Your DLD stories

Any word on the final count of the BA's? With the crazy prices and willing buyers I would anticipate even more "winning" tickets next year.

 

Pics? What was it?

 

It was 2009 Port Barrel Aged Bare Tree from Two Brothers. A bunch of people took pictures, but I did not... but I can upload a picture of the empty bottle if you'd like to see it.

 

Sigh.... ISO.

 

I wrote down my thoughts right here, a rookies experience.

 

Good luck my friend. That is bottle number 6 of 15 released to the public back in December 2010. There could be a couple floating around, but I kind of doubt it. I personally would love to try it again, as it was better than I expected.

 

Hence the sigh

 

Do you think it will benefit from more time or do you think its about the right time to drink it? I had a 2008 bare tree recently that was drinking pretty well. Is the port pretty strong?

 

I spent 10am-12:30pm, give or take, in line for the brewpub with you and this guy. I don't know if I ever got his BA name though. Also, what was the BA name of the other dude we ended up sitting with in there?

 

I thought it was a great time to drink it. I am not sure what additional age will do to it, but it seemed like there were some bugs in the barrel, whether intentional or not, that gave the beer a subtle funk. It was really nice. There was a pronounced port note with dark berry flavors that probably were from the port barrels. I bet it could go another year or two without a problem.

 

hahaha. Glad I found you before your phone died. Speaking of which, I have the box i need to send you in my car. Just need to drive to fedex....

 

Awesome. Thanks. And yeah, I actually had to go back to the Hampton briefly midway through the day to recharge my phone. I had one more trade to track down even after I found you. Next time I'm definitely making sure I can take care of all my trades in line before the event or the night before. Nobody wants to have to worry about tracking down trades after a full day of DLD craziness.

 

To add my 0.02 to this thread, I had an amazing time at DLD this year. They're geniuses for somehow tricking thousands of people to be excited when they "win" a chance to pay $50 for a bottle of beer. I was one of those people, I got a Bourbon BA DL, and yes, I was excited.

[------ sob story -------]
My only real complaint is that there has to be a better way to set up the brewpub. I went to that line immediately after getting inside the gate. I was probably one of the first 100-200 people in the gate, but most of those other people were also in the brewpub line, in front of me. I assume there was also a lot of cutting going on, which FFF obviously can't do much about. What they can do something about, is making sure that there are DL variants on tap ALL DAY. I wasted half my DLD waiting in that line only to find that BA Black Sun was the only barrel aged beer on tap. The Vanilla Bean DL and Bourbon DL had both kicked, and nobody seemed to know if/when they'd ever be back on.

This was my fourth DLD ('08-'10 and '12, if anyone's counting), I drove from Pittsburgh every year I've gone, and I made it a priority this year to stand in that line to get some Vanilla DL, since I somehow had missed it on all previous years. Humorously, by waiting all day in that line, when I actually got in the DL bottle sales line, and got a BA DL winning ticket, they were out of the Vanilla variant bottles as well.
[------ sob story -------]

That said, I really did have an amazing time. I met a ton of awesome people (thanks to everybody who shared their beer with me, and especially to injuredreserve who let me crash at his hotel room Fri night), drank some incredible beers, and bought a bunch of exciting bottles to take home with me (the Bourbon BA DL was a pretty nice consolation prize for not getting to try the Vanilla DL). I realize it's gotta be unbelievably difficult to put on an event like this, and commend FFF for all their hard work. Cheers.

 

It was a lot better run than anticipated. FWIW, our group got there to be approx. the 50 people in line for DLD, but maybe 150-200 in line by the time the gate opened. I wasnt mad because I got in the pub just in time to get brandy DL, but i'd been pissed if relegated to BA Black Sun. On the upshot, our group got to drink some Hunah and Apple Brandy Zhukov because we did not get into the pub right away and that stuff was fucking fantastic.

 

ah, that was you with the 6L of Two Brothers. i myself took a few pictures, including some maybe inappropiate ones...or not. The female looked willing....and not drunk.
thanks for the pour!

 

In 2010 they gave you your free pour of that years Dark Lord while you were in line to the bottles if I remember right? I know the pours were right by the line.

I do agree that they need to either have the Vanilla and Oak Aged Dark Lords separate from the Pub, or put a limit on how long you can stay in the Pub. It is ridiculous that people can stay in their for hours on end. Get your pours and move on.

 

they did...ever since they implemented the tickets they were good for free pours...i was bummed they took it away this year...

 

Left Indy around 4:15 (local time) and got to FFF around 5:45. Raining. Parked on the main street that you turn in on. Loaded up the backpack and took the short walk. Not too large of a line. Noted my spot, behind someone who appeared to have his mom waiting with him in a lawn chair. Found a canopy tent with some people I knew. Started drinking. Found my free-beer target for the day and cheered him up. Rain started to let up. Wandered back in line and found more people I knew. Introduced to lots of usernames I recognized. Ate a couple donuts, knocked out some trades. Beer-sharing reaching ridiculous levels (Wooden Hell, Crianza, Blauw). Tried to open my fair share of bottles as well, but everyone is so willing to pour... Shared some lardo - the girl who was super-excited about this made my day!

Traded my B ticket for an A ticket. More beer-sharing. Volunteer comes through pre-checking IDs and giving out bracelets. Very nice. Line eventually starts moving to enter the gates. Signage very professional looking this year! Grab my bottles and head straight to my car. Biggest mistake of the day - not checking to see if I could knock out more in-person trades at this point. Straight back to the tasting tables instead. Shared some smoked meats (I'll bring more next year - never seen stuff disappear so fast). A lot more beer-sharing. Decided to take a break and knock out my three remaining trades. Things get hazy at this point...took around two hours and don't quite remember how everything got done. (Another big apology to these trade partners and please let me know if I can make it up to you)

Grabbed some lasagna from the nicest beer-geek wife I've met. Some more sharing, but noticed the massive C (?) line wrapping all over the place and people getting a bit more antsy. Put an end to the drinking and walked around a whole bunch. Helped a friend load bottles into their van. Sat around a few more hours talking to some friends. Grabbed a corn dog and back to the car. Checked the inventory - all in-person trades completed! Lonely drive back home and back in Indy around 11:30. A great way to waste a day.

Thanks to all the BAs who made it a fun day. Like I said previously, great to put so many faces and names together.

----

I thought FFF did a nice job this year. They're clearly listening and implementing what is feasible. Two years in a row with more than enough toilets. Backpack-only is a must. Tried to thank any and all volunteers I ran across. DLD works great for me as I'm mostly looking to share bottles. I understand the complaints about long lines, but it's a big event with a lot of people! I've never attempted the brewpub line, since it looks like a recipe for disappointment. The taps are worth going through once or twice, but the picnic tables are where the fun is at. Just get your bottles in your car!

 

I know who you're talking about and not only do I believe he acquired that many, he has a track record of being terribly generous with his beer.