Beer is the ultimate social drink and there’s no better time to enjoy it than in October, a month during which, all over the world, the old, the young, the fat, the slim, the good, the bad and the ugly all come together for ‘Oktoberfest’-inspired beer-appreciation marathons. In a tribute to Oktoberfest, The Travel Word brings you a selection of seven surprising brews from different parts of the world.

If there’s one sport that sums up Argentina, it’s football (soccer). In a country so devoted to its one national sport, one of the largest, most passionate and most spectacular matches is the Superclásico, a local derby between the River Plate and Boca Juniors teams of Buenos Aires. Several years ago the UK’s ‘Observer’ rated it at the top of their ’50 Sporting Things You Must Do Before You Die’ for the experience and the atmosphere created by the fans.

Travelling to a new country is usually exciting, but most tourists merely skim the surface of the countries they are visiting because they aren’t able get under their skins. Vacation time limits are one factor, but a larger obstacle is the lack of language understanding. Now, in Buenos Aires, before some travellers with aspirations of discovering South America cross into Patagonia or Chile, they spend extra time learning Spanish and set themselves up for a deeper discovery of the continent.

After hitting the bustling streets of Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires, many travellers do a double take to assure themselves they are still in Latin America; the European influence is part of the very fabric of the city. The pervasive liberal vibe might also have something to do with the general open-mindedness of Argentine society, including its acceptance of various subcultures and minority lifestyles, such as homosexuality.