Six people were cited for drinking violations at the Strawberry Festival’s beer garden Saturday night, including one man who was fined $1,025 for the alleged infraction, according to the state Liquor Control Board.

The citation, a civil penalty, prompted an outcry by some Island residents, who said the fine was excessive and the young man did not appear drunk.

Under state law, a person can be cited for consuming alcohol when he or she already appears to be drunk, said Susan Reams, a spokesperson for the Liquor Control Board. Two Islanders got such citations.

Two others were cited for drinking alcohol outside of the beer garden; and another two — both minors who were also outside of the beer garden — were ticketed because they appeared to be drunk, Reams said.

No breathalyzers were used to determine intoxication, Reamer said. Under state law, agents can use what she called “obvious signs of intoxication” to make the call.

Reams said state officials are also investigating the Vashon Chamber of Commerce to determine if the chamber should be cited for serving patrons who were intoxicated, also a civil violation of state law.

“We take a pretty hard-line approach to a public safety violation,” said Justin Nordhorn, the Liquor Control Board’s enforcement captain for the region.

But Islanders who were at the garden Saturday night when the citations were issued said the agents seemed zealous, hostile and bent on handing out tickets.

Ed Palmer, who knows the young man who received the $1,025 fine, said he couldn’t understand why he was singled out.

“He was not falling down or causing any trouble,” said Palmer, who talked to one of the agents for more than an hour in an effort to understand why the man was issued such a large fine.

Lisa Denherder, who was standing with the young man when the agent approached him, said the agent was instantly hostile. He grabbed the man’s beer, she added, soaking her in the brew.

“This kid is a mellow kid,” she said. “It was just so bizarre.”

Jodi Warren, who was the volunteer manager at the beer garden both nights, said one of the agents told her to stop serving, and she tried to negotiate with him to keep the bar open. Eventually, she said, he ordered her to shut it down early, which she did.

“He decided I was overserving and demanded that I stop and close down the garden,” she said. “When I resisted Saturday night, he insisted that I personally walk into the beer garden and ask patrons to leave.”

Melinda Sontgerath, president of the chamber, praised Warren for her efforts at the beer garden and said she plans to get a debriefing soon.

“We’ll be meeting on this, and we’ll get to the bottom of everything,” she said.