La Mesa’s Oktoberfest offers this fall festival’s traditional hallmarks: German bier, bratwurst, oompah music, lederhosen and dirndls.
Still, this isn’t your Bavarian grandpa’s O’fest. Just listen to Laurel McFarlane, founder of McFarlane Promotions, the festival’s producer, and — in her own words – “the queen of fun.”
La Mesa’s Oktoberfest, which opens today and runs through Sunday, has a 51-year history, making it is one of the county’s oldest Oktoberfests. In the beginning, this was a modest affair revolving around a makeshift beer garden plunked in the middle of a parking lot. When McFarlane took over, seven years ago, the event had pushed further into the city’s central village but remained focused on beer and brats.
The Queen of Fun saw room for improvement.
“We added a lot of elements,” she said.
An incomplete list: carnival rides, an arts and crafts area, yodeling contests, bounce houses, “dashhound” races (dachshunds and, McFarlane said, “dogs that think they are dachshunds”), karaoke, face painting, a pumpkin patch and even the traditional stein holding competition.
There are three beer tents – one pouring German lagers, a second with craft beer and the third, the Palm Tree Pub and Grub, designed to maximize your football-watching pleasure.
All, including the beer tents, open to all ages.
“Bringing in the family element was important,” McFarlane said. “It stops people from being overly aggressive.”
And overly boozy. In previous years, it was not uncommon for La Mesa police to collar one or more intoxicated festgoer. Last year, there were no arrests.
Landing in the drunk tank? Not fun.
“We do all kinds of fun things,” the queen said, “for everyone.”
La Mesa Oktoberfest takes place on La Mesa Boulevard between Spring Street and Allison Avenue, from 4 to 10 p.m. today; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. lamesaoktoberfest.org
Drams of Arrogance
No one mistakes beer for whiskey, yet a family connection links the two beverages.
Wort, the stew of grains and water that is an early step in beer-making, can be distilled to make whiskey — as San Diego brewers have long known. Case in point: Yuseff Cherney and Earl Kight founded in Cutwater Spirits in 2006, when both were working for Miramar’s Ballast Point brewery.
Stone entered these high octane waters in 2021, partnering with Iowa’s Foundry Distilling to make Arrogant Bastard Whiskey. Foundry used Stone’s Russian Imperial Stout as the basis of a 2022 whiskey and this year took another crack at Arrogant Bastard.
Released last month, this year’s AB Whiskey was aged in new, charred oak barrels four-plus years, about twice as long as the ’21 version. Both were bottled at 97 proof.
How does it taste? A message stamped on the bottle indicates this won’t be a crowd-pleaser: “Loved By Few. Hated By Many.”
An early reviewer disagreed.
The whiskey is “surprisingly fruity and light,” wrote Jonah Flicker, the Robb Report’s whiskey critic, “with notes of green apple, pear, berry, and citrus, along with some spice and vanilla on the palate.”
The Next Round
Today: O’Brien’s annual Wet Hop Beer Festival begins today and will continue 10 days — or until the final keg blows. O’Brien’s Pub, 4646 Convoy St., San Diego. obrienspub.net
Sunday: This is the final day for Oktoberfest celebrations at North County’s Blue Fire Brewing and San Diego’s Deft Brewing. Blue Fire, 2892 S. Santa Fe Ave., Suite 107, San Marcos. bluepointbrewing.com; Deft, 5328 Banks St., San Diego. deftbrewing.com
Quick Sips, O’fest Edition
Beer: Ohana ManaFrom: San Diego Brewing, San DiegoABV (Alcohol By Volume): 5.5 percentStyle: Wet Hop IPADrink or dump: Drink. As noted in an earlier Brewery Rowe column, fresh hop or wet hop beers are brewed with hops that are plucked from the bine, then rushed within hours to a brew kettle. The result: beers with ample hop flavor and aroma. Ohana Mana emphasizes the herbal qualities of its hops, delivers some bitterness at the finish and ties it together with a light body.
Fresh Hop Cole IPAFrom: Living Haus Beer Co., Portland, Ore.; and Humble Sea Brewing, Santa CruzABV: 7 percentStyle: Wet Hop IPADrink or dump: Drink. Fresh Hop Cole beckons its powerful citrus aromatics then enchants with grapefruit notes and oily resins. A hop bomb without excessive bitterness, Cole is a king. (Living Haus has local ties: co-owner Mat Sandoval is a former Modern Times brewer.)
Wet ExitFrom: Kern River Brewing, KernvilleABV: 6.8 percentStyle: Wet Hop IPADrink or dump: Drink. Bubbly, buoyant and a bit prickly, Wet Exit — that’s a kayaking term — floats on currents of Strata, Mosaic and Amarillo hops. There’s some berry, orange and mint notes here and a sharp, crisp finish.