If you spend any time with Northwood Public House & Brewery owner Eric Starr, you will hear the word gemutlichkeit many times. And, you will find yourself saying it repeatedly. There isn’t a word for it in English. Starr defines it as “A feeling, an atmosphere, an authentic sense of communion, liveliness and warmth.”
My first visit to Northwood Public House & Brewery was for Northwood’s North Bank Beer Week event. It was a Wednesday night, summer was turning into fall and the days were getting shorter. On my drive to Battle Ground, the rain was falling so hard I could barely see through the windshield. I didn’t expect many people to brave this horrid weather to get a beer on a weeknight.
When I walked through the door at Northwood, I felt like I had just landed in an alternate universe. The place was packed with people acting as if it wasn’t Wednesday night and the weather was just fine. The crowd was filled with local brewers (Sunny Parsons of Heathen, Wally Wakeman of Brother Ass, Sherman Gore of Brothers Cascadia) and regulars, all squeezed around the bar, raising pints and having a good time. The gemutlichkeit was flowing at the same rate as local brews were being poured into pints. A chef was preparing elaborate charcuterie boards as a band played. Dave and Mitchell Silagy were handing out samples of their highly addictive hot sauce.
I came back later that week to interview Starr. He told me, “When you came in the other night, the gemutlichkeit was running high, and it will be tonight. That’s what we want.” He promised that Northwood’s Fifth Annual Oktoberfest would be a gemutlichkeit-filled event. Traditional German food like sausages, schnitzel, pretzels and a whole roasted pig on Sunday will be served Oct. 6 and 7 at this family-friendly event. The room will be filled with the unusual sounds of Those Darn Accordions. Starr found this band through his friend, Terry Currier of Music Millennium, many years ago. The first year they played an Oktoberfest for Starr was when he was the marketing director at Portland Brewing Company. They were paid in kegs of beer and pairs of Doc Martens.
