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Fresh off a bunch of pils being poured at Highland Park Brewery, they will pour festbiers for a week…
For me, the best night is the guest tap night. A really good way to taste a bunch of different marzens at once which doesn’t happen often.
Now that we are in September, I can commence talking about Festbiers in 2023 and I will start with…
Dopetoberfest from local to L.A., Crowns & Hops.
Second is the Oaky Marzen from Firestone Walker.
Lastly, the classic OktoCollab from Chico, with Hamburg’s Kehrwieder Kreativbrauerei .
Who will be the Fest Winner? California, the U.S. or Germany?
The Contestants
Smog City Smogtoberfest – dark orange in color. smells hoppier than the other two. simple and crisp. lots of malt flavor here with a bit of a spice kick.
Half Acre Lager Town – pours a dark orange with a malty and orange peel taste. a bit heavy to me with caramel notes. minerality here too as well as a viscousness.
Weihenstephaner Festbier – the lightest of the trio. bubbly in the glass. a bit of malty sweetness with a tiny touch of minerality. very clean and crisp.
The Winner
I think I have to choose the SmogtoberFest. It is the lowest ABV but also the fullest of the three beers.
Long Beach Beer Lab is celebrating both their 5th Year Anniversary and ultimate Oktober Lager Festival that will conclude on October 23rd but before then are some festive beers to try.
August
– Oktoberfest Marzen
– West Coast Lager with Casa Agria
September
– Oktoberfriends Festbier Vol. 1 The Long Beach Beer Lab version
– Oktoberfriends Festbier Vol. 2 The HopSaint version
– Crispy Pair of Levi’s Rice and Beans Pils with Untitled Art
Yes, El Segundo is first and foremost an IPA or even better thought at DIPA or TIPA house but underneath are some exceptions to the rule and this Oktoberfest, ESBC has paired with noted home brewer John Palmer for a Dunkel Bock. This will be great to taste alongside their returning festbier.
Throwing some numbers at you. The event calendar for 8one8 Brewing which is headlined, in my mind, the Anniversary. Busy times in the Valley starting tomorrow!
(818) DAY: 8-18-22
7 Year Anniversary Party: 8-20-22
(818) Oktoberfest: 9-17-22 – 9-18-22
For a change if pace, let’s review an N/A Oktofest bier. From my go to, Athletic Brewing.
This has a pleasing beer being brewed, grist mill aroma. Doesn’t quite have the breadiness that I associate with the style though. A bit thin and watery. I get a hint of fest but it seems diluted to me. More tea like in flavor. It is a common non-alcoholic problem where everything seems too muted.
News dropped yesterday from The L.A. County Brewers Guild…
Here are the details straight from the Guild…
“Members of the Los Angeles County Brewers Guild came together for the first time in nearly two years for the 2021 Unity collaboration brew hosted by Common Space Brewery. Unity, the annual Guild brew originally created by LABG co-founders Eagle Rock Brewery, is traditionally brewed in the spring to commemorate our annual LA Beer Week. Due to the pandemic however, the last time Unity was brewed was back in May 2019. While hosting LA Beer Week this summer wasn’t in the cards, the Guild wanted to finally come together so that we could begin to rebuild the strong sense of community and camaraderie that make our L.A. beer scene so great.
Host brewery Common Space Brewery will be releasing 16-ounce four packs of Unity on Thursday, October 7 at their Hawthorne tasting room. This 6% abv Hoppy Pilsner marks the first lager iteration of Unity and will be available in cans and on draft at select retail locations. Check out the list below for LABG members and local craft beer retailers who will have Unity available.
But wait! There’s more! To celebrate the release of this brew, we will also be hosting the LABG Unity Oktoberfest at Common Space on Saturday, October 30, 2021. We’ve missed sharing beers with our community and while we still weren’t ready to go all out this summer with our usual events, we hope that you can join us for this intimate outdoor tasting event featuring 30 independent craft breweries, entertainment, and local food vendors.”
Pro sports teams nowadays have a seemingly endless supply of jerseys. Each year brings new designs. Most of which can be brutally ugly.
But Bayern Munich has a beer connected look…
“This year, the Wiesn in Munich can once again not take place. But FC Bayern still wants to celebrate with its fans and presents together with adidas a Wiesn special jersey, which was modeled after the Bavarian Trachten look. The classic dark green, together with the decorated logo and the Edelwei; in the neck symbolizes the Bavarian origin.”
Boy, howdy doesn’t Netflix love a foreign potboiler series and the trailer for Oktoberfest: Beer & Blood delivers that in the trailer. If you like the steamy, the yelling, the period costumes and the occasional keg tapping then buckle in and get your closed captioning glasses ready.