On Saturday, Cap City’s Oktoberfest took over the unsuspecting Shirlington Village, filling it with tents of food and delicious beers. Having both been on an extended fast to prepare for the day of brats, potato salad, giant pretzels and some of the best craft beer served in the world, Mehan and I were anxious to explore the Shirlington Oktoberfests’ offerings.
Festina Peche tap
Being responsible citizens, Mehan and I took an Orange line metro and then a bus(!) to Shirlington for the fest. After getting our classic tasting glass and tickets we set off into the crowds starting to gather around at 1PM. We thought that the earlier we got there the better–this proved to be a good strategy, since as the day wore on the fest definately got packed.
German dancers
We tried a number of beers including the famed Capitol City Brewing Company Punkinator that you all got to read about when we went and visited the brewery on brew day. Click here if you missed it. The beer tasted a lot like I remember it smelling the day it was brewed. The pumpkin spice mix that Mike McCarthy concocted definitely gave it the right pumpkin pie taste. I actually spent a few more tickets sampling the other pumpkin beers available including New Holland Brewing Pumpkin beer and The Punkin from Dogfish Head. (Part of super secret research for the next DCBeer event…)
Lederhosen!
Despite the crushing amount of people by the end of the day, long line waits were few and far between while we sought after the most tasty brews to cash in our 10 precious tickets. A standout for me was the 21st Amendment Back in Black which I hadn’t seen before in these parts before. (I was told on Twitter that the Birreria Paradiso had it on draft at some point.) The black IPA tasted just like a normal IPA should for the most part. Super citrusy flavors from the American hops with just a little bit of the roast bitterness coming in at the end. Interesting to see a beer that looks like a stout pull off one of my favorite tastes.
Volunteers at pouring Arrogant Bastard
