Firestone Walker’s Oaktoberfest Arrives on Shelves August 1

Paso Robles, CA: It’s time to dust off your stein and get a jump on German tradition as Firestone Walker Brewing Company is set to release Oaktoberfest in bottles, marking the first-ever packaged release of this “Paso Märzen Bier.”

“Oaktoberfest is a real quaffer,” said Brewmaster Matt Brynildson. “It’s mellow and rounded with this gorgeous autumn orange hue—it’s the kind of beer you should be drinking out of a liter mug.”

Oaktoberfest is a seasonal offering for late summer and fall, and will be available in six packs starting on August 1. Until now, the beer was exclusively a seasonal draft offering originally made for the brewery’s local Oaktoberfest celebration.

While the upcoming Oaktoberfest release is true to the brewery’s original version, it’s now slightly drier and hoppier to provide more balance with the sweeter malt character of the style.

“Oaktoberfest has always provided us an opportunity to play around with new German hop cultivars,” Brynildson said. “We’re now focusing on Hallertau Tradition, and we contracted directly with several German farmers to make sure we had enough to last. When visiting some of my favorite German lager breweries, I’ve seen a ton of Hallertau Tradition in their closets, and it proved to be a natural fit for Oaktoberfest.”

He added, “Nevertheless, this is not a hop-driven beer. It’s very traditional in style, incorporating equal amounts of Vienna malt and Pilsner malt, both from Germany. It all comes together to create this classic Märzen profile, with subtle honey-like aromas and hints of noble hop spice.”

The name Oaktoberfest is a nod to the brewery’s hometown of Paso Robles—Spanish for “Pass of The Oaks”—as well as the longtime presence of oak barrels as a central part of the Firestone Walker brewing operation. The checkered blue and white pattern on the label echoes the Bavarian flag and pays homage to the style.

The 2014 Madonna Inn Oktoberfest presented by Firestone Walker Brewing Company takes place on October 11. As always, Oaktoberfest will be racked to oak barrels and ceremonially tapped to punctuate the festivities.

“Tapping the barrels of Oaktoberfest has been an annual rite here for nearly a decade,” Brynildson said. “It’s a journey that has finally found its way into the bottle.”

Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest aka My Favorite Beer Fest of the Year

When an event is in it's third year, as the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest was this year, you have to wonder, what are they going to do differently?  How will this year's event be better?  Many of the same elements were still in place this year, amazing food, live music, and of course, outstanding beers.  A few newer components this year, which only further enhanced the experience, included an area to purchase merchandise before the event as well as an opportunity to sample a beer prior to the fest start time.  Upon entering the fest waiting area, each person received a ticket to redeem Ol' Leghorn, a collaboration beer from 3 Floyds and Firestone Walker which was brewed for last year's FWIBF.  Even better than having a beer before an actual beer fest?  Having both Adam Firestone and David Walker on hand to pour the beer for their fans.

Just a few of the reasons FWIBF is my favorite beer event of the year include, but are not limited to:
Organization
You can tell that a lot of work goes into planning FWIBF.  All of the volunteers are extremely happy, friendly, and helpful.  The layout of the fest makes it easy to find the beers you are looking for as well as the food you want to sample.
Food
The food that is available throughout the event has something to please everyone.  And it is plentiful!
Music
Live music during a fest always enhances the experience, in my opinion.
Brewers
Each brewery had at least one brewer on hand, some more than one, available to chat about their beers. Being able to hear about the specifics of a beer from the person who actually created it is pretty cool.
Beer
The variety of beer available at FWIBF is really amazing.  I love having the opportunity to try beers that I've never heard of and also to try old favorites.  My favorite beer this year was from Germany's Braufactum.
People
Due to the limited number of attendees, and manageable lines, this event is a great place to catch up with old friends and also visit with new ones too!
Weather
The last two years were Africa hot days for FWIBF.  This year, Firestone Walker made sure that the weather cooperated.  I mean, not only do they make amazing beer and put together a world-class event but they make sure the weather is enjoyable too?

Once again, Firestone Walker put together an amazing event.  And once again, I'm counting down the days until next year's FWIBF.

Created with flickr slideshow.

Beach City Brewery's Grand Opening

This past Sunday, I had the chance to visit Orange County's newest brewery, Beach City Brewery.  I've been looking forward to their opening for quite awhile, so I was really happy to finally have a chance to visit them and try their beers!  Beach City Brewery is located in an industrial park area, like many other breweries.  Their facility houses both their brew house and their tasting room, which is always interesting to see all in one location.  Beach City Brewery has the distinct honor of being the first production microbrewery located in Huntington Beach.

PCH Pale Ale, Hang Five IPA, Overcast Summer Wheat, and Sweet Crude Stout were all on tap on Sunday and I was able to try all of them.  I have to say, I enjoyed all of the beers but the one that I was surprised at liking the most was the Overcast Summer Wheat.  I tend to gravitate towards IPAs and Pale Ales, and often don't try wheat beers.  So I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked the Overcast Summer Wheat.

I had a great time visiting Beach City Brewery, while the beers and tasting room were both outstanding, I'd have to say my favorite part of my visit were the friendly staff.  It's obvious from the enthusiasm from everyone who works at Beach City Brewery that they truly care about their brewery.  I look forward to visiting the tasting room again and sampling more of Beach City Brewery's beers.

Beach City Brewery's Grand Opening is this Saturday, May 10th from noon until 10 p.m..  PCH Pale Ale, Hang Five IPA, Overcast Summer Wheat, Sweet Crude Stout, an exclusive nitro beer and two special cask ales will be available.  Two food trucks will also be at the Grand Opening, GD Bro Truck will be there from 11:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m. along with The Viking Truck from 4:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m..

Beach City Brewery
7631 Woodwind Drive, Huntington Beach, CA 92647
(714) 425-4756
www.beachcitybrewery.com

Sabroso Craft Beer and Taco Festival

Yesterday went from being disappointing to amazing thanks to some of my rad friends.  I woke up in the morning with plans to head down to San Diego, but those plans quickly changed to going to a craft beer event here in Orange County instead.  The folks of OC Brew Ha Ha held their inaugural Sabroso Craft Beer and Taco Festival, which was amazing!  The event was located at the picturesque Lake View Park in Silverado, just adjacent to the venue of the OC Brew Ha Ha. The Lake View Park venue is a fantastic venue!  Even though yesterday was a warm day, the trees and misters located throughout the park helped make the heat less noticeable.

Over sixty breweries attended with many pouring beers that were created specifically for Sabroso.  Bottle Logic Brewing was one of the breweries that brought a special beer for the day, Leche Borracho which was one of my favorite beers of the day.  Besides beer, of course there were tacos available from a variety of food vendors.  From octopus, to Spam tacos, there was something for nearly everyone's tastes!  During the event, judges sampled the tacos and Hopscotch was awarded first place for their lamb al pastor taco at the end of the afternoon.

My favorite part of the day, besides the beer was the lucha libre!  The luchadores were full of energy interacting with the crowd and were so much fun to watch.  Several match ups occurred during the day and the wrestling ring was centrally located in the event so it was easy to catch the action no matter where you were standing.

I can't wait until the next event put on by OC Brew Ha Ha, they definitely know how to make sure that people have a fantastic time at all of their events!  You can tell that they put a lot of thought into their events, as they are always well organized and fun to attend.