My Overdue Oktoberfest Post

We are pushing three weeks since I volunteered my Saturday to work at Wolff’s Biergaarten for their 2nd annual Oktoberfest celebration.  My bad on not posting sooner, [insert lame excuse here.]

I volunteered to help out at this event and I recommend anyone who likes: beer, sausage, German folk music, cool free stuff, or any combination of these things to strongly consider it next year.  I went in for 5 hours of working security.  However, it wouldn’t be fair for them to put me in a situation where I would be responsible for checking IDs because they would seriously loose their liquor license if I were an idiot (which, let’s face it: I am.)  So, I really didn’t do anything all day.  For a while I stood behind the food tent watching to make sure people didn’t try to sneak in through a parking lot (no one did.)  BONUS: I got some free eats from the chefs working because I helped them break down boxes and carry a cooking range.  Later on in the day I was just walking around the bar area.  Literally, they told me that it makes the bartenders feel better if there is someone walking around amongst the crowd (surely a false sense of security because if you have seen me I am not intimidating and my first thought in a violent situation is to run.)

What was my reward for all of this ‘work?’  A $50 dollar gift certificate for the Biergaarten, two Wolff’s T-shirts, a meal voucher for Oktoberfest, 2 beer tokens for the event, and a glass Spaten stein.  Talk about a bargain.

My only complaint about the event was that a lot of people were there.  It took a while to get a beer, and people were kind of douche-y about waiting in lines.  A few righteous bros thought that they were entitled to not having to wait for their beers so they barged through the patient, relaxed, fun-having crowd.  Number one: are those aviator sunglasses really necessary indoors, and number two: I hope you choke on your beer.

For the most part everyone was relaxed and quite pleasant.  The employees I worked with at Wolff’s were fun and I am happy to give Wolff’s my business.  If you haven’t checked the Biergaarten out yet, then you may be wasting time in the capital region.

wasting precious "beer-getting" time by posing for photos, also: sweet gloves.

Bloomington, Indiana’s Own Upland Brewery

I sometimes find myself in strange places during my travels.  My journey into the midwest ended in Bloomington, IN where I found a cove of good food and good beer.  I dined around town for two and half days but ate and drank every night at the same place: The Upland Brewery.

they're all good

My first stop included a chocolate cake made with their in-house Bad Elmer’s Porter.  It was late in the evening and we had spent the day figuring out academics at the local Indiana University’s campus so we capped it off after the cake.  The next day we stopped later in the afternoon for a sampler.  It included all of their year-round brews and I did not find one that I didn’t enjoy.  Obviously though, I did have my favorites: Bad Elmer’s Porter, Upland Wheat and the Rad Red Amber.  We visited in the middle of June so the Upland Wheat was everything we wanted: clean, crisp, refreshing and the draft of the day.  We left, explored downtown Bloomington, dealt with academic issues again and returned that night for dinner (we were addicted.)  I had a jalapeno burger with a spicy habenero sauce.  The burger was awesome, but even more awesome was how the Rad Red Amber cut through the beef and cut through the heat (Caramel malt with 100% American hops for a cleansing, flowery, citrus taste.)

On top of the food and brews what won me over on Upland was their practice.  Upland is potentially the most green and Earth-friendly brewery I have ever stumbled in or out of.  They donate proceeds of their Preservation Pilsner to saving local forests, they donate their spent grains to local farmers, and their brewery is fitted with solar panels and energy efficient lighting.

If you ever find yourself in Bloomington, Indiana with no idea where to eat, this is a must-stop.  The brewery was the highlight of my trip to the midwest.  Upland does everything in-house, EVERYTHING: even marketing and design.  To be honest, it shows.  I have seen worse websites (though not many) but that is one more thing to love about this brewery: it’s local people doing it all for themselves and the community they are a part of.  Check them out online, and if you get the chance, in person.  Upland Brewery

Spent Grains at the Upland Brewery