Oktoberfest
Long Beach Beer Lab 4th Anniversary Photos
These photos were taken Sunday afternoon at Long Beach Beer Lab, where they celebrated their fourth anniversary and Oktoberfest. The festivities included live music by The Bodleys, face painting by Liza May, one liter steins of their Oktoberfest beer, and soft pretzels from Long Beach Bread Lab.
I ran into Long Beach Beer Lab founder/Chief Investigating Scientist Levi Fried shortly after I arrived and had to comment on how much growth there had been since my last visit; Levi responded that they had been busy the last two years. I knew it had not been two years since my last visit, but admittedly my last couple of visits had been for to-go purchases so I had not seen just how much they have grown. Continue reading
Founders Brewing Releases Oktoberfest to Raise Awareness for ArtPrize
Oktoberfest – Founders Brewing Co.
“Brewing traditional German-style beers, especially malt-forward lagers, isn’t something we’re especially accustomed to,” said Brewmaster Jeremy Kosmicki. “I’ve really begun to enjoy drinking Märzens over the past few years and decided to get serious about a recipe. Oktoberfest is brewed with malt and hops imported from Germany for a rich, malty character that still manages to stay light on the palate. Whether you’re celebrating Art Prize or Oktoberfest, this is the beer to do it with!”
Oktoberfest (6%) will have a retail price of $9.99/6-pack. It will be available as of August in 12-oz cans and on draft in the Grand Rapids and Detroit taprooms, and across the brewery’s distribution network, except Utah. Please note that prices will vary by market. Previous releases for ArtPrize include Green Zebra, Pale Joe, Spectra Trifecta, Mosaic Promise, Inspired Artist Black IPA and Trigo. Continue reading
Photos from the 2nd Annual Oktoberfest at Astro Pub
These photos were taken Friday evening at the 2nd Annual Oktoberfest, which was held at the Astro Pub in Whole Foods Market, Playa Vista. They had a pretty nice turnout which was probably due in part to the pleasant weather which resulted in a lot of foot traffic; this combined with the aroma of German food and the sound of oompah music resulted in many passersby making a detour to join the festivities.
For a mere $20.00 attendees were able to have seven pours of various Oktoberfest brews including Goose Island, Spaten, Becks, Karl Strauss, Firestone Walker, Hofbräu and Weihenstephan. To go along with the bier there were pretzel bites, German potatoes, sauerkraut, and your choice of schnitzel or bacon wrapped brats.
The Astro Pub is located at 12746 W. Jefferson Boulevard in the Whole Foods Market, Playa Vista. Their beer buyer, Raul Moran puts on various beer events every few months so you might want to follow the Whole Foods Facebook page to be kept in the loop. He also keeps a nice selection of craft beer on tap and available to takeout. Prost! Continue reading
Photos from the Abigaile & Ocean Bar Oktoberfest Brewtopia
On Sunday afternoon, Abigaile Restaurant & Ocean Bar in Hermosa Beach continued their series of Brewtopia beer festivals, this time combining it with Oktoberfest since it is October. The event featured a wide selection of beer from such breweries as Stone, Black Market, New Belgium, Great Divide, Paulaner, AleSmith, Green Flash and The Bruery. Also included in the price of admission was all you could eat pretzels, sauerkraut and brats, and burgers. There was live entertainment provided by Mark Righteous and Jason Juices.
After a couple months of weather that was about as unnatural for this area as it comes, we actually had a nice day at the beach; not too hot and not too humid, it was just about perfect. Typically these mini-festivals at Abigaile have been packed but yesterday’s event was anything but which meant plenty for everyone and no lines. I cannot really explain the low turnout but those that did come out had a great time.
Before I left, I stopped at the bar to try the new brew by Abigaile’s new brewer, Paul Papantonio; it is a black IPA named Midnight Mass. I had an opportunity to try it a couple weeks ago at Abigaile’s Meet the Brewer event when it was “not quite ready” and all I can say is that Papantonio has some big shoes to fill following Brian Brewer, but if he did this well on his first brew with the new-to-him system, we have a lot to look forward to. Cheers! Continue reading
Photos from Oktoberfest at Whole Foods Playa Vista
On Saturday evening, the new Whole Foods Market in Playa Vista held a mini-Oktoberfest at their Astro Pub bar, which is a full bar complete with 24 craft beers on tap; with 14 of them dedicated to local breweries. The Oktoberfest was the second in a series of tap takeovers, beer dinners and various beer events planned by Raul Moran, the beer buyer for Whole Foods, Playa Vista.
The evening consisted of Oktoberfest style beers featuring such breweries as Three Weavers, Sierra Nevada, Ballast Point, Goose Island, Spaten, Weihenstephan and Hofbräuhaus. Also included in the price of admission was plenty of schnitzel, sauerkraut, brats and giant pretzels. Piped in German music resulted in spontaneous breakouts of the ever popular Chicken Dance. There was also plenty of swag available for anyone that wanted it. They had a moderate turnout, and everyone that attended seemed to be having a good time making new friends while enjoying the food and beer.
The Astro Pub is located in the front of the Whole Foods Market, Playa Vista at 12746 W. Jefferson Boulevard. As I mentioned, Moran plans on having a series of beer dinners and tap takeovers every couple of weeks. I would suggest following the Whole Foods Facebook page to be kept in the loop. Prost! Continue reading
Vegan Oktoberfest Photos
On Saturday afternoon, Santa Monica was the site of what was billed as the first ever Vegan Oktoberfest. I happen to have several friends in Germany and when I asked them if they had ever heard of such a thing they agreed that this very likely was the first; it was definitely the first any of them had ever heard of.
Since it is October, it is beer festival season which means I usually have a couple events I can photograph on any given weekend and Saturday was no exception as the Taste of Brews Oktoberfest was happening in Corona while Vegan Oktoberfest was happening in Santa Monica. I am not a vegan by any stretch of the imagination but since triple digit temperatures were expected in Corona and it is three times further away I figured the Santa Monica was the logical choice; after all, you could see the ocean from the festival site, it had to be cooler. Well, if it was cooler it was not by much as the air temperature was in the high 90’s and combined with the event being held on an asphalt parking lot the numbers just went higher.
With 22 breweries represented at this inaugural event, there were plenty of options available for those that wanted beer to quench their thirst but it seemed to me that there were almost as many food vendors and the food lines were definitely longer than the beer lines. We tried one of the vegan options, a grilled cheese sandwich that had macaroni added as a filler. It was enough to make me not want to bother with any of the other food options; like I said, I am not a vegan and tofu is not a viable meat substitute in my opinion. Continue reading
Vegan Oktoberfest Santa Monica, October 4
As October steadily creeps up on us, so do the additional Oktoberfest celebrations; including Vegan Oktoberfest which will be held at Beach Park 1 in Santa Monica on October 4. While I am not sure I ever heard of a German vegan, this event looks like it should be pretty entertaining.
This inaugural event is a fundraiser for Expand Animal Rights Now, an organization that uses the legal system to help animals. Since this is a vegan event it is a safe bet that you are not going to find any bratwurst or sauerbraten available but there will be plenty of gluten free pretzels and food trucks such as Sage Organic Bistro, The Grilled Cheese Truck, The Green Truck, and Southern Fried Vegan which will be providing traditional Bavarian food such as pretzels, potato pancakes, chicken, sauerkraut and ice cream. There will be vegan sausages available also.
The breweries in attendance that will be pouring their vegan beer include Angel City, Anderson Valley Brewing, Bravery Brewing, Golden Road Brewing, Saint Archer Brewing, Karl Strauss Brewing, Drakes Brewing, Lagunitas, Bison Brewing, Modern Times Beer, Epic Brewing, Oskar Blues Brewery, Ace Premium Hard Cider, Eel River Brewing Company, Coronado Brewing Company, Hangar 24, Venice Duck Brewery, Four Sons Brewing, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Ninkasi Brewing Company, The Dudes’ Brewing Company, Lammsbrau and Einstock. Continue reading
Alpine VIllage 47th Annual Oktoberfest Begins
Friday evening, September 12, the Alpine Village in Torrance began their 47th Annual Oktoberfest, complete with German food, German biers and oompah party bands. The Alpine Village Oktoberfest is the biggest and longest running Oktoberfest this side of the Mississippi River.
Besides the bier, food and music there are chicken dances every hour, stein holding contests and, of course, Heino to get all the ladies worked up.
Oktoberfest will run every weekend through October 26; with Friday and Saturday being an adult only event and Sundays kids are allowed. The hours are 6:00-12:00 AM on Fridays, 5:00-12:00 AM on Saturdays and 1:00-6:00 PM on Sunday.
Alpine Village is located at 833 W. Torrance Boulevard in Torrance and Oktoberfest is held in the big tent. If you seek a little more variety in the food or bier, you should do like we did and start off at The Alpine Inn; they have a great beer menu and some very good German food. Cheers! Continue reading
Taste of Brews’ Oktoberfest October 4: PROMO CODE
Oktoberfest October 4
Since this is their first Oktoberfest I cannot provide photos and a description of how much fun I had last year, but I have gone to two of the Taste of Brews Long Beach festivals and had a blast, so if history is any indicator, this should be another good time. Some of the breweries that will be in attendance are Inland Empire locals Black Market Brewery, Brew Rebellion, Bootlegger’s and I & I Brewing along with such beer festival regulars like Fireman’s Brew, Samuel Adams Brewery, Firestone Walker and BJ’s restaurant.
In addition to the beer, Oktoberfest provides live entertainment including Linda Herman’s Alpine Band and Inland Empire locals, The Tomcats. Of course there will be German foods available along with other food trucks. And since no Oktoberfest would be complete without dancing and games there will be Chicken Dance contests, beer stein endurance contests, balloon blowing contests and yodeling contests. Prizes will be awarded for best costumes, so if you own lederhosen this would be a great time to break it out.
There are two packages available for this event; the Bavarian, or the VIP package which includes three 14 ounce beers in a souvenir mug along with a 5 ounce sampling mug with 10 tastes. This package is limited to 250 sales. The Prost package includes a 5 ounce sampling mug with 10 tastes and two 10 or 12 ounce beers. Refills will be available for $5.00 at the venue’s discretion. The Bavarian package is $45/each and the Prost is $35/each; however, if you order early and use the PROMO CODE: CRAFTBEERGUY you will save $10 on each ticket purchased by September 21; after that, the promo code will save you $5.00 per ticket. Continue reading
LA Beer Week comes to a close
Sunday, day 11 of LA Beer Week (LABW5) and congratulations to those of you that survived. While I did not attend the event at Union Station a week ago, I cannot imagine trying to do it at the end of an 11 day week. I started the day by heading over to King Harbor Brewing Company where I got the opportunity to meet their head brewer as he christened the location by brewing a small batch saison. A little later in the day I was informed that Smog City Brewing was hosting a panel, School of BJ’s Brewer Panel Discussion featuring Jonathan Porter of Smog City, Tyler King of The Bruery, David Griffiths of Ladyface Alehouse & Brasserie, Evan Price of Noble Ale Works and Owen Williams of Ritual Brewing Company. It turns out that the common denominator between the five of them is that they all brewed at BJ’s; who would have guessed? We decided to begin by going to Monkish Brewing to try their LABW5 entry, End of Summer, a Belgian Honey Ale. We then headed around the corner to Smog City.
As it turned out the event was not really supposed to be public as Beer Paper LA was using the opportunity to interview the brewers for an upcoming issue and they were concerned I would scoop them; so I bailed. You should be able to read about it and see any photos in their upcoming issue.
It really was a fun week and I had a great time. I would like to extend special thanks to The Brewery at Abigaile, Naja’s Place, Rock & Brews PCH, Monkish Brewing Company, Strand Brewing Company, San Pedro Brewing Company, Alpine Village and El Segundo Brewing Company for their hospitality and generosity over the past week. It was truly appreciated. Cheers! Continue reading
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