It was a beautiful, very easy-going day. The temperature was just right for this time of the year. Doing beer tastings events in the cold has a different effect on me; next year I have to pace myself differently. But all in all, Das Erste! OktoberFestival.

The First Annual Oktoberfest for the Garden State Crafts Brewers Guild was held at NEWARK BEARS RIVERFRONT STADIUM, in Newark NJ. It’s a perfect place due to the amount of mass transportation present (Don’t Drink And Drive!!!). There were ten of New Jersey’s finest breweries at the great venue, which made for a fine event.

Cask conditioned ales and OktoberFest beer were the features of the day. The Cask Ales seemed stronger on the alcohol feel. Basil T’s Maxwell Stout was my favorite beer, a classic stout with roasted barley bitterness and a dense, creamy head and a touch of coffee. Gaslight’s Heart of Darkness was a close second for beers I liked the most for the day. New comer, to me, River Horse was very good. I did not like the Pumpkin Spiced Beer from Gaslight, too heavy-handed on the spices. All the Oktoberfest beers were all nicely done. I liked Gaslight’s the most because it had more depth In flavor compared to the others.

The event itself needs more local supporters from the breweries, but this was the 1st time so it was a little risky. I’m sure next year will be bigger. It was a lot of fun in the end. A great thing about this show was that the brewers were not ‘competing’ with one another. Everybody was happy to present their beer and talk with you for a little bit.

Next year, if you love beer and live in New Jersey, Oktoberfestival is a must. It was smeggin’ fantastic and could be as good as the Camden event in time. Camden had better beer also. The festival needed an event on field also, like a brewer’s soft ball game or something of that nature. It would of added the right kick to the day. But it was a day well worth the price of admission.

List of Garden State Crafts Brewers Guild present and their Beers present for OktoberFestival:

•Flying Fish Brewing Company flyingfish.com

Oktoberfish, Cask-Conditioned Oktoberfish, Extra Pale Ale, Abbey Dubbel

Flying Fish is the first craft production brewery in the southern half of New Jersey and the most widely produced craft beer in the state. We specialize in classic English and Belgian styles and currently brew six bottled beers: ESB Ale, Extra Pale Ale, Porter, Belgian Abbey Dubbel, Farmhouse Summer Ale and Grand Cru Winter Reserve, some of which are bottle conditioned. In addition we brew a variety of draft-only seasonals and cask-conditioned “real ales.”

•High Point Brewing Company aka Ramstein ramsteinbeer.com

Classic Dunkle Weizen, Keller Pills, Barrel Oktoberfest

High Point Brewing Company is the first exclusive wheat beer brewery in America. High Point brews the award-winning Ramstein beers. Ramstein beers are available on draft and in bottles throughout NJ, NY and PA.

•Pizzeria Uno pizzeriauno.com

IPA, Red Ale, Oktoberfest, Porter

We’ve evolved the Pizzeria Uno legend to a brewhouse as well. Our Brewmaster, Mike Sella, brews all of our own beer on premise, using a custom built 15bbl Pub brewing system. Mike has formulated these beers to be the perfect compliment to our delicious food. Fresh beer tastes best.

•River Horse Brewing Company riverhorse.com

Tripel Horse, Belgian Freeze, Hop Hazard

River Horse is a 20-barrel micro located on the Delaware River in Hunterdon County. Opened in April 1996, the brewery produces both ales and lagers and currently features five products.

•Cricket Hill Brewing Company crickethillbrewery.com

Fall Festivus, East Coast Lager

Cricket Hill is the newest microbrewery in New Jersey. Since January 2002 they have brewed two flagship beers: East Coast Lager and American Ale. Most recently they have produced their Cask Ale, Colonel Blide’s Bitter. All three are extremely easy drinking and refreshing. Tours are given by appointment, with Friday afternoons being the most popular time.

•Basil T’s basilt.com

Maxwell Stout, Rosies Pale Ale, RocketRed Ale, XXX Golden Ale

There are always at least six hand-crafted ales on tap. The bar features New Jersey’s largest mug club, happy hour, and live music on Wednesday through Saturday evenings.

•Harvest Moon Brewery and Café harvestmoonbrewery.com

Pumpkin Ale, OktoberFest, Smoked Oatmeal Porter

The Harvest Moon Brewery/Café is a casual relaxed restaurant offering creative American cuisine at affordable prices in a unique setting. Handcrafted freshly brewed English style ales including our flagship brews, seasonal, cask conditioned, dry hopped and guest taps.

•Triumph Brewing Company triumphbrew.com

OktoberFest, Pumkin Ale, Grand Cru, Gothic Ale Cask

An ambitious and eclectic menu is served in an architecturally unique setting. Seven craft-brewed beers are always on tap including ales, lagers, nitro-pour stout and hand-pumped real ale.

Tun Tavern Brewery & Restaurant tuntavern.com

Oktoberfest, N.J. Hop I.P.A., Tun Light

Tun Tavern is Atlantic City’s first and only brewpub. It was recently voted the Number One Restaurant in New Jersey by the Server Foodservice News and Favorite Brewpub in New Jersey by readers of Gary Monterosso’s What’s on Tap newsletter. Tun Tavern offers casual gourmet cuisine and handcrafted brews.

•Gaslight Brewery & Restaurant gaslightbrewery.com

Abbey Normal, Zum Alt Dorf, Oktoberfest, Dog river Farm Organic Pumpkin Ale, Heart of Darkness Cask

This is Essex County’s first brewpub. We offer a relaxed atmosphere where people can come to enjoy freshly brewed beer and delicious food, watch a game on TV, play darts or shuffleboard, and listen to good music. We try to make this a spot where everyone can have some fun. We try to have live entertainment at least three times a week.

Popularity: 9% [?]

It was a late night and I needed to relax, sit back for a minute and soak in the madness of the last few days. It was a cool September Saturday night and the sky was partly cloudy. It was really quiet and one of the last nights I would be having in what used to be ‘my back yard.’ I got to have a bottle that night and I gave a bottle to my good friend iZathrez. Anyhoo, it was a very good beer.

Smell from the bottle - At that time of night, it was nice to get delicate smell of sweet hoppyness and malts. I know I did not get the full effect from the bottle but it was good.

Appearance - I did not pour this beer into a glass, but Flying Dog has great labels, nuff’ said.

Taste – This was a nice clean, light caramel beer, left me wanting more.

Mouth feel- This beer is halfway from a REALLY GOOD natural soda and a Flying Dog Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale to m.

Comic Book Pairings - I am going to read JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #25
On October 1, 2008 Written by Dwayne McDuffie; Art by Ed Benes; Cover by Ed Benes
Vixen and Animal Man journey into the sacred Tantu Totem to solve the mystery of their altered power.

Food Pairings – All I wanted that night was a hotdog from Grey Papayas in the east Village in New York City and if I knew my wife would not beat the living crap out me, I would of gone out there and gotten one.

Drinkability and repeat Drinkability - I have drunk this beer every year since the first time I had it. Dogtoberfest is not just some beer you enjoy just for the tasting, it’s something you have in October in as many ways as possible. For me it’s the Oktoberfest beer that sets the benchmark for all the others

Brewer’s breakdown and info

The origins of Dogtoberfest are shrouded in mystery, but scholars think it has everything to do with an insane German king and a crazed Oompah band. You can read the full historical record of Dogtoberfest at FlyingDogAles.com. Dogtoberfest is deep mahogany in color with an intriguing caramel finish and brewed with 100% imported German ingredients for a true German flavor.

ABV: 5.3%
Plato: 14
IBU’s: 30
Specialty Malts: Vienna Malt, Munich 90 Malt, Munich 100 Malt, Light Munich Malt
Hops: German Perle, Hersbrucker
Process: 100% imported German ingrediants for an authentic flavor

Popularity: 6% [?]

When I was much younger, before the wife and the kids and in the early days of my career and college days, I just drank beer, never really thought about what I was drinking. I just hated anything Budweiser and Coors, beyond that if it was beer I would at least try it, especially if it were free. So basically I drank the commercial stuff Heineken, Rolling Rock, Corona etc. No one else in my sphere of influence, outside of one person, ever drank anything different. That one person in my sphere of influence was my father, he was a little different, a wine drinker and taster.

One sunny summer afternoon we are sitting in the yard, my dad pulls out this funny six pack with this Crazy looking dog on the bottle with wings. My dad basically bought it on bought this on looks alone never read the bottle, and wanted to try it with me. He sometimes bought wine this way to surprise himself. My dad thought the dog would make a funny comic strip also. I’m a comic book reader mind you. The Beer was Flying Dog Classic Pale Ale.

Drinking the beer the first time was an eye opener. I never knew beer could taste so, epic. It could have been that it was the first time I ever had a beer from a smaller brewery before. It was a beer that actually had Flavor. Back then I did not even understand what type of beer it was, all I knew was that it was damned good.

Flying Dog Classic Pale Ale was, until recently what I considered my summer beer. Having this beer was a sign of summer for me. What recently changed is that I am trying more and more beers, and I don’t limit Flying Dog Classic Pale Ale to summer any more. It’s a great beer to drink ANY time, and especially with EPIC Comic Book Stories

–Flying Dog Classic Pale Ale

Meet the Alpha of the pack … Flying Dog Classic Pale Ale is brilliant amber in color and dry hopped with buckets full of Cascades for an unrivaled hop flavor and aroma. This is a true representation of American-style pale ale, using the finest ingredients. Flying Dog Classic Pale Ale is a multi-award winning product and is consistently ranked as one of the best pale ales in the U.S. This is what craft beer is all about.

Samuel Adams OctoberFest, the beer I have every October since I first discovered it! It was the same year I discovered Flying Dog Classic Pale Ale. On a wine run with my father, for his last Friday of the Month wine group, we checked out a new wine shop in our area. I was there just to be nosy, explore a new place and kill some time. It was the last Friday of September and the shop had something new on the shelves, well new to me, Samuel Adams OctoberFest. Breweries generally make special beer in honor of Oktoberfest in Germany. Oktoberfest is a sixteen-day festival held each year in Munich, Bavaria, Germany during late September (and running to early October). It is one of the most famous events in the city and the world’s largest fair.

This beer raised my eyebrow when I first drank it, it was another , completely different beer, with a wholly different flavor profile. The beer held true to the description on the bottle. Samuel Adams OctoberFest also opened my eyes to the larger world of Oktoberfestbiers, and beers like Dogtoberfest.

–Samuel Adams Octoberfest

October fest beers in honor Hearty and smooth, brewed with select Moravian malt. The first thing you notice when pouring a glass of this seasonal beer is the color. Samuel Adams® Octoberfest has a rich, deep golden amber hue which itself is reflective of the season. Samuel Adams® Octoberfest is a malt lover’s dream, masterfully blending together five roasts of barley to create a delicious harmony of sweet flavors including caramel and toffee. The beer is kept from being overly sweet by the elegant bitterness imparted by the German Noble hops. Samuel Adams® Octoberfest provides a wonderful transition from the lighter beers of summer to the winter’s heartier brews.

In essence Flying Dog Classic Pale Ale and Samuel Adams October are basically, for me, signature moment beers. They represent everything good about well crafted beer. And I recommend everyone give them a try, especially if you have never had a craft beer before.

Popularity: 6% [?]