We are not Cheesetoberfest Noobs!
On a rainy Saturday in Dover, DE, my friend and I went to Cheesetoberfest at Fordham and Dominion Brewery. This is at least our 3rd time, if not fourth. We love the restaurants competing to make the best grilled cheese sandwiches, and last year they added mac n’ cheese too! Oh my goodness, such cheese.
It’s always very festive there under the big white tent. This year it was super-soggy, but I don’t think anyone minded. Hey, that big ‘ol pumpkin was hiding the beer tap! Did I mention that with our entry fee, we got a lovely glass stein and beer tickets? Being non-beer enthusiasts, we usually just get designated driver tickets and enjoy the awesome soda they bottle there (orange, root beer, ginger ale, and cherry to name a few). This year, I thought I’d be super-adventurous and try the beer. I thought, hey...I haven’t tried it since 1989...maybe it’s changed.
Here’s a really bad picture of my plate of cheesy-ness and stein full of Dark Oak Stout. The guy took one look at my face and said, “Do you want some root beer on top?” I said, “Yes please. Can I just have the whole bottle?” I have to say, after I drank a little, poured a little more root beer in, drank a lot, poured a lot more root beer in...it didn’t taste too bad! I mean, what was I thinking? Beer couldn’t possibly have change that much, but everyone else loved it!
People stood in line for a long, long time to get the selection of beer. There were Octoberfest, Spiced Harvest Ale, Oak Barrel Stout (that I tried), Rams Head IPA, Copper Head Ale, and Helles Lager. I didn’t go any further than the stout. I stuck to my kind of beer...heavy on the root!
Another not so great picture of my second trip (or was it my third?) My friend was super-smart and brought a couple of take out trays to help us carry the mountains of cheese. People were jealous when they asked where we got them. “We brought them!” was always our smug reply. Ah, noobs. Anyway, there were 20 local restaurants who added things like pulled pork, pickles, peppers, crab dip, and anything you can imagine to the sandwiches. I voted for the grilled apple cider donuts with cheese and apples. We got one ticket to vote for the best grilled cheese and one for the mac n’ cheese. I voted for an amazing crab/cheese soup that was posing as mac n. cheese. It was oh so yummy!
The Philadelphia German Brass Band was there in their lederhosen. Always a treat! They always sing some German beer drinking song that makes me think I’m on “Who’s Line is it, Anyway.” I just pretend to know the words and raise my stein in unity.
There was a cornhole competition and a stein throw (please note the “Caution: Flying Kegs” sign). Last year there was a giant Jenga game. I didn’t see it this year, but it was rainy and mushy. My attention was on my cute boots not getting muddy.
There’s never room at the tables under the tent, so we brought beach chairs. I’m telling you, we’re getting to be experts at this!
It was fun to see a Facebook friend, Ashley. She was all dolled up in a milkmaid outfit. I wore my fake corset and milkmaid braid.
All in all, my friend Jo-An and I had a fabulous time as you can tell by our smiles. Everyone seemed to be having a blast, including the girl photobombing us in the background. We can’t wait until next year. We’re thinking we need to make holsters for our drinks. Then when people ask where we got them we can say “We made them!” and walk away smugly as if we were never ever Cheesetoberfest noobs.
