Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest 2015

I've been every year and this is hands down the best beer/food tasting event I've been to. I know a couple people who did the VIP last year and were VERY upset. One of the biggest complaints was that they assumed they would get to try all of the breweries "big/rare/whalez/etc" but most were not tapping those until later in the festival. I know that FW got a lot of grief over that last year so I'm going to guess they have addressed that this year.

The only complaint I have with the event is the time of year. I really wish they would move this to April/early May to up the chance that the weather won't be 90+ degrees. That said they have done a lot to combat the heat with ample water stations, misters, tents etc. Just hoping it will be a day more like last year rather than two years ago when it was 100.

 

Well that's just not true. All of the breweries were setup. Some of the releases were tapped at certain times but there wasn't a single brewery that I went to that didn't have at least something.

I liked the VIP for the fact that I could hit a bunch of stuff before anyone got in and then I was free to wait in other lines when everyone else was in. And I ate a bunch of food before those lines were too long. Not sure I'll get it again (if I can) but I definitely appreciated the extra hour.

 

As others have stated, you can alter the name on the ticket after purchasing, so it shouldn't be much of an issue to put name place holders for the time being.

And I'm not sure if they've ever gone so far to state that the name has to match the person holding it, so perhaps this year they'll go out of their way for it.

And the VIP isn't worth it since the releases of rarer beers was staggered throughout the day. Though I may just do that because, well, it does go to a good cause and I'm sure the $200 ticket will not sell out as fast? who knows. I just want to land tickets cause this is hands down the best event of the year.

 

As awesome as this event has been, the number of staggered/timed releases rubbed me the wrong way last year - it just unnecessarily creates another line to have to wait in. To wait in that long line to get in, and then be told by the first few booths you visit "We're not tapping that til 2pm", and being told that for 3 different beers on your "must try" list just adds unnecessary irritation, planning and time waiting in line. What's so wrong with just having everything on, ready to be served, when the event starts?

 

forgive me if this is a dumb question. are you guys saying that you can purchase tickets and then change the names before you go?

I'm interested in going but not positive on who my crew will be yet

 

Yes.

 

Because shitlords find the whaliest whale and just drink it over and over until it's gone.

 

If last year was any indication, the VIP tickets will sell out just as fast.

 

I had similar feels. The trend started two years ago and then last year seemed to be the norm for most all breweries pouring. More annoying was waiting in a line at the designated time for 10 minutes or so only to get to the front and be told that said beer wasn't being poured yet. When I asked about the time they just kinda shrugged.

 

Last year it sold out fast mainly because people assumed they could tick off all those whale ticks before anyone and then they switched it up and I seldom heard anyone who was actually pleased with the VIP package.

Either way, looks like I'm getting up early on Sunday.

 

Did FW use Eventbrite for tickets last year? Was it a cluster or was the ticket buying process relatively smooth (assuming you were quick enough)?

 

FW uses Eventbrite with all of their events. I've never had an issue with the site.

 

Thanks. Do you log on really early and wait or do you just hit refresh a bunch of times until the tickets are available to buy?

Dark Lord tickets this past year required people to get on early and leave it alone as you got thrown into a queue. Is it like that?

 

Put a rock on the F5 key and cross your fingers.

 

Honestly least year I had flown out of town on Thanksgiving and was worn out, so I put my tablet on the page, set my alarm for 11:55 and went to bed. Woke up at the alarm, refreshed the page right before midnight, did it again, bought my tickets and went back to bed. Didn't even know the had sold out the pre-sale in like 3 minutes. I was one of the lucky ones.

 

Ok. Thanks guys.

 

Timed releases work fine when you don't announce the time.

 

If I'm not mistaken, it did take a decent amount of time between when the general release tickets went on sale at night and when they sold out. So it's not like this is an Alesmith/Kern River second chance sort of thing. You shouldn't have to be f5 like mad to get tickets as long as you don't completely sleep in.