I attended my first Oktoberfest celebration of the season this past weekend (September 19) at Grateful Ed’s Brewhouse in Arlington, VA, hosted by Ed and Elaine.   We went with my sister Susan, Rich, Elizabeth, and Andrew.

Grateful Ed is a homebrewer and this Oktoberfest featured three of his beers, served from 5-gallon soda canisters:

• Hefeweizen – a think, full-bodied, easy-drinking Hef.
• Brown Ale – quite the session beer, this Brown was smooth and drinkable.
• Doppelbock – Ed deemed this one “best of show” and I agree – this was a strong, dark, rich, and flavorful brew.

The whole family enjoyed this Oktoberfest, especially the kids.  Kudos to the hosts for setting up a Moon Bounce.  These folks know how to throw a family friendly party – plenty of distractions for the kids so the adults can enjoy the beer!

Enjoying Oktoberfest with Rich

I have this blog to thank for even being invited to the Oktoberfest.  Long story short: Elaine is a friend of my sister; she became familar with my blog and told my sister to invite the Boa Beer Blog.  I knew there would be something good to come out of my blogging efforts.  This party was a first for me – never before have I been to a party where the only beer available is the host’s homebrew.

I continued with the homebrew theme the next day (September 20).  We all went to Elizabeth’s birthday party at the National Zoo and then over to Rich and Susan’s to watch the Redskins game and to try the latest batch from RAW Brewing.  Rich brewed a delicious Molasses Wheat that was dark and tasty.  This one poured with a thick foamy head and had a great aroma — another fine offering from RAW Brewing.