That’s right. Is it just me, or did anyone else notice that many an Octoberfest event or Octoberfest special brew actually showed up in Milwaukee … in September? Very odd, I thought. Well, here at Barhopper, we’re giving Octoberfest it’s due, damn it. How? By drinking in October, of course. FOUNDATION • 2718 N. Bremen • 374-2587 The sign on the door says “Foundation Milwaukee. Smile, Surveillance Cameras in Operation.”Ooh, friendly. Ambiance: Self-consciously anachronistic retro ’50s cheesy cool, or however you describe a neo-pressed-tin ceiling, fake leopard and zebra skin trim (mmm. . .fuzzy), and lots of tiki god stuff. Also subdued red lighting. The guys from Swingers would love this place. Crowd: Don’t trust anyone over 30! O.K., maybe 35 if they have a copy of No New York. On Tap: Spotted Cow, Klisch Pilsner, Guinness, Franziskaner Weiss, Spaten Octoberfest, and Blatz for a buck and a half. Top Shelf: Big selections of liqueurs, whiskeys, vodkas, rums, and just about everything, peaking at Maker’s Mark and Sapphire. Good prices, and some tasty looking tropical drinks. Juke Box: There’s a bamboo D.J. booth. Men’s Room: Tall. Narrow. Blue. Smells nice. Women’s Room: Lovely Assistant says; “It’s totally teal. It’s like. . .Mediterranean Sea teal. With nifty coral on the wall.” Additional Comments: There’s pizza, pool, espresso (’til 10), reissued Arkanoid and vintage Centipede machines, and, as L.A. says “Dude, you have to tell them that they totally have our lava lamp.” THE GIG • 1132 E. Wright • 562-0219 Ambiance: Comfortable and friendly. Lots of rock photos on the wall, especially the Grateful Dead, plus jazz and blues. Crowd: Non-hipster youth of the world unite! And drink beer. On Tap: Sierra Nevada, Leinie’s , Louie’s Demise, Riverwest Stein, Flying Dog, MGD and Lite. Top Shelf: Skyy, Absolut, Jameson, Stoli. . .and Petron! Thankyouthankyouthankyou. Long have I searched. . . Juke Box: Clearly stocked by people who know rock was born on the stage. Live albums from Tom Petty, CCR, Janis Joplin, Cheap Trick, Lou Reed, Widespread Panic, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin (BBC and How the West Was Won), The Who, Jimi Hendrix (Band of Gypsies and Fillmore East), and on and on. Men’s Room: Bright, many layers of red paint. Scratching is the preferred graffiti technique. Women’s Room: “So they paint over the graffiti pretty often, but there’s this great cartoon of a hippo playing pool, with the birdie hanging out on the hippo’s back!” Lovely Assistant informs us. Additional Comments: A whole separate pool room and the occasional live music performance round out the package. All right, that’s it for October. Happy Halloween, and get ready to vote. See you in November, when we’ll all need a drink.