Great Taste 2015

Myself and several friends have gotten face value tickets with ease the weekend or day of the event, for years. I honestly dont think many people are cutting to get extras to sell. Probably just trying to snag extras for friends. Still not an excuse.

 

Seen tix go on sale within the hour after getting them. Last year I waited in line and missed out by 3 people. There were at least fifteen people who "rejoined" the line at 930. The volunteers did nothing. People had done the count (unofficial but still a good device) and I was firmly in the good side previous. Sucks. I will be in line this year and will have your back if you call out douchebags cutters. This are the mules, the craigslist resellers, and the people who think it is cool to send one person to a special tapping at the event and all join that person at the front of the line when the tapping happens. In short, I don't want them there and am sick of them.

 

According to their twitter, Steve's Junction has people in line now. GAH.

Glad I decided to bail and go the lottery route, even if I come up zero.

 

can confirm she was actually pregnant and sleeping in the car

we're safe here

she also attended the fest and the two "extra tickets" they bought went to friends from way out of town.

 

I've talked to a couple of the people at MHTG and they have not increased the ticket sale count for years. However, every year they have increased the amount of free tickets they give away. Brewers, friends of brewers, MHTG members, etc.

 

Nearly 200 at capital

 

We've got roughly 200 here at steves on university.

 

If I had to guess I'd say wine and hop shop is at or beyond their limit.

 

Wristbands handed out at wine and hop shop. Lots of people just leaving after receiving them which I thought was highly frowned upon.

A group of 2 near us became a group of 12 between 4 and 5am. When asked about it they said they "appreciated our perspective.". That probably had no impact though. However, a dad with three kids showed up to join his wife in line for the first time 5min before wristbands were handed out and they thought nothing of it.

 

My sister is in line at Capital and she said she has seen numerous disgruntled girlfriends and mules cut the line in front of her. There's basically no chance she is getting tickets due to all of the cutting and she was in line before the sun came up, lol. What a joke. I'd say the craft beer scene has officially jumped the shark.

 

oh i didnt mean to imply she was up to no good.. simply saying i can understand people being a bit leery is all because lots of people are up to no good. ruins it for honest folk

 

Will be making my 9th appearance in 10 years - i can almost taste the post-fest glass nickel binge

 

We were at Vintage on the Westside & everything went pretty smoothly. We arrived late afternoon Saturday - damned if I was going to drive four hours & risk not getting tickets - but we didn't see any bad behavior, though we weren't looking for it. The folks at Vintage were very accommodating & made for an easy, quick experience.

 

I have questions about the mail in lottery. The website says you'll get your tickets several weeks from now which is fine. After including a SASE do they notify you in a reasonably short period of time that you won? Do they cash your check right away? Last year I got to go at the minutes because a friend had an extra ticket. Now that I've been I want to keep going - it's by far the best beer fest I've ever been to.

 

No checks are only cashed if you are successful. Usually takes 5 to 6 weeks.

 

how did you feel knowing that you could have lined up 18 hours later and still got tickets?

 

Great! It was beautiful, the beer in our cooler & at Vintage was good, & we didn't have to get up in the middle of the night to make sure we secured tickets.

I suspect you were fishing for a different answer, but hanging out all day with great beer, my wife, & a good book, plus the people watching, makes for a fine experience.

 

I'll go along with this sentiment. My group spent about 15 hours in line at Star and had a great time. That being said, had the weather not been as favorable as it was or had they not allowed bottle sharing, I might have a different opinion.

 

You're suggesting a much softer market than I've experienced in the past. Any event is going to have some last-minute panic selling by people who are unable to attend and simply want to make their money back. If you live in Madison, are willing to travel there the weekend of the event taking the risk that you won't get tickets, or have the flexibility to travel there on very short notice, then you may well be able to take advantage of that phenomenon. If that's not the case (even if you yourself are flexible, for instance, others in the group with whom you want to attend may not be), and you need to get tickets in advance from a non-acquaintance, then, in my experience, you're either going to have to pay $20-$60 over face value per ticket or be lucky enough to be the first person to respond to a post generously listing them below market rate at face value. It's a legitimately tough ticket to get.