History
2026
Smoketoberfest celebrated its 10th anniversary on October 24, 2026, welcoming an estimated 1,000 attendees to Otterbein’s Concert Park for our biggest celebration yet! Ten smoking teams brought the heat, serving up an extraordinary lineup of smoked creations that pushed the boundaries of barbecue. From Maryland-inspired pit beef and seafood to Cambodian specialties, Korean-inspired pork belly, smoked salmon, inventive sides, creative cocktails, and decadent desserts, this year’s menus proved that if you can imagine it, you can probably smoke it!
The competition was fierce, but I’d Smoke That emerged as the big winner of the day, taking home both the judges’ coveted Golden Pig Brisket Champion title for its Texas OG Classic Brisket and the Fan Favorite Grand Champion award for earning the most fan votes across its full menu.
With live music by The Mooring Lines, cold drinks from M8 Beer and Don’t Know, incredible food, and plenty of friendly rivalries, the milestone celebration was a fitting tribute to a decade of Smoketoberfest. What began as a backyard gathering has grown into a signature South Baltimore tradition, bringing together friends, families, neighbors, and barbecue enthusiasts for an unforgettable day.
Ten years in, the smoke is still rising, the competition is still fierce, and the community spirit is stronger than ever!
2025
Smoketoberfest 2025 brought another epic day of smoke, competition, creative cuisine, live music, and neighborhood fun to South Baltimore! With approximately 650 attendees joining the festivities, the event brought together friends, families, neighbors, and barbecue enthusiasts for a celebration of great food and community.
Thirteen smoking teams fired up their pits to serve an incredible variety of smoked creations, from competition brisket and Cambodian sausage to Mexican street tacos to Korean-inspired specialties, smoked seafood, inventive sides, cocktails, and desserts. With returning champions, first-time competitors, and plenty of friendly rivalries, there was something delicious around every corner.
Small Batch BBQ took home the judges’ top honors for brisket, while Motley Que claimed the title of Fan Favorite Grand Champion, earning the most fan votes across all categories. A total of 431 individual voters weighed in, adding plenty of friendly competition to the festivities.
With outstanding barbecue, cold drinks, live music, and the unmistakable camaraderie of our South Baltimore community, Smoketoberfest 2025 was another memorable celebration.
2024
Smoketoberfest 2024 on October 19 was epic! Here are the numbers: 2 Otterbein parks joined by 1 closed cobblestone road, 18 smokers (12 returning, 6 new to STF), 13 different categories for voting, 600+ estimated attendees, 5 judges, 105 judges’ points awarded to winning brisket team Meat Sweats, 313 different online voters, 497 total votes awarded to fan favorite team All Sauced Up, 1 rockin’ live band with 5 awesome musicians, 73 different food items, 12 smoked briskets, 8 smoked pork items, 4 smoked poultry items, 4 smoked seafood items, 10 smoked appetizers, 10 smoked sides, 7 smoked desserts, 8 smoked cocktails, 3 “will it smoke?” items, 300+ donated cans of M8 beer, 9 generous sponsors.
2023
October 21, 2023 was the biggest and best Smoketoberfest yet! With 14 full competition smokers who smoked a full brisket plus sides and appetizers and four additional single category smokers, we filled Otterbein’s Concert and York Street Parks with an estimated 400+ attendees. Our five judges had their work cut out for them tasting 14 different briskets with flavors from Mexico, Japan, Korean, Texas, Louisiana, and Iowa. Live music from Riverside Shakedown for the second year in the row provided a great soundtrack to smokin’. Our biggest slate of sponsors since donated their time for judging, beer, prizes, photography, and graphic design.
2022
With increased interest from smokers and eaters, Smoketoberfest moved to Concert and York Street Parks in Otterbein and included 12 smokers and live music from Riverside Shakedown on October 29, 2022. Best brisket was judged by a professional panel of three judges and the “gold pig” trophy was awarded to Jeremy Scholz for his Smoked Big Dill Brisket. Other fan voted favorites included smoked Cambodian sausage, smoked bacon-wrapped oreos, smoked ginger bourbon salmon, smoked kimchi and pork belly fried rice, and smoked cardamom pineapple mango lychee cocktail.
2021
The fifth annual Smoketoberfest was Halloween weekend on October 30, 2021. We moved to the alley that runs parallel to S. Sharp between W. Hill and W. York in Otterbein and showcased eight smokers and live music from local Otterbein band Roses ‘n Rust. Audience-voted winner of “best brisket” was Brendan O’Brien though ballot stuffing by his children is suspected. The “golden pig” trophy was introduced as the prize for the winner to hold for a year until the next Smoketoberfest.
2020
Covid changed the fourth annual Smoketoberfest on October 10, 2020. We kept it small with just four smokers and served food to neighbors who heard through word of mouth that Smoketoberfest was still alive during Covid. Neighbors would come to a sallyport on West Hill where Smoketoberfest kids took orders, ran them back to the smokers who made plates for our guests.
2019
For the third annual Smoketoberfest on October 19, 2019, we continued the tradition of closing down the sidewalk on the 100 block of West Hill. Hammocks and beach chairs were set up on Hill Street for smokers to get some rest while tending to their briskets. We expanded the menu to include smoked desserts.
2018
The second annual Smoketoberfest on October 14, 2018 moved outdoors to the 100 block of West Hill Street. We closed the south sidewalk down and introduced smoked cocktails for the first time. Menu items included smoked brisket, Atlantic salmon, Cambodian sausage, chicken wings, and pork belly.
2017
For the inaugural Smoketoberfest on October 29, 2017, our two cofounders Brendan and Dan smoked all day in the rain. Smoked brisket, burnt ends, tofu, salmon, corn bread, babaganoush, and white fish dip were enjoyed by neighbors inside the O’Brien home in Otterbein. No competition this year. Just a friendly neighborhood potluck.
