PARKtoberfest

 A Review of PARKtoberfest
By Daniel Sennet

 The morning stared off ominously: rain, cloud, cold fall breeze in the air. The afternoon brought with it a degree of hope along with a parting of the grey skies. By early evening, the sun was out and on its way to a beautiful setting. And that is the backdrop of the inaugural PARKtoberfest, a boozy fundraiser for the Hunter’s Point Park Conservancy.

On this cool Saturday in October, what will eventually morph into a long-standing and noble tradition in Long Island City had its humble beginnings. Originally a ticked event, there seemed to be a lot of stress involved in its conversion to a free event with a-la-carte tickets for the available beer, oysters and sausages.

As we approached the event from Center Street, we were welcomed by a brass band cranking out American classic covers (think Frank Sinatra), an interesting way to begin day drinking. We each purchased a $6 ticket for a beer and were given a massive Litre stein. Game Time. We approached the booth setup with 5 taps and each chose according to our preferences. I had the Blue Point Oktoberfest, my friends enjoyed a Mahogany from the Queens Brewery SingleCut and the 1933 Lagrrr! On hand was also a cider from Crispin and a Southern Tier. With litres in hand, we sat down to take in the landscape. In front of us was a perfect sunset over the Manhatten skyline; the Queensboro bridge to the north and a great shot of the new Freedom Tower to the south. With a few more brewers on hand, a few more stalls with food and more music on in the background, this had all the trappings of an epic event. At least we can state that we were there when it all began. Despite the lack of a crowd and the cold evening, to be honest, it was great.

My Oktoberfest from Blue Point tasted pretty much like every other Blue Point – just like their signature Lager. It was as if they just ripped the label off the tap of the Lager and put on a cooler looking Oktoberfest label. The Lager was a solid outing from SingleCut, a brewery that is quickly gaining a reputation for its delicious and robust beers. The Mahogany Ale has an IBU count of 73, meaning that it starts off tasting very similarly to an IPA but the maltiness of it gives it a sweeter, smoother finish. Clearly the best beer on tap that day. 1 litre of each is enough to start your evening off in the right direction.

All totaled, the event had some difficulties but it will be awesome as the learnings from this year become the successes of next. I know that I look forward to it. Along with other free events like the weekly Jazz series at the Gantry or the LIC Flea, the area continues to stand out as a unique and fun destination.