September is the month when beer festivals really come into their own. This week on Beer Notes we are talking about regional craft beer festivals. Oktoberfest in Munich actually starts in September as do many Octoberfest festivals here in the United States. The beer centric festivities don’t slow down as we slide into the namesake month of October. There are festivals featuring live music and beers from many breweries. Some focus on local and regional breweries while others bring together breweries from across a large geographic area. There are festivals that focus on a specific type of beer and others that are hosted by one brewery and feature only their beer.
Here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the culminating event to this Oktoberfest season is the Shore Craft Beer Fest known as OCtoberfest. It features more than 40 different beers from more than 15 local and regional breweries. A Baltimore based meadery will be bringing their product as well. This event is always held on the last Saturday of October in an outdoor park located directly on the water with spectacular views and piers to traverse as you listen to the music and enjoy your unlimited samples. This festival, like most you will find, features live music, food trucks and vendors. It affords the attendee the opportunity to not only try some of the finest beer anywhere in the world, but it gives you a reason to explore Ocean City, Maryland and the surrounding region in the off-season.
Vacations and beer have always gone together, but never better than in the Fall’s Oktoberfest season. This year, we suggest you plan your Autumn getaway not around the changing colors of the leaves, but around world class beer and world class beauty and nowhere better than Ocean City, Maryland. You won’t be sorry.
For Beer Notes, this is Anne Neely.
