Arts & Life, Events

Taste of Oktoberfest

Long Beach residents were treated to another fall festival Saturday, as Taste of Brews took over The Pike Outlets rooftop, hosting the third annual Oktoberfest in the city.

The daylong festival featured back-to-back two and a half hour sessions, and hundreds of beer and cider fans were given unlimited small pours from 10 breweries, as well as food and music atop the Nike store with a view overlooking Shoreline Aquatic Park and bay.

Under a bright green shade with comic-styled art posters and banners, SKA Brewing stood out against a sea of black and white banners. The art is no coincidence according to Tanya Bultsma, Southern California Sales Rep for the brewery.

“The original business plan was drawn out as a comic strip by the founders,” she said. “So all of our labels and signs have the same feel.”

Bultsma had spent 11 years working for the retailer Gap clothing before finally jumping ship to SKA, the brewing company based out of Durango, Colorado.

“I worked for about two years at different events like these,” she said. “Just for the love of beer.”

She had a few offers from different brew companies, but felt SKA had the right fit.

“We do a good job of keeping music and beer together,” Bultsma said.

In addition to traditional German and street food with beer, a small crowd of attendees crowded around a giant Jenga setup, with inebriated guests taking turns attempting to remove a block to try and put it back atop the stack while balancing on tip-toes.

The sun was out and the event didn’t feature a lot of shade, but that didn’t stop 41-year-old Tom Thompson from making his annual appearance, dressed in his “traditional” lederhosen German outfit for men.

“Oh, the outfit is good at least two to three times a year,” he said with a laugh. “It’s been an interesting time to say the least.”

Though this was the third time the event has been put on, it’s also the third different location. The first was at the Promenade Walk corporation, which didn’t work out as hoped due to the space. Last year was on the lawn by the Rainbow Lighthouse, a much bigger venue. Mike Kingsbury, General manager for Taste of Brews series, said The Pikes was the best of both worlds.

“The lawn by the lighthouse was just too big to handle, [The Pike] is much easier to manage,” he said. “We’re going for a smaller, more turnkey approach this time around.”

The event was a bit hit with over 700 people coming down to Oktoberfest. As of 2 p.m., the second session was already sold out. The vendors seem to like the event too, with Kingsbury and event organizers only having room for the 10 breweries invited. In addition to SKA, companies like The Dudes Brewing Co. from Los Angeles were there, as well as local favorite Ballast Point.  

“We had quite a few more interested,” Kingsbury said. “We like to change up the rotation of breweries for each event as much as possible.”

Taste of Brews has been putting on similar events around Long Beach for years now, and is trying to set a consistent schedule. The next event being put on by the company in March is “tentative” according to Kingsbury.

While the March event has yet to be finalized, Long Beach beer lovers can look forward to another Taste of Brews coming soon.

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