Great Taste Pre-Party Events Thread

Any word if New Glarus is doing a beer again this year? Worth a trip to the beautiful digs if they don't do one anyway.

 

This is the one I'm most amped for. FFG is amazing and anything they do I'll be tossing money at.

They do one every year. They haven't announced what it'll be yet, but they confirmed that they're doing a release that weekend a long time back, along with three other releases, two of which have already happened.

 

Great fuckin news. Thanks for the update!

 

Is there a non-facespace link to this?

 

Not that I'm seeing. Their Twitter account points you to their FB page for the event and their website doesn't appear to be updated very often.

Friday the 7th, 3-10 PM at FFG. 1604 Gilson St.

 

Thanks. I borrowed my wife's facebook for a minute - will put this on my Friday list

 

Malt House
Friday August 6th 6-9:00 PM

Dogfish Head (what I can only assume is at least a partial tap takeover)

Join us as we welcome the good folks from Dogfish Head to the Malt House. There'll be special beers (of course), swag raffles, and we're raffling off TWO PAIR of tickets to the Great Taste of the Midwest!

https://www.facebook.com/events/442620105920650/

 

Going for the first time this year. Really looking forward to it.

Anyone with any tips or a guide to the fest in general?

 

The best discussion in regards to the event will be over on this thread.

If by guide you mean the list of breweries and what they are bringing, that doesn't come out until the Wednesday before the fest.

If you want my thoughts:

• Eat an early lunch and taxi/walk to Olin-Turville Park early.
• Have a plan. Find out when the special releases are (if that intrigues you) and know where those breweries are. Looking at this site's top beers, you'll be able to try at minimum three of the top ten rated beers, maybe up to five. (CBS, BCBCS, KBS, VBDL, ZD)
• Be prepared for the plan to go completely out the window.
• Pace yourself. It's five hours long.
• Stay hydrated.

 

Thanks. Very much appreciated. Those are 5 great beers and only have had one of them(ZD)

 

Don't fuck around with the lines for the celebrity beers listed above. One, sure, I suppose if you MUST have it. But we're talking a likelihood of standing in a line, for a tap to start, for a half hour. There are WAY too many other great beers to be had versus wasting time in lines. Just my 2 pennies and I know many would agree. I think we all understand that some of these are once in a lifetime chances to try them...but really, with the plethora of beers you'll have throughout the day, is your palette really going to appreciate Mornin' Delight by that point and will that be worth wasting 45 minutes at this amazing festival?!

 

Yes

 

Worse than just waiting in line for a half hour or more for a whale is waiting in line for a half hour or more for a whale and then having it tap out just before you can get a pour. Happened to us last year. Twice.

 

Well last year Mornin' Delight was tapped at 1:00 when the gate opened, so yeah, you'll appreciate it. Beyond that, I use the special release lines to pace myself. I could very easily go from booth to booth and be passed out on the beach by 2:30.

To each his own though. I've had all of the ones I mentioned except VBDL, so I won't be standing in those lines, but I'm sure I'll find one or two to wait for.

 

I stood in line for like 5 minutes for mornin delight last year, well worth it. I think the longest line i waited in was like 20 mins for BA Abraxas during which a couple of people talked smack to us for waiting in a line, like it was the stupidest thing ever. That was ridiculous. I liked waiting in a few lines though, like chrisisoutrunning said above me, it helps to pace myself. I don't go to the great taste just to consume the most beer that i can, its nice to try stuff like ba Abraxas when you have the chance.

 

What were you waiting in line for that tapped out? I've never seen a line long enough 30 minutes before a whale was tapped that you wouldn't easily get some.

 

I only wait for 2-3 special releases most years. My goal this year is to have a slice of pizza in my hand each time I'm in line for one.

 

I'll happily stand in lines for a few things that I might never get to try otherwise.

You can take the standing around opportunity to do all sorts of good things.

As mentioned above, take a breather. We often send out runners to nearby tents to try local stuff we might not bother with otherwise. Stand & eat. Stand & chat with friends (or strangers). Stand & watch the birdies. Lots of good reasons to stand around IMHO!