Tasting notes from the annual celebration of all things German and/or autumnal that was the 2003 Fremont Oktoberfest, which I carefully transcribed (read: hastily scribbled) in the margins of my festival program.  I attended with my wife, Nicole, and her friend Sarah, as well as Sarah’s significant somebody Tim.  Tim is a good person to know and attend beer tastings with, seeing as how in addition to being a swell fella, he works for a major distributor of the aqua vitae in our humble state and has a real appreciation of finely crafted brews and the breadth of experience to back it up.

After careful perusal of the very handy program, I made my selections.  Having experienced probably 75% of the offerings, my choices were easier in many cases, but there were enough beers I hadn’t experienced that I made the difficult choice not to say hello to some old, beloved friends like North Coast’s Old Rasputin (a good pal since 1996) and focus on the beers I hadn’t yet tried.  First to fall was Manny’s Pale Ale, from the Georgetown Brewing Company.  Manny’s is relatively new on the local brew scene, being the latest offering from a few of the same folks that brought us Mac and Jack’s African Amber.  I had heard great things about this beer for the last couple of months, and felt it was time to introduce myself.  Rarely has a beer (or much else, for that matter) lived up to the hype, but Manny’s did so in spades.  The crisp flavors of the hops were obviously the centerpiece of this unfiltered beer, full-bodied with a fresh aftertaste that was mellow in spite of itself.

Next up was Bert Grant’s Fresh Hop Ale (Fall or Oktoberfest Harvest Ale).  Bert Grant has rarely disappointed me with an offering, though the Mandarin Hefeweizen (also available at Oktoberfest) had underwhelmed me previously.  The good folks at Grants offered up slices of orange to cleanse the palate, which produced mixed results…the first sip of the Fresh Hop Ale was almost sour, due to the relative sweetness of the orange, and prepared myself for the worst.  However, after continued sipping, I found the ale to be a refreshing, easy drinking beer.  The hop flavors were again pronounced, due to, as the description in the program bragged, “fresh-picked Cascade Hops are rushed to the brewery 20 minutes after they are picked and plunged into the brew kettle.”  The difference this caused in the body of the beer was obvious after a few sips – this ale tasted fresher, and I visualized rows of hops on the vine, rather than the truckloads of drying hops seen traveling down the roads of this state.

Next was the unfortunately under-flavored O’Brien’s Harvest Ale from Hale’s Ales.  The beer was full-bodied enough, but the taste was relatively bland and uninspiring.  However, it did not fall flat on its face like the next offering from Deschutes, a Summer Seasonal Limited Test Release with no other name at this time.  I hope it stays that way, as both Tim and I found it had much to be desired.  It was crafted to appeal on “sizzling summer days in the Oregon High Desert,” though I think water would be better suited than this beer, a disappointingly light, spicy ale whose clear, golden color that should have warned me off.  On the bright side, it did cleanse the palate.

At this point in the afternoon, Tim and I walked past the Big Sky Brewing Company booth, where we were surprised to see new aluminum bottles on display from the folks at Big Sky.  Apparently these will soon be gracing the shelves of all of the stores in our region as part of a permanent change-over from Big Sky in an attempt to stand out in a crowded microbrew field.  The bottles were gorgeous, and make quite a bit of sense – environmentally friendly, easier to chill, and hold a half an ounce more beer than glass bottles of the same size and weight.  A very clever ploy backed up by a decent beer, tasted many times in the past.  I moved on to other beers, but Tim pronounced the Powder Hound Ale as a solid offering.

The beer I moved on to was another adequate contribution to the Oktoberfest Ale field, Redhook’s Hoptoberfest.  A well-developed beer with a brilliant amber color, not as robust as one might have hoped, but a leaving pleasantly understated smoky aftertaste likely caused by the specialty malts used:  Crystal and Bamberg Smoked, according to the description.  Plus, it’s certified Kosher, which never hurts.

A change of pace was in order, and Scuttlebutt’s Weizenbock was beckoning.  I’ve enjoyed this beer on numerous occasions, and was pleased once more.  It boasts 8% abv but doesn’t taste like it, not at all overpowering but spicy and smooth with an agreeable aftertaste that reminded me of nutmeg.

Sadly, the pleasantly spicy nature of the previous beer set me up for a disappointment.  A guilty pleasure for me appears this time each year on the shelves of local QFCs and Cost Plus World Markets in the form of Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale, a wonderful ale full of all the spice and body of Mom’s Pumpkin Pie.  Pacific Rim Brewing Company was offering their Pumpkin Patch Ale, an amber mashed with pumpkin and spices, and the Weizenbock put me in the mood for something of this nature.  However, this insipid contribution to Pumpkin Ales was woefully watered down and underflavored.  It appears that I may have been spoiled by Buffalo Bill’s, and I look forward to many more years of being spoiled in the same manner, but not by Pacific Rim.

Disheartened by the my last selection, I trudged over to the Far West Ireland Brewing Company recalling an earlier recommendation by Tim, who had enjoyed their Smoke Fest lager.  I was overjoyed to find his advice proven wise by this smoked marzen.  Upon first sip, I declared it “best of fest” and set to enjoying it to the fullest.  The head held up better than any other offering, and the deep, dark, amber color was mirrored by a truly full body of malty sweetness whose aftertaste gracefully disappeared after a few lovely moments in the mouth.  The smoky taste paired excellently with the food choices made by my wife and I at the time, a blackened salmon salad and a fine polish sausage.  A fantastic beer.

Murphy’s Law being what it is, I was let down by my next selection, Baron Brewing’s Munich Lager.  Other attendees compared the taste and smell to “hamster poo”, though I think it would perhaps be more accurate to say it was reminiscent of alfafa.  Very little malt flavor was in the beer at all and I drank it rather quickly, rather than attempt to find any good in it.  Determined to give Baron another chance, I tried their other offering, an Oktoberfest beer.  Significantly better than the Munich Lager, this beer had all the sweet smoothness that one would look for in an Oktoberfest beer.  A clean, complex-flavored brew with a rich, malty aftertaste.

Running low on time and tasting tokens, Bear Creek Brewing out of Redmond seemed to offer the best value for the end of the festival.  They graced the merry crowds with two beers, the Double Jack imperial IPA, and the Groot Baren Belgian Tripel, both weighing in with a hefty 11% abv.  The Groot Baren was my second to last selection and attracted me primarily with its name, which rolls off the tongue quite amusingly after a few ounces of this mighty beer.  The first sip to hit the tongue was almost cloyingly sweet, but further investigation revealed a full body with cognac-like undertones.  Appearing like an unfiltered apple cider, it was nonetheless a very potent concoction indeed, and was praised by myself and the ladies alike.

A final trip to the good folks at Beer Creek introduced me to their Double Jack.  The nearly overpowering hoppy taste served to enliven the complex malts before slipping into a strong but pleasantly short-lived aftertaste.  Another mighty draft, not for the faint of heart.  Beer Creek surprised me with their beers this year; I had been unimpressed by previous exposure to their work, but was quite pleased this year.

Overall the day was a rousing success.  As per usual (for the fourth consecutive year) I was so focused on the beer and friends around me that I missed the Texas Chainsaw Pumpkin Carving exhibition (no great loss from the hack-job jack o' lanterns I saw as the end result a while later).  Far West Ireland’s Smoke Fest impressed the most, and I hope to find someplace close that offers it on tap soon.  I also was delighted by Bear Creek’s brews, and look forward to visiting their place in Redmond to further investigate their work.  For now, however, I’m off to seek a six-pack of Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale to put away for the first frosty fall evening.