Nothing completes a crisp Saturday morning like a warm apple strudel and a cold beer. Yes, that’s right a tall frosty pint from one of the Bay Area’s best local breweries was the beverage of choice this weekend at Oakland’s second annual Oaktoberfest.
Despite being in only it’s second year the street festival proved to be a success, drawing a large and diverse crowd to the Dimond district this past Saturday.
Oaktoberfest was a celebration of the neighborhood’s rich cultural history, which includes a large german community. “Previously this area had beer-gardens and german cultural restaurants and resorts all along the street,” said Councilmember Jean Quan, who co-sponsored the event. “This was a german community, we’re trying to restore that part of the tradition.”
However, Oaktoberfest became more than an appreciation of the neighborhood’s german heritage. It became a celebration of the multi-ethnic community that presently resides in the area. Local shops, restaurants, performing groups, and community organizations came together to showcase what the Dimond district has to offer, lining a four block diameter at the intersection of MacArthur Blvd and Fruitvale Avenue with booths. “It looks like quite a party,” said Steve Vantassell, of the Mad Zymurgists the Tri-Valley’s homebrew club. A large biergarten, named for Bill Brand the late Oakland Tribune beer columnist and two stages completed the set up.
Although the festival was largely centered around beer it was a family affair with booths and activities set up for children. Oakland Parks and Recreation teamed up with the Dimond Rec Center to host a recycled paper crafts booth for kids and the neighborhood event organizers held a kinder friendly rootbeer garden.
Parents with children of all ages packed the streets, meandering from booth to booth while teenagers haunted the brewers tent eyeing the different beer vendors. Even the dogs came out in high volume, some being left at the Dance Doggie daycare pen area. “I love this because it feels like neighborhood,” said Kevin Pratt. “It feels like a solid family event.”
Returning this year to Oaktoberfest was alphornist, Allan Richards, whom you may recall seeing a few years back with his alphorn atop green mountains in the Ricola mouth lozenge commercial. Richards has been playing a multitude of horns for an estimated fifty-eight years, having first been taught by his father when he was seven or eight years old. He found his alphorn, a slender, hand made, wooden horn over 10 feet long with a painted bell, in a Chinese musical instrument store in San Francisco. “It’s an instrument that is used for a lot of different purposes,” said Richards. “Mainly for calls, to get people together.”
Richards plays other octoberfests and various other events, but enjoys Oaktoberfest. “I think it’s wonderful. It is the time of year, harvest time, when people should get together,” said Richards.
New to the Oaktoberfest was the homebrew competition organized by the Mad Zymurgists. “We had fifty-five entries this year, which is outstanding,” said Jon Koerber, the club’s vice president. All the entries were judged the Sunday before Oaktoberfest with the top seven entries moving on to Best of Show where they were sampled and evaluated on aroma, appearance, mouth feel or texture, and overall impression by grand master beer judges. Kevin Pratt, who served as a grand master judge said the entries were all of high quality. “I generally find home brewers make an extraordinary quality of beers,” Pratt said.
Dwight Mulcahy took home the award for Best of Show with his Weizenbock entry.
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