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By LEAH INGRAM EAGLE | Special to the Reporter

CHELSEA – Cat-n-Bird Winery held its inaugural Oktoberfest on Oct. 5 and winery owner Matt Lyons said it was a huge success.

Lyons said after they launched their beer offerings earlier this year, he was excited about Fall.

“We had wanted to do (an Oktoberfest) in the past, but it wasn’t really the same,” he said. “As soon as we launched the beer, I was looking forward to October, and I’m always looking for an excuse to throw a party.”

The brewery side of the business is called Spitting Llama and the first beer launched in May. Now, three beers are available: The Blonde, Watchman Red and an India Pale Ale.

“We started off with a blonde, light beer, then added an Irish followed by an IPA in time for Oktoberfest,” Lyons said. “We’re still growing and will be adding another one before the end of the year.”

For the Oktoberfest event, Lyons brought in food catering from The Fennec in downtown Birmingham, which featured traditional German brats, pretzels and sides. The day also featured live music and a crowd of around 500 people that were in attendance.

“All the tables and chairs were full, and we had to bring out more,” Lyons said. “On a regular Saturday, we probably have 200 or 300 people come through, but we have had over 800 at an event before.”

Prior to launching the beer, Lyons said about 72 percent of the winery visitors were female. Women would say that they would bring their husbands if the winery had beer, so Lyons did just that and said he now appeals to a larger audience.

Lyons said with this year’s event being so successful, he definitely plans to have it again next October and make it even bigger. He and his team are already discussing ideas and creating a list of options.

Cat-n-Bird has a calendar of options between now and the end of the year, including painting classes, a Halloween cookie class, a candle making class and a vendor market on Saturday, Nov. 23

For more information on the winery and events, visit Cat-n-bird.com.