Well. It definitely wasn't bad. Not really too mindblowing, but still a good kick off to what hopefully will become a tradition here, and one that will grow gradually.
More importantly, but the event seemed well attended. I haven't heard any official numbers, but the lines in front of the tents were good, as were the crowds in front of the entertainment. Judging by the amount of people carrying around the larger steins that were not included with the price of admission, we can only hope the breweries pulled in some profits from the event.
The beers weren't much different from what was previously expected. Mostly usual suspects, all from Washington, with very few surprises. I had, for whatever reason, forgot about Iron Horse's 509 Style, which had made its way there, and that was probably the only beer that really was a surprise to see. (Even though it shouldn't have been!) But more about that one on a later day.
Other than that, there was just something very Washington State about the whole thing. If there is one thing Washington State likes to do, it's to create arbitrary rules and restrictions, and Oktoberfest was no exception, even though it was not quite as bad as I had first feared. But the stern posters telling us to take it easy... They were displayed in a way that made them feel like a disapproving grandmother sadly shaking her head, tut-ing over the state of the kids of today.
For whatever reason all the beer tents had been pushed into the smallest corner possible, too. This while the vast majority of the (rather large) Oktoberfest area was empty.
But, whatever. Overall I found this to be a fine beer festival. Not huge, not overly exciting, but still fun.