol sensation. Today, the snuff powder goes by names like Wiesn Koks (Oktoberfest coke) and Wiesn Pulver (Oktoberfest powder). It’s thought to have all kicked off in the mainstream under the branding of Schneeberg, launched by Pöschl Tabak in 1923, but knock-off versions with illicit-sounding names started popping up in the past decade, and have led the company to distance itself from products like Wiesn Koks.

“Our tobacco-free snuff powder, Schneeberg, consists exclusively of lactose, dextrose and menthol and has been manufactured and sold by us since 1923, following a secret and legal recipe,” Pöschl Tabak’s Alexander Dalli tells VICE. “In summer, it clears your head and in winter, it clears your nose.” 

“I was introduced to Weisn Pulver the way you should be – drinking enormous beers in an Oktoberfest tent on no sleep,” says Brooklyn-based brand copywriter Lev Novak, 32, who first tried it at the festival two years ago. “I was with seven other friends needing to stay awake, and one of them took out the bottle. I snorted some white powder, and was hit in the goddamn face.”

Bought for about €7 from one of the "semi-sanctioned” sellers at the festival, you get more Weisn Pulver than eight guys can snort in a weekend, apparently. But it’s a bit of a no pain, no gain situation. “Weisn Pulver hurts,” he says. “It stings much more than cocaine. It's like snorting horseradish, or one of those overly intense ads for mint gum. But it clears out the sinuses and centres you.”

Munich locals like to think of it as a bonding exercise, too. “Wiesn Koks is a very social thing in my experience,” says Felix, 25, from Munich, who’s asked to remain anonymous for privacy reasons. “Usually [at Oktoberfest] you have to sit or stand at a table with strangers. More often than not, the powder gets passed around if you've talked a bit with your peers, or are more than two maß in.” Maß meaning the deadly one litre measure of beer they use instead of pints at Oktoberfest.

Novak feels it’s a perfect match. “Weisn Pulver is made for Oktoberfest. It acts as a palette cleanser and sharpener – the wasabi to the constant beer and pretzels,” he says. “Let's be clear, this is not a drug or anything you’d ever want to do alone. It's halfway a challenge, a bonding activity meant to be done over a table with a guy in a feathered fedora named Connor, and a guy named James who just cut his sleeves off by stabbing his shirt with a fork.” 

Despite the cheerful bonhomie associated with the powder, festival hosts have been trying to shut down the tradition for years. They’ve even banned people from snorting it with a straw, according to Dalli, due to how cocaine-like it looks. 

“Beer tent owners and security may want to ban this because, to the uneducated eye, it looks exactly like cocaine, it’s snorted exactly like cocaine, and provokes a ‘woo!’ rush and intense reaction exactly like cocaine,” adds Novak. Case in point being a video of lads doing the koks off each others’, um, cocks at the festival in 2021. “I imagine they'd want to ban it in case some hooligans cut their Weisn Pulver, or replace it outright, with other stimulants.”

And, of course, people have been doing just that – using the charade of Wiesn Koks to do actual coke in public.

“Wiesn Koks is a good way to let people take regular coke at their tables. I've seen people doing it directly there,” continues Felix. “Munich is a huge fan of coke, so it's natural that people do it at Wiesn, but considering the very strict Bavarian anti-drug policies, it’s pretty crazy.”

Locals and (obviously) tourists are hell-bent on keeping the tradition alive, though. Novak goes as far as to say it could be the perfect “harm reduction habit”. He calls Wiesn Koks “diet cocaine”, because it has some of the buzzy effects without any of the crushing comedown. 

“If any enterprising company added powdered caffeine [to the powder], they'd have the perfect product. You could sell it in serving-size tubes at gas stations like Slim Jims,” he adds. 

Perhaps we’ll be seeing Novak hit up Dragons Den sometime soon. But until then, you’ll need to head to Oktoberfest to suss it out for yourself.

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