Above pic from ThatBeerGirl on Twitter.
Saw a handful of tweets this morning about a messy situation down in Tampa. Today was (still is) the big release of a bunch of Cigar City Barrel-Aged Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout. Apparently, the brewery was flooded with people.
If anyone wants to chime in on their experience, especially how the ticketing system worked, leave a comment. There are always at least a few takeaways from incidents like this for both the brewery and others.
Was going to head down there for this. Looking at it now I’m glad I didn’t.
It was an unmitigated disaster. Perhaps those closer to the front of the warehouse had some idea what was going on, but those of us toward the back of the “lines” got almost no reliable information, and a lot of trickle-down misinformation that made matters worse. Some got tickets and others were ignored. Meanwhile, some who arrived earlier and were able to be at the front of the room got back into line and got second tickets before many got a shot at getting one at all. I ultimately left with a $20 consolation prize — a Bourbon Barrel Big Sound. Passed on the rum because I didn’t want it *as* badly and was honestly on the fence about giving CCB any of my money after the whole debacle. Good thing it should cellar well, because I think I’ll be too irritated to enjoy it for quite a while.
I went down there today, and yes, it was a total mess. The big loss of the day was how the barrel-aged Big Sounds are now being downgraded because they’re “consolation prizes”. These are good beers, people! Hopefully CCB can figure out how to balance the huge increase in demand versus their supply and event planning. It was just too many people and not enough planning.
Was it a mess? Sure. Did I have a good time and meet some good people? Yes. I got to also hang out with friends and try the Oak Aged Hunahpu on draft. It could of been better organized, but I wouldn’t be a sour puss and say it was horrible. I still think all the people who run CCB are great and enjoy their beers.
They really needed a better way of distributing tickets. Going into this I was happy they had the one bottle per person rule, as well as having numbered tickets to ensure no line-jumping. They needed a better method of handing out tickets, though. Why was everyone jammed into the brewery? Why not have stands out front where you would get in line for whichever beer you wanted, get your ticket, then go to the corresponding line?
It doesn’t help that people are freaking OBSESSED with these beers and will disregard common human decency and push anyone around them out of the way to get their ticket even when it’s inevitable they will get one. As much as I love beer, it’s still beer. Stop being an asshole.
Goodtimes! Definitely an unorganized mess but I managed to get every version except the oak aged in the growler. Popped the bourbon aged last night and it was impressive! Would suggest a better system for tickets next year…seems like a lot of friends and family may have had the hookup 🙁
It was very crowded. However, if you paid attention, you knew what you had to do to get beer. There are things that needed to improve, but it wasn’t a big disaster by any means.
I’m with GOT – there were a lot of people, and the system wasn’t announced until the last second, but it certainly wasn’t a disaster by any means. You stood in a line and someone walked straight down the line and handed out tickets in order so nobody could cut. What made everyone mad is that they didn’t announce the lines until last minute, but that’s basically what they said on their blog beforehand anyway.
@DR: What made it a disaster was that the “line” that you talk about was six people wide toward the brewery door, and when tickets were being handed out, some of the more aggressive people were shoving others out of the way to get into position. What made it worse was that most of those same people were already holding bottles, and shoving away those who hadn’t gotten anything yet. Not to mention the number of people talking discussing the price that their bottles would fetch on eBay.
I love these guys and it won’t affect my decision to buy from them or continue to visit at all, but to say it was anything other than a poorly-designed disaster is a pipe-dream. From what I understand, plans may have been changed at the last minute due to weather concerns (forecast was for rain, which never fell), so that might explain the situation a little.
Was not really that big of a mess. I was not at the front of the lines and I was able to get the versions I was after. There were a ton of mules at this thing so you throw that on top of not the best system for the release and you get some poor execution. The plain and simple fact is that if you want a beer that you know is in high demand do your best to get to the front and pay attention.
There was definitely a bit of chaos. But overall I feel like it was a great event. Everyone I went with got one bottle each. The ticket system worked, however if they do it again next year they should really not let anyone into the brewery area until whenever they’re ready to start. Having everyone drink and hang out until the place is shoulder to shoulder packed, and then asking every person in the place (many who are drunk) to form neat single file lines? Lol. The beer was great though and I’m looking forward to opening up mine years from now.