Last weekend, I had the privilege of attending LA Foodie’s second annual #Treatoberfest event at Angel City Brewery Downtown! With promises of sweet treats from local companies, limited edition Angel City beer and silly photos, I just couldn’t pass it up.

My boyfriend, Ramsay, and I were attending the STEAM Carnival at the Port of LA during the day (blog post on this to come tomorrow) but were determined to make it up to #Treatoberfest 2 in time.

Upon arrival, we checked in and got our reusable Yelp bags to fill with to-go treats from the vendors. Awesome. We then made a beeline for the green screen photo booth where we dressed up in props and got our photos taken by a fairy. I grabbed a crown, cat-eye glasses and a bone, while Ramsay went for a cohesive naughty-gay-cop outfit with sunglasses, a police hat and a studded fetish collar?

Then it was time for a beer and to grab some sweets. We went right for Popsalot Gourmet Popcorn, which served up homemade popcorn in cute little white popcorn containers. There was a flavor containing ghost pepper – I don’t recall the flavor name – but just one bite set my mouth on fire for about an hour! It was delicious but I could NOT handle it. Ramsay, of course, devoured that flavor as he would drink Sriracha if he could. My favorite flavor was the Saigon Sunrise, whose main note was Vietnamese cinnamon. The flavor and aroma was superb, and although I’m not a flavored popcorn kind of person, I would definitely buy a bag of this stuff.

Ice cream and ‘real’ chocolate (not Hershey’s chocolate) lovers would go crazy for Choct’l ice cream. Named after the indigenous cultures that called cacao”the food from the gods, this single-origin ice cream company features chocolate and vanilla flavors from all over the world.

Next up was The Kandy Jar, which offered chocolate and non-chocolate sweet goodness. I tried the cranberry white chocolate brittle and it was amazing. It is melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness. I also tried the fudge, which was a little too rich for me, but great for chocolate lovers.

Speaking of chocolate lovers, if you love bitter, extreme, ‘real’ chocolate flavor, hit up Chocolatier Blue. Their chocolates are made with local and seasonal farmer’s market ingredients, from real raspberries and pears to hand-roasted hazelnuts from a specific farm in Washington. The dark chocolates are really extreme, and even the milk chocolates are crazy rich. Ramsay loved the beautiful hand-painted chocolates. They were a little too much for me, but then again I’m more of a mass-produced chocolate Hershey’s kind of person, not a true chocolate lover.

Ramsay also loved LA Coffee Club’s cold-brew coffees. He is a cold brew fanatic, even making his own in a Chemex jar and hand-filters. So he loved LA Coffee Club’s mint-infused cold brew and has even tried making some himself at home.

Also present was Peddler’s Creamery, a super-unique shop Downtown that attaches a bicycle to the ice cream machines. You ride the bike and it churns ice cream! You can choose to stop in and buy ice cream, or take a shift and get a free scoop of ice cream. In this way, other people make ice cream for you and you make ice cream for other people. What a fantastic idea! I tried the pumpkin chocolate chip ice cream, and it was so fresh and natural it set off my pumpkin allergies – oops! But I’ll definitely be stopping in to take a shift on the bike just to say that I did it.

I didn’t get a chance to try Popsicle Culture, since I was so full at this point, but I did take a popsicle to go (I’ll have to update this blog once I’ve tried it). But with fun flavors like Margarita, Tamarind Thai Chili and Strawberry Mint, this is sure to be no ordinary boring orange popsicle.

And of course no event would be complete without Jarritos. Jarritos sponsors like every event ever, which is super cool of them. I LOVE Jarritos’ sugary concoctions so much, but I only let myself have them at these events, because one little bottle of soda is 220 calories of pure sugar.

Now I am a HUGE fan of Angel City beer, and I love visiting the brewery. But I must say that I was unimpressed with their limited-edition fall beers! I tried the Mexican Cola ale, which was aged in rum barrels, because it sounded so unique and intriguing! But it was bitter and didn’t taste like rum, vanilla, Mexican coke or even beer. I didn’t finish it. The Pomegranate Saison was yummy and sweet, but very much like a framboise – very tart and more of a “sipping” drink.

All in all, I left with some great photos and a full belly (and a sugar high). I loved trying the delicious local sweets and it definitely got me in the Halloween spirit! If you are tired of mass-produced dessert and snack companies, try supporting these local LA businesses instead. You won’t be disappointed!

Disclosure: I received a free ticket to this event. However, all opinions about the vendors and the event itself are my own.