Oktoberfest at Brew Republic Bierwerks! Prost!

Last Saturday Brew Republic Bierwerks once again held their annual Oktoberfest and Marzenbier Competition. It turned out a little different than it was originally intended. Because of the expected hurricane last week, the Stonebridge Fall Fest and Chili Cook-Off which was originally scheduled for the previous weekend was postponed and re-scheduled to take place the same day and time as the Oktoberfest celebration at Brew Republic.

The result was both good and bad. While the Oktoberfest celebration was forced to shrink down to just the brewery and the area directly in front,  there were actually more venders in attendance than would have been, and there was also delicious chili for tasting all along the shopping center.

However, all beer was restricted to the Brew Republic. If you wanted to check out the vendors and sample some chili, you had to finish your beer before leaving the Brew Republic to walk around.  While this was a little frustrating since there was a lot going on, I don’t think it was a huge problem.

There were 11 craft breweries present competing in the Marzenbier competition:

Adventure Brewing Company Oktoberfest
Alewerks Brewing Company Oktoberfest
Blue Mountain Brewery 13.Five Oktoberfest
Brew Republic Bierwerks UberBrau
Fair Winds Brewing Company Nautifest
Forge Brew Works Forge-toberfest
Old Ox Brewery Oxtober Bier
Ono Brewing Company Huli Pau Oktoberfest
Port City Brewing Company Oktoberfest
Solace Brewing Company Gute Nacht
Väsen Brewing Company Festbier

Each brewery submitted a Marzenbier, and people would sample each, then vote for their favorite. What made this competition a little different from other competitions was that this was a blind tasting. The beers were not labeled, so there was no way to know which was from what brewery.

While all the beers were very good, there were some clear differences between some of them. In the end I cast my vote for the beer located 3^rd from the right, although the beer 2^nd from the left was an extremely close second for me.  Unfortunately, I have no way to know which beer I cast my vote for, so I don’t know if it was the one that the people chose.

The winner of this year’s Marzenbier Competition at Brew Republic Bierwerks’ Oktoberfest was Solace Brewing’s Gute Nacht Marzen-style Lager. Congratulations Solace Brewing!

The competition beer and the beer on tap inside were all exceptional, and in addition to free chili, and a wide variety of festival foods, Brew Republic had a great in-house menu which included many Oktoberfest favorites: schnitzel, wurst platters, dumplings, big German pretzels, strudel, and more!

Brew Republic did an awesome job, and I believe everyone in attendance had a great time. Brew Republic Bierworks I’m already looking forward to next year.