By Brooklynn Wong
We’re in the thick of Oktoberfest season, and if you’re looking for a smaller more manageable one that will keep you away from the hordes at the Phoenix Club and Old World Huntington Beach, keep Anaheim Brewery in mind for next year.
Anaheim Brewery, located at the Packing District—not in the Packing House itself but outside by Farmers Park—puts on festivities every year at this time, and this year they commemorated Oktoberfest on October 5 and 12.
At the finale, the last couple of hours on the second date, things showed no signs of slowing down, as the brewery and the patio were packed, a band played and the Viking Truck served up bratwurst and other goods.
The first iteration of “Anaheim Brewery” opened its doors almost 150 years ago, in 1870. It moved to different locations, was under different ownership, and closed for periods, including for prohibition. But the current owners, Greg and Barbara Gerovac, reopened the current iteration, closer to its original location.
Greg and Barbara were stationed in Germany when they both served in the Army, and they say that is when their love for brewing fresh, local beer developed. They came home and reopened Anaheim Brewery in 2010.
Anaheim Brewery beer is served at many restaurants and stores throughout Orange County, but its headquarters functions as a tasting room and beer garden at the Packing District. They held a “Mini Oktoberfest” this summer to celebrate the Packing House’s 100th birthday, and are quickly putting themselves on the map as a quality local Oktoberfest in the fall. What it lacks in numbers, space and grandeur, it makes up for in quality brews and small-time camaraderie and authenticity.
People packed in next to one another both at the bar inside the tasting room, and along the several long lunchroom-style tables on the patio, as people of all ages spent time together, and milled around outside. The Anaheim Brewery float was on display, ahead of its appearance in the Anaheim Halloween Parade October 26.
The German-American Brass Band, a popular group used by many area Oktoberfests, delighted the crowd, and the Viking Truck parked outside and served up bratwursts named after Norse mythological gods.
Best of all was the Anaheim Oktoberfest Lager, a 100-year-old recipe in the traditional Bavarian style.
Anaheim Brewery puts on a great, spirited, small and intimate Oktoberfest. It’s tiny but it has all the best features; you’re not really missing out on much.
Keep an eye on anaheimbrew.com. There’s another Oktoberfest coming up in Anaheim this weekend—at Bizen Bar on Saturday, October 19, from 4-10 p.m. Bizen is not in the Packing House, but in nearby downtown Anaheim on the Center Street Promenade.
See you there!
