Bullfrog Grrrz Release

I really need to get out of Williamsport. Where's my wife?!

 

Back next time?

 

Nate also told us the next ones to be bottled too: sour cherry, fruit melange, blueberry, and some made up berry. I'm going to go get in line now.

 

Last night was solid (other than the fact that people were lined up 100 deep when we got there at 1am). Steve was very nice and the cops didn't bother anyone sharing beer outside.

This morning, Yea the line moved incredibly slow, almost 2 hours at 100th spot. The bad part is we waited all night and in line to get in and find that they kicked the apricot and the berry kicked right when we were ordering, and people had ordered multiples of both. Can't fathom how they had so little available or at least didn't spread it out,.

 

Agree with others regarding the line pace (we were about 150 and received bottles shortly before noon) it was pretty painful. Then to hear from guys leaving that the apricot was "fire" only to find out it kicked was a disappointment. Not complaining though... we all got the full allotment (as far as i know)--bottle shares were awesome last night/this morning and happy to have met some great BA's in person!
@Fahmie25 that asshole with the 7 mules was priceless. We overheard one of them asking about applications for next year's release...the guy quickly quieted him so others wouldn't hear him discussing the mule conditions in line.

 

That is completely crazy....maybe I should quit my job and be a mule for hire. Or run a mule for hire company

 

Haha yeah exactly. I only had 40 minutes of sleep last night. The other really annoying party was as others stated, all the Grrrz beers were kicked by the time I got in. Seems like they should've only let people order 1 per person

 

Smaller pours would have helped spread the wealth as well

 

Is it true one guy hired prostitutes on craigslist to mule for him?

 

While the staff at Bullfrog were upbeat and well-intentioned, this was a deeply flawed release that reflected a lack of planning and an inability to assess the situation on the fly and adapt accordingly.

Fortunately, it appears that most everyone got the bottles they came for. I made some new friends, tasted some delicious suds from generous BAs, and got to catch up with old buddies. But Bullfrog needs to address some things for next time:

(1) Why oh why oh why do breweries insist on putting on these releases and then doing nothing to control the line? It was clear at 6am that there was a real possibility the number of people wanting bottles would outstrip the supply, yet Bullfrog had nothing in place to maintain line order and let people know they were within the allotment limits. I noticed a couple of cutters, one who literally cut in front of about 150-200 people between 6am and 10am. Can we just make the Jackie O's process the default for all of these going forward?

(2) There was one and only one person processing payments (CC or cash), which was the primary reason for the dramatically slow line. I was around 200 and it took me 2.5 hours to get to the bottles table. The checkout line was ludicrously understaffed (and it was also ludicrously misplaced at the only door into the brewpub, creating a terrible bottleneck)

(3) What's the point of having a lone sixtel of Le Roar Kriek and a lone keg of Le Roar Apricot for 400 people if you aren't going to control pours? Because I was in line for 2.5 hours, I got to stand at the window and watch people carrying 2-3 full (8 oz? 12 oz?) Apricot and Kriek pours back to their tables. I couldn't help but wonder why Bullfrog wouldn't think to cut down the size to 4 oz and limit to one pour so that it was spread out more. Unfortunately, many people towards the middle or back of the line took matters into their own hands and simply had someone save their spot in the line while they cut past the bottle table and went to order drinks (admittedly, I considered doing this myself). Bullfrog had nothing in place to manage this...it was an unwritten rule that the line for bottles and draft pours were one and the same.

(4) I hope no one got shutout, because Bullfrog didn't seem to be keeping track of the number of people in line. As I left at 12:30, I looked at the back half of the line and wondered if, when they finally got up there at 2pm, they'd get bad news that they were out of bottles. Those people would have just wasted 8 hours needlessly. This would be addressed by #1 above so that people know if they are "in the money" early on.

(5) Once they realized the line was moving at a snail's pace and that only the first 50 people or so were going to get any special pours, I think they could have sent someone out into the line outside to provide some information to those waiting. Maybe could have brought some food or some drinks. Engaged the customers. Just a thought - would be a nice touch in the future.

(6) The brewery isn't anywhere near big enough for this kind of event. They either need a new space or they need to set up tents outside. Again, the first 50-75 people got in OK and enjoyed the bar but the rest of us were just stranded outside.

It was a fun event marred by some serious logistical issues that I hope the brewery can get ironed out in the future. Some of the inaction today just gave me the sense they were either completely oblivious to the demand levels or weren't overly concerned with the customer experience.

 

Yes.

 

Just context for those who didn't attend and are coming here to troll and gawk at a "disaster"; this was still miles away from Hunah 2014 as far as logistical abominations go... But yes, opportunities for improvement exist.

 

Funny, I used the word "abomination" in my initial draft and then removed it before posting because I realized that was unreasonably harsh. You're right, of course. This wasn't disastrous, but man was there some frustrating inattention to details I thought should be obvious. That said, the staff of Bullfrog were classy through it all and they seem like a great organization.

 

I'm pretty sure I stood right in front of these supposed 'strippers' or the mules the whole wait in line. They had even confessed to me they were getting it for there friend, confess they go to a few TH releases. I really wanted to tell them there doing wrong but what would be the point. I'm glad I was right in front of them because I'm pretty sure they were about to kill off on of the bottles, but could be mistaken. Guy kept walking around checking in with them, making sure they knew what to say lol. Pretty sure he had like 5 or 6 people to mule for him. He has to be a BA?

 

You can't fathom how they would only have 1 sixtel of each 400 bottle count beer?

 

The mules were out in full force for this one but the line cutting was absolutely ridiculous. Just because you walk to the front of the line to chat with your friend doesn't mean that's your new spot. Our position in line doubled from the time we got there until the time doors opened in the morning... And to the 2 fat greasy f*cks who not only cut on their initial spot but then cut and got back in line after they got their first allotment- karmas a bitch. Hope you two meet real soon. This will be my last PA release, seems Philly's finest were out there pulling their usual shenanigans.

 

Why not have at least a 1/2 keg of each? And limit it to one per person. That gives 330 people in line a chance to try at least one of the beers on draft in a 12 oz pour.

 

I'd guess because that's an extra 50 bottles of beer and they'd rather sell those to their customers than serve them on draught. Breweries don't typically have their small bottle count highly limited beers on draught, I think it's nice that they would even do that to begin with. But yeah, limiting pours to 1/pp seems like a better idea.

 

Apologies, lack of sleep kicking in ha, let me reword. I cant fathom why they would not try to limit the pours, it's obvious that everyone coming in is going to order the variants when they get to the bar. Or even spacing the keg trappings.

 

It went pretty smoothly IMHO. I was in line at 12:30am this morning and slept in my chair from 2:30-5:30. The bugs sucked. Bullfrog did a pretty good job IMHO. It's not their duty to police the line. Police were cool. Line was slow as shit..agreed that another register to speed things up would be great.

I was one of the first...40 (?) people in line...and missed out on the Melange despite placing my order for one 2 minutes after it tapped - so don't feel bad. Apricot was killer. Smaller pours would have been nice to spread the wealth a bit.

Thanks everyone for a smooth and well run weekend!