IF YOU'VE EVER HAD A BREW... while visiting one of the mountain towns of Southern California, there's a chance you participated in a "hold the stein" contest or danced the chicken dance prior to quaffing your drink. For Oktoberfests and the higher altitude towns of SoCal are a classic duo, and many a denizen of LA and San Diego and the surrounding cities looks forward to the falltime foam fun up the big hill. But you don't need to wait for late September or early October to sip something splashy and sudsy in Lake Arrowhead, for the water-close burg is hosting its seventh annual Brewfest plunk in the middle of August. So best mark...
SATURDAY, AUG. 13... on your craft beer calendar, then look into finding a place to bed down near the action. That action is going down in the Blue Jay Village Parking Lot, and local charities supported by the Chamber of Commerce are the festival's beneficiaries. Actor Andy Divoff is the event's Celebrity Guest Brewer, making the whole suds-sweet scene a bit more cinematic (you've seen him as Djinn in "Wishmaster" and many, many other TV shows and films). His Djinn's Hellabrew will "raise money for scholarships for Rim of the World students."
OTHER BREWHOUSES... pouring will include Mountain Brew of Big Bear Lake, Hangar 24 Craft Brewery out of Redlands, and Ballast Point. Will Jensen's be on hand, too? Of course, seeing as how the store is an area favorite, but look for other local touches aplenty.
