A crowd of beer enthusiasts cruised from table to table tasting German-style brews while an accordion played polka music in the background. Handlebar mustaches adorned balloons, cocktail napkins and temporary tattoos.
It was a scene that could have played out in any bar, park, or Oktoberfest, but this unique beer tasting took place in the middle of Lone Fir Pioneer Cemetery to celebrate the lives of pioneering brewer brothers George Frederic Bottler and George Michael Bottler.
The brothers operated City Brewery, the second brewery to open in Portland, and were friends with early brewers Henry Weinhard and Henry Saxer. When George Frederic died in 1865, he was buried in Lone Fir.
Intending to be buried by his side, his brother bought the plot next to him and placed the tomb over both graves. But George Michael Bottler died while travelling abroad and was buried in Germany, leaving the tomb and the brothers' legacy to be forgotten.
The free beer tasting brought together Metro, which owns and manages Lone Fir, the Friends of Lone Fir Cemetery, a nonprofit that supports the cemetery, and the Oregon Brew Crew to raise awareness and secure funds for the repair of the tomb, which needs $80,000 to revitalize.
The home brewers were competing to have their German-style recipe chosen to be named Boettler Bier. The winning beer will be brewed on a large scale at Hopworks Urban Brewery and served at a fundraiser dinner for the Bottler tomb restoration on Nov. 15.
Metro Councilor Shirley Craddick welcomed the thirsty crowd and spoke briefly about the challenges of maintaining a historic cemetery from crumbling structures like the Bottler mausoleum to vandalism.
Rachel Fox, a former Metro cemeteries manager and now secretary of the Friends of Lone Fir Cemetery, gave an introduction to the history of the tomb and pointed out how unique the event was.
"How often do you get to drink beer in the cemetery and not feel naughty about it?" Fox asked.
Seven home brewers brought a total of 10 beers to be tasted, including hefeweizens, lagers, a pilsner, a maibock, and helles-style beers. The beers ranged from light golden, citrus-infused brew, to deep brown amber beers that evoked flavors of bread and hazelnuts.
Home brewer Robert Blouch said he was drawn to German-style beers because of the delicate harmony of flavors.
"I am not a big hop fan, which is kind of sacrilege if you are in Portland, and I have always gravitated towards a balance between hop and malts," Blouch said, adding that he fell in love with German beers when travelling through Germany on his honeymoon.
Brewer Tracey Hensley took a more historical route with her beer submission, Heritage Hefe. Hensley researched both the ingredients that the Bottler brothers would have used in the 1860's and their methods of brewing.
"I looked at historical examples of a German hefeweizen that was being made internationally at the time, so in Europe as well as the United States, and then I did research on what ingredients you would have available in Oregon," Hensley said.
Hensley concluded that Bottler would have had local ingredients such as noble hops from Germany that were grown here, but the yeast strains would have been imported. She took her brewing one step further with bottle conditioning after fermentation because brewers wouldn't have had kegs at the time.
"It's a zeitgeist in a glass," Hensley said.
Nearly all of the brewers remarked at how difficult it was to brew German beer. The beers were fussy, require exacting temperature control for fermentation and storage. Brewer Warren Johnson said the difficulty was an opportunity for participants.
"Lagers are really tough to make for home brewers, generally," Johnson said. "So it was kind of a great challenge for home brewers who were daring enough to come out and try it."
While most of the day was focused on the beer, the tilting tomb was never far from conversation. A caved-in corner revealed a disintegrating ceiling and blocks of brick were missing altogether.
Peri Muhich, volunteer historian and chairman of the Bottler Restoration committee said that the event has raised awareness of the tomb and she has had people asking her how they can help.
"We got a lot of people to come out who didn't know anything about it," Muhich said. "They came here for the beer and they are learning the history."