Oktoberfest in Saratoga

If you want to attend Oktoberfest, but cannot afford the plane ticket to Bavaria, then the Saratoga Resort and Spa will welcome one and all to their first annual Beer Fest.

The beer tasting event will showcase some of the best craft beers and microbrews from around the region. Snowy Range Brewing Company Brewmaster Steve Simpson said he has already received notifications from several different microbreweries in Colorado and Wyoming saying they would be coming to the event. Each brewery will be competing in a fall seasonal beer category.

Colorado microbreweries will bring their unique flavors the Platte Valley. Because the Steinley Cup hosts Wyoming-based microbreweries only, many Platte Valley residents will be able to experience small breweries to the south. Simpson said he hopes in the future, this event will be a Wyoming vs. Colorado brewery competition.

“Hopefully, we are looking to turn this into a border-war kind of thing with Wyoming and Colorado breweries,” Simpson said.

Breweries such as the Library out of Laramie, Fort Collins’ O’Dell’s Brewing Company and other colorado-based breweries will be in attendance for taste testing. There will also be German-themed food available for those at the event.

Saratoga’s own Sierra Madre Brewing Company will be celebrating 20 years of brewing in January. Simpson said he was unsure which one of their brews would be in the competition for this event.

Beer Fest will begin Oct. 11 from noon to 5 p.m. at the Saratoga Resort and Spa.

“It should be a good time, Simpson said.