Michigan Winterfest!

B4W from Olde Peninsula was really good as was the Salted Carmel. For a little crazy and bought 29 of the beer artwork posters from Shorts....Ha

 

I know, no cbs = lame lol jk but seriously I couldn't believe

Yah because every girl there was from gr

 

No one asked for your opinion

 

Ugh. That was me. My puddle jumping was on point though. I'm pretty nimble for a fat guy.

 

Ditto...6 hours later, though, my soaked socks made clear that I need to make smarter footwear decisions next year regardless of my puddle-jumping aptitude.

 

Clever comeback

 

Wondering if anyone else feels something needs to be revamped with the Enthusiast hour when it comes to getting in? We didn't get in until 12:15 or so and the line was huge behind us still. Also, our MBG cards were never even checked. I'm thinking maybe they can open gates for Enthusiast members at 11am, but the pouring still doesn't start until 12pm. I can only think more and more people are going to be joining for this benefit, plus the fact that members get to buy tickets for the fests earlier. Let's face it, if you weren't an Enthusiast member for the winter beer fest, your odds of getting tickets were not very good.

 

Agree....front of the line was a cluster! Between will call, enthusiast line and regular line....and all the beer lines....it was a line cutters paradise! Needed more fences and signage.

 

I enjoyed the 70's funk music being played through the PA system, but at the same time couldn't help noticing what a...um...fair skinned gathering it was. "Caucaaaasian Train!".

 

Our first time - had a blast! One of the big highlights for me was Brewery Vivant's Love Shadow. Damn!

 

I guess more bearded white guys like good beer than the more tan skinned folks. If you want it to be less "um...fair skinned ", introduce more of your um.. darker skinned brehteren to good beer, and even things out, or dont go if it bothers you.

 

10 things from MBGWBF2014.

1) KBE<KRE. Thought it tasted like carbonated grape juice. Lacked the chocolate the raspberry has.

2) Nothing ever goes right at festivals of any type anywhere. As experienced with the will call debacle at the beginning. There are just too many moving parts of events this size. Thankfully they got everything up and running.

3) Even though this was the largest ever, lines seemed a lot shorter than previous years. Not sure if breweries had more pourers on tap or what. Also got the bulk of my drinking done before enthusiast hour was up.

4) Not sure what my highlight was, ended up with 48 but I'll throw Ben's Asthma out there. Peanut Butter Cup Stout from Odd Side was great. Also mad respect for the guys at Arcadia. Remember having a few towards the end that really hit it out of the park (no pun intended).

5) Had both 2012 and 2013 BBPt5, still think it's rather underwhelming. Am fine being the only person on that train.

6) Whoever in Short's marketing dept. that decided to sell Short's gloves for $5 deserves a pat on the back/promotion/raise. Saved my fingers from getting frostbitten (my toes are still numb...). It was deceivingly cold yesterday.

7) Music was excellent this year.

8) Apologies to anyone in line for X-Slam that didn't get a pour. Walking back from the bathroom and happened to see friends, didn't realize it was a line for anything special. If you did miss it, next time you see me out, one will be on me.

9) Outside of BB Carrot Cake and KBE, my desires for this year were non-existent. After the past two years waiting in long lines for rare Bell's/Founders beers, I spent most of this year seeking out weird breweries or short lines. Had an absolute blast doing this and found a ton of really solid brews.

10) Props to everyone who made it out to drink more last night. I clock a solid 4 hour nap after almost every festival and spend 4 days wanting to purge myself of any malted beverage. Off to Mardi Gras to switch into high-gear bourbon mode. Can't wait for next year!

 

Most breweries were setting up at 11. Just saying.

 

The guy with the homemade ice glass got way bigger pours..

 

Shorts gloves......jealous!

 

Would be great if you could MBG to post the pics, because you can only see them if you look at posts by others in the little sidebar. Or re-post them here. Such shitheads if they didn't at least turn it in somewhere.

 

Wait, are you implying that you didn't bring gloves with you to the festival? That is crazy.

 

Yep, my buddy is trying that. Here's the two culprits. BM me if you have any info at all.

 

Not saying breweries start pouring at 11, just let Enthusiast members in starting at 11, so that anyone who wants to be in by noon can be. And they can take advantage of the full hour before the general public entrance, like the MBG advertises as a benefit and that Enthusiasts are paying for. I'm sure for the most part, most breweries are 80-100% set up 1 hour before Enthusiasts are let in, I don't think too much trouble would be caused by people milling around.

 

The one I poured for finished set up at 11:40. The one to the right showed up at 11:30. Ask the brewers you know if they want the enthusiasts in earlier.