Next Freetail release idea?

I am absolutely shocked that there was a 4 bottle limit. But with that being said, I am extremely happy with the turn out and I think it's awesome for Freetail.
I agree with "Miike", opening the kitchen from 7-10 or so would be amazing.

 

There's no way to stop "muling", really. Even by selling tickets, there are ways to get around it. I talked to several people who brought someone with them just to make sure they got x-amount of bottles, but thats just the nature of the beast now. As TX beers become more popular, more and more people are going to buy beer just to trade it, leaving those of us who would have liked more bottles to drink out in the cold. Its just the way it is now.

As for feedback, the one issue I saw was with the ticket system. There really was no enforcement of numbers, and some people had an "I dont give a fuck what my number is" attitude. I was #36, and there was someone next to me whose number was somewhere around #120. I think the idea of only bringing in 20-25 people at a time solves this problem, and keeps us all from having to stand in line for a long time. Call in 1-20, check their tickets, then bring in 21-40 when they're done, etc. That way there's no line-jumping.

As for how to deal with the "extra" bottles, this may well be the last time there ARE extra bottles, but I like a lottery idea. When you go through the line, if you're interested in buying over your allocation, you throw your name in a hat/bowl/basket, then Scott or someone from Freetail picks lottery winners to buy extra bottles after all the ticketed folks get through. Seems like the fairest option.

All in all, though, another fantastic event, and huge thanks go out to Scott and all of his staff for putting on these things, and putting up with all of us!

 

The only issue that I foresee with lining up in blocks is handling the people that get there right at 11AM and don't have a number. What is to stop them from jumping in line since they don't know there is a number system? As far as handling the left over bottles, in my opinion, I think you should just be able to get back in line as soon as you buy your bottles, as long as you're behind everyone with a number. That way the people that were able to get to FT early are still rewarded for being there at 5AM other then being rewarded with a short wait to buy their first allocation. I guess a lottery system could work IE the BA Dark Lords. But if you do that, what is the point of getting there early, other then drinking Chocolate Rain with the ever pleasant miikezombie?

 

I agree with miikezombie on this. There is no way to determine who is a mule and who is not. My wife used to mule for me, but now she likes beer and I lost my mule. Bottom line, don't trade beers you don't have. If you're trying to mule beer for someone that can't make it they need to be prepared to not get any if things come up.

 

Also back on topic of this thread I'm all for a Ananke BIF. I think Darkness and Dark Lord have various blind BIFs happening at each event.

 

I'm failing to see an issue here if you're still having people hand over their #'d tickets. Am I missing something? They can get in line all they want, but they won't get any Ananke unless they show up on time.

 

You mean "always pleasant , miikezombie."

 

This. The line had no order... no enforcement of order. I'm all of Southwest-style queuing, which is the same way that the Alamo Drafthouse does seating on weekends.

As far as mules go... nothing you can really do

As far as the bottle share goes, maybe announce 15 minutes beforehand so we can gather all loose ends and place them back in the cooler? I'm pretty sure one of my taster glasses got thrown away by a server and my growler (half full) almost went in the trash. They just started an immediate sweep with almost no notice (I wasn't paying attention to the time, lol)

 

There seems to be some misunderstanding about my post in one particular area so allow me to clear it up right now.

"It would be nice if something could be done about the mules that were there". Means in an ideal world, they could be denied sales. However, I realize this is not practical or even possible. Therefore it's "wishful thinking". That is all.

 

Also, I know raffle tickets are easy, but I almost lost mine like 10 times. Maybe something a little bigger on card stock (now I'm nitpicking). Oooh, and Golden. "Congratulations! You win a Trip to Mr. Metzger's Malt Factory!"

 

There was notice. Scott got up on the table and announced that the staff would be coming around in 5 minutes to start collecting empty bottles, and clearing tables, so we should hold on to whatever we didnt want disposed of. Problem was people wouldnt shut up when he was trying to talk, so I dont think a lot of people heard it. I just happened to be standing 10 feet away from him when he made the announcement.

 

Let's all chip in and get Scott a really loud megaphone for Christmas.

 

Can confirm people kept making stupid/snide remarks as Scott was trying to talk.

 

I like the Southwest queue system, but there isn't anything stopping people from getting multiple tickets either. All you had to do was walk inside and ask for a number. Anyone could've done that multiple times. They'd have do something like sharpie people's hands to indicate they bought their limit.

 

Good point. In fact I wonder if some people did do that. It didn't seem there was over 120 people there. I was #122.

 

That's a good start - perhaps putting numbered wristbands on people? Then mark it when they've claimed their bottles.

 

I'm innocent.

 

Considering I didn't get to meet you (maybe that's a good thing from all the comments? ), I'll take your word for it.

 

You can get relatively decent ones pretty cheap via amazon. We used to use them in the haunted houses I used to help run. In fact I should buy one to up my asshole level a few notches.