Last week I posted a rundown of some upcoming festival dates and locations. This past Saturday, I took my own advice and stopped in on a few of them. Staying within the confines of Garden City, I visited Powderhaus Brewing, Bert’s Brewing and Barbarian. While each was busy and had a good crowed, they were quite different in the flavor and experience. Oktoberfest can take a few different forms in Garden City.
Traditional Festing
I started off at Powderhaus, the home of Schmidt’s Bierkeller, and they committed to the classic German theme. Leaning pretty heavily in to the Lederhosen and tall socks and such. Quite a few visitors dressed up as well, and embraced the theme. I had my stein that I purchased the day before and got a fill of Tyler’s fest-bier. Powderhaus back patio/lawn was pretty full but had some nice shade. 30 min later, my stein was empty and so it was time to move on.
Garden City Block Party
Next stop was Barbarian Brewing and that was a very different scene. Much larger crowd, as the facility there can support big numbers. The feel there was more like a big block party. Local Boise band “Sunsmith” was on stage for the live music when I was there. Barbarians Oktoberfest was not so much authentic attire and decorations, more just a general party atmosphere. Again, I bought the Stein + fill. I wasn’t going to leave w/o my souvenir vessel. Barbarians version of the fest bier had more of a bite to it and was interesting to see the different take on the style. Stein empty…off to the next one.
OktoBert’s Fest
A few blocks away and across Chinden blvd is Bert’s Brewing. Opening just under 3 years ago, it has become a very popular spot and they were my next port of call. This site was also max capacity, including the patio area in the back. A brass band was playing various traditional polka tunes however I distinctly heard a cover of “Crazy Train” on my way out. Pretty sure Ozzy would have felt honored. Bert’s Oktoberfest beer had more of the classic mild mellow toasted maltiness character. More closely adhering to the common guidelines of the style.
After visiting a few major fest happenings in Garden City, I stopped at nearby Ruckus Brewing. There were no Oktoberfest happenings scheduled there and the quiet taproom was a nice change. Ruckus had an import on tap that fit the bill for the season. No IPAs today. The Oktoberfest Marzen by Munich’s own Hacker-Pschorr. One of the “grand-daddy’s” of the fest-bier. In fact, Ruckus is a frequent after-work spot for me and I think that was the only time I’ve had something there that wasn’t theirs.
So, several different Garden City locations, each running a very different vibe. Plenty of options.
-Cheers
