FREMONT OKTOBERFEST

TASTING NOTES

All pours were five ounces into the Fremont Oktoberfest souvenir tasting mug (pictured above).

Beer name (Alcohol % by volume)
Style as listed in Fremont Oktoberfest map/flier.
Brewery.

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Big Al Tripel (8.9)
Belgian-Style Strong Ale.
Big Al Brewing of Seattle, Washington.

Yeasty, spicy. Good tripel.

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Oaktoberfest (4.5)
Vienna Lager.
Firestone Walker Brewing Co. of Paso Robles, California.

Watery, butter flavor. Meh. Hoping for more.

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Deschutes Oktoberfest (5.0)
Märzen.
Deschutes Brewery of Bend, Oregon.

Nutty, yeasty, malty. I would like it to be a bit bolder in flavor.

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Mystere de la Saison (6.9)
Other Ale (Saison).
Fremont Brewing Co. of Seattle Washington.

Excellent. Yeast. Spice, sage perhaps. A hint of paper pulp.

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The Stranger Big Double Trouble (8.5)
(Imperial) IPA.
Lazy Boy Brewing Co. of Everett, Washington.

Yowza. Apple on the front, bitterness throughout, celery on the finish. The bitterness leans towards stinging nettles and pine needles and/or resin. Excellent.

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Heavy Horse (6.2)
Scotch Ale.
Big Sky Brewing of Missoula, Montana.

Too watery for a Scotch, in my opinion. Weak on flavor. Not bad, but nothing to rave about. I've had better.

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Lucille IPA (7.2)
IPA.
Georgetown Brewing Co. of Seattle, Washington.

Top notch. Pine resin and orange bitters. Over-the-top hops. Fantastic. It's like a bitter version of Manny's Pale Ale on overdrive.

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Little Sumpin Wild (7.7)
Belgian IPA.
Lagunitas Brewing Co. of Petaluma, California.

Yeast, cloves, heaven. The best Belgian today. Subtle, yet complex. Slight alcohol burn on the finish, but I'm okay with that. It works. Excellent x 2.

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Plus, sips of two Laurelwood Brewing Co. of Portland, Oregon brews: Organic Free Range Red, a NW ESB, and Workhorse IPA, an IPA. Both were complex and worth having again for full effect.

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Also, my beer buddy for the day had me try a sip of Manny's Pale Ale (Georgetown Brewing Co. of Seattle, Washington) to test his hypothesis that Manny's is a good ale on its own, but the flavor is off if had after another beer. I love Manny's, but he is correct. Other beers seem to influence its flavor, and not necessarily in a kind way.

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Another piece of heaven (or, rather, a bunch of pieces of heaven sliced up and mashed together): a veal bratwurst from Zieglers Bratwurst Haus. Served on a big ol' bun and slathered in sauerkraut and yellow mustard. Mmm!