Naperville Ale Fest

No, I know. I give him a hard time about his gutter beers. Come to think of it, he really isn't that big of a drinker anyway. Maker's Mark and the occasional Miller Lite.

 

Yeah, it seems like its more catered to the non craft beer crowd than the already craft beer drinkers.

 

Huh?

 

I'm certainly not complaining because it's still a good deal and I'm excited to go enjoy the variety and what sounds like a well-planned event. That said, it does look like quite a few breweries are not bringing their "A game" as requested.

It's definitely changed my own game plan. With so few "big" beers being poured in the regular people zone, the few that *are* poured are likely going to be swarmed. I can only imagine the line that will form for something like BCBS when there are few other comparable beers drawing crowds. Maybe I'm wrong but I'm going in with no plans to target the big names. As long as lines for the regular offerings stay reasonable I think one would have a better time just going for variety.

 

Well said!

 

Just to be clear, be ready to see the posts of people complaining about lines, lack of beer, too many people, weather, the sun is too hot etc. .......Pro bably will start within about an hour after the festival begins.

I do not condone such behavior, as I would love to go. Can't really take the day off though.
As long as one prepares themself with plenty of food and water in their stomach, and some light clothing, it should be a good time.. How often are you able to drink from a tap list like that? You would have an amazing bar if even 1/3 of those beers were on tap at any one time. Not to mention being able to walk around and enjoy being outside instead of sitting at some uncomfortable bar. Not to mention the beer is being provided by the breweries themselves, so the beer is (presumably) all quite fresh.
I agrree with the greencoffee man.

And perhaps this goes without saying, but the majority of the people going probably are not seeking BCBS or Pipeworks.

 

Anyone potentially wanting to do a trade before the fest let me know.

 

We are excited to announce we will be pouring some Founders Doom in the general admission area.

 

What 3 Floyds brews are being poured?

 

Hey- I don't feel this is much of a deal. $45 for 45oz. of beer (15-3 oz. pour tickets)? The list has plenty to offer for everyone. Have fun everyone!

 

I don't think we are just paying for the beer but also for the overall enjoyable experience and being able to have all of these various breweries on tap in one location, which is somewhat rare. You can't put an ROI on everything.

 

Agree, but investing $45 should get you more in your glass. Strictly IMO. Have fun!

 

Most brew pubs charge between $2.50 and $3.00 for a 3oz tasting. So that would be between $37.50 and $45 so that is right on as far as I'm concerned. Plus again you get to try them all in 1 venue. I paid for VIP so I believe they will have some more rare brews which would be more expensive. Plus you get in an hour earlier versus gen public and a tshirt so all that justifies the additional cost.

 

Also, extra tickets are $.50...if they even take tickets. Most of the new ticketed events never actually take tickets. I think I ended up with 23 unused tickets at BUG (out of 25).

 

whos in for VIP?

Come n find me. Skinny man, weak mustache. Will mud wrestle.

 

I will be there. No beard or stache, no hipster gear. I will stick out.

 

Definitely this ^^. I've never had to buy xtra tix at any beer event ever. Just make small talk with who ever is pouring and you should be fine. No VIP for me but I'll be there with a few friends. We'll be the drunk dudes hitting on/scaring all the Naperville yuppie broads. Also, since this shindig is over at a very reasonable hour, where's the post party?

 

So just got back from the fest after only being there 1.5 hours. Let me say that they could not have run it in a worse manner. Here's a list of all the issues:
1. I had VIP tickets but Founders, Goose and a few others were not set up at the start. In fact at 1:30pm I had asked 6 fest employees and they could not tell me where they were. Great that two of the top brewers were not set up at the start or even within the first hour.
2. Nowhere during the purchase of tickets over the last several months was it ever mentioned that the rare tastings for VIPs would be at specific times throughout the day. I was led to believe that they would be available in the VIP area all day. I discussed this with one of the employees and they apologized. Big deal. Way to bait and switch. You can be upfront about it and let everyone know when they purchase tickets.
3. Ok so I went to try and find the "VIP tastings" at the specific times but guess what... They were not set up even 1.5 hours into the VIP tastings. Again, I asked 6 different employees, not volunteers and they did not have any answers.
4. Umm where are the drinks for the designated drivers??? My wife paid $25 to come with but no vendors that we could find had any type of soft drinks. Nice! Way to cater to the designated drivers!
5. This event was WAY oversold!!! When we left there was a huge line several blocks long down the street. It was way too crowded to be comfortable. I am guessing that many vendors will run out of beer before everyone has a chance to taste.
6. Over the past week I asked the event people "Seago" on here about the 3 Floyds brews because they were not specifically listed. I never got a response. Maybe that was because they just brought Alpha King and Robert the Bruce. It would have been nice for them to have brought Zombie and some other cools things. I am not putting a dig on 3 Floyds as I know they rarely do these types of event but it would have been nice to have the event people answer my inquire. I not only did it on BA but also on the event site.

All I kept hearing from the employees is that this is the first event and they have to work out the kinks. Really?? You are not curing cancer here. It's a beer fest and should be run like many other fests. I have gone to the Naperville wine fest for many years and it is always great. I am assuming that the people who ran this event have attended other beer events in the past as well. I asked for a refund when we walked in but one of the promoters said there were no refunds. I said I understood but they had a lot of last minute changes and I felt it was not fair to do a bait and switch. This was not a last minute event. Tickets went on sale in March!! They did not agree and just kept apologizing. When I was a kid I remember my Father saying, "Sorry doesn't get it". Figure it out and do a better job next year.

 

Not a great ROI, unfortunately, for all.

 

Myself included.