Dark Lord Day 2016

Dark Matter is a local (Chicago) coffee place, they make good coffee, the staff is always really nice at DLD, they give away free crap (last year they gave out 3 packs of chocolate that sell for $15 on Amazon), and they seem to really be passionate about working with craft beer. Aside from that, the glassware they sell is also pretty cool and is DLD branded, so it's not like it can't be a stand-in for other FFF-branded glassware.

 

Brewpub in-person sales are officially sold out, the took a while. Do you think it was a function or more tickets for sale or the price point scaring people away?

 

Neither.

 

I think it was mostly the fact that a Monday morning announcement is rather inconvenient for most and also a lack of people having $200 stashed for a rainy day...

 

yea monday + $200 were def factors, still shocked they lasted almost 12 hours though...

 

We have the same group and numbers.

It's the James Bond edition of DLD tickets.

 

None of that gets me to want to stand in line for their glassware. But, maybe it's because I don't drink coffee. I will consider myself lucky that it is one less line/purchase I need to consider for that day.

 

got my replacement tickets today with my correct name on them... and of course also got my tracking today for the wrong tickets I received 7 days ago....Now with real tickets in hand I'm excited again! E-tix screwed up but fixing my issue was pretty painless (surprisingly).

Bringing some Hoof Hearted, White Raja

 

Also consider 1) a lot of the bottle sharing goes on before entering. If you show up early with 20 bottles, 5 will be gone before the gates open and your bag is checked. 2) if however you are getting there is parked in the business park, there are in and out privileges. So you dont need to carry every beer around all day. I have always gone back to my car a few times, hydrate, rest, eat sandwiches and restock my cooler backpack.

 

The price point combined with substandard reading comprehension, poor math skills and bad memory.

 

Yes it would. Headed to Death and Taxes day this Saturday. Ticket is $25 includes free samples all day and snifter. Plus preordered bottles are only $15 per.

 

Shit I guess whichever one of us gets in first is good and second group is outta luck...

 

I think part of the problem is it was limit 1, because I would have been there in a flat minute if I could get one for a friend as well.

I understand why they're doing it that way, especially with local sales to prevent any people coming out to cop an extra for resale. However, at least in my case after we struck out online, I couldn't get the person I intended to go with to come with to buy in person. Coordinating two schedules on the fly on a random weekday in April is tough, and I can't imagine too many want to go it alone to the festival.

A bummer obviously. Last year was my first DLD and we had a blast. Sure, I'll be ISO: DLD16 FT: stuff but it's obviously more the party/experience that's the big fear of missing out.

 

Yeah, that definitely stopped me from heading over.

I was lucky enough to get tickets, but my friend couldn't, and I would have loved to be able to head over and grab one for him. Even if a photocopy/email of his drivers license was ok.

 

So the original online sale of tickets alluded me as I completely forgot about it. A friend of mine got a ticket and was planning on going by herself. I was completely bummed and was trying to work out some sort of shady craigslist +1 deal. People were asking anywhere from $300-$750 and I didn't think I would be able to walk in with a dude charging that without giving him some serious side eye. Imagine my surprise when I woke up to tweets about in person tickets. I threw some pants on and jumped in the car for the 2 hour drive. Right before the brewery I got stuck behind a train crossing. It was like something out of a movie. I thought for sure I was screwed. Long story short I scored a ticket and a Group A at that! So this is my first time going to DLD and I have questions. I am taking the earliest shuttle from Chicago at 8 am but what should I expect when I get there? I have to do will call due to nature of the tickets I bought. Is that a shit show? Will there be a long line outside? Will there be bottle share in that line? Once in what is the vibe? Obviously I know about what bottles I am getting but what is the actual fest itself? Are other breweries there or just FFF? Is there a list somewhere of what beers will be there? Or failing that a list of what was there last year?

 

Glad to hear you got a ticket - it's my first time this year as well. As for your questions, I would suggest reading this thread and doing a simple search - there is a thread on prior DLD History that is a great read. I know there are lots of pages, but most of those topics have been covered pretty thoroughly - if you just look a page or two ago in this thread you'll find some of the answers.

 

Cool that you got in! If I hadn't gotten a ticket, I likely would have been "sick" today as well haha. I know this is a crazy long thread, but if you read through just the first couple pages you'll find much more detailed answers to all of these questions. In short: There will be a long line, and there will be lots of sharing. Other breweries send kegs for the guest taps. There is no public list before the event of what will be on tap, but the DLD history thread has lists of prior guest taps.

Cheers, and see you there!

Edit: ninja'd by @croush... cheers to you as well sir.

 

Thanks for some of the answers. I know it isn't good forum etiquette to not read everything before asking but I was feeling lazy. An added bonus of making the trip was a few bottles of Quaanto. Will be cracking one on Friday to celebrate getting a ticket!

 

Slightly off-topic, but Half Acre recently hit NY and loved Daisy Cutter. I heard about Double Daisy Cutter (which hasn't arrived yet) but would like to try. I'm flying in Friday night, at DLD on Saturday, and leaving Sunday afternoon for DLD, staying near Jak's Tap in Chicago. What are some good bottle shops nearby to grab a few or what's my best bet to getting some in such limited time?

 

I don't live in Chicago but I did pick up bottles of Double Daisy Cutter at the bottle release at the brewery in Feb. Great beer. That said I've personally never seen it in stores in Chicago and I didn't see it anywhere today when I was down picking up my DLD ticket. I suspect it didn't make it to stores or that it came and went.