The Beers of October

It's not about size!

We (the zymurgeeks) got together with the local mushroom gathering club http://www.fungusfed.org/ to celebrate the season of October by combining the earthy flavors of the mushroom with the heavenly flavor of fermented malt to give thanks to these gifts of nature these sacred gifts that make us whole as human beings. An abundance of great homebrew was on tap including a fantastic Vienna lager, two other oktoberfest lagers, a pale ale, IPA's and stouts to compliment a variety of delicious foods. Several of the beers were brewed at the Santa Cruz County Fair in August and were ripe for quaffing in the warm California October air. For a moment, I was nastalgic for the crisp cool air of my past life in the Pacific Northwest. The hint of a winter snowfall blowing in on the northern wind. Rain and sleet pushing me near the comforting flame of a cozy fire in the family room. Then again, 75f. on the deck, with dozens of friends drinking cold homebrew to beat the heat is just alright with me, Oh yeah!

Its tough to really get into the spirit of Oktoberfest in California. I guess you just have to have a different frame of mind when it comes to the idea of a cool time. Californians think of cold when it drops down into the, oh, I don't know, the 50's? So what? To us it's damn cold. Then again, cold or hot it takes beer to make it right. Not temperature.
I don't know about you, but when it come to celebrating the season I love the outdoors and having a nice cool malt beverage under the shade of a scrub Oak in the warm California sun. Sure the cold rains of winter are close behind this Indian Summer but that could be weeks away and with the way things are going we'll be in Mexico before the first winter storm. Then again, I'll be leaving behind some of the best beers in the world.