Hoof Hearted

A couple of folks told me they showed up at open and had to leave because of the full lot. They went for lunch and returned a little over an hour later, and only Voltan and Jacuzzerooski were left on draft. Being a ticketed release, I'm surprised the lot was that full like the old days. I guess the hype combined with the draft list brought more in, but it makes me wonder how unaware people were that KD was on draft and available to growler fills for a month or two straight at the brewpub; if as many people follow the brewpub as do the brewery, or if the brewery needs to give more shoutouts to what's pouring at the brewpub.

Also, I heard from a few others of the usual line cutters, paired with some high tension which made for some unfriendly banter. Again these things don't make sense to me, especially for a ticketed release, but maybe the atmosphere was different than it usually is when I head down. Although I have to say the BA Mom Jeans release got a little more tense than I'd have liked so I can understand where some stuff might be coming from.

Lastly, I heard some guys camped out in tents were throwing some insults at folks in line--sometimes drunk jokes don't come across well to the sober. Some folks don't seem to know their limits and I've seen more than a few of those folks down there but I usually just laugh about it. That being said, I'm not sure how they ever get home because I never see any DDs with them.

I'm glad it's not like this on most releases though, it's usually pretty chill when I go.

 

I joked on here about how my buddy was annoyed by the line jumpers at the SoE release, because I didn't think there were that many. This release, however, there were quite a few groups parking and walking right to the garage door, bypassing everyone in line.

I also saw a few people that brought some beers to share thinking they would hang out until the doors opened and hop in line, but for the most part they went back towards the end of the line at opening.

I totally walked right in front of a group of guys that showed up just before noon and unsurprisingly, they didn't accuse me of "cutting" them.

 

We arrived at 11am and camped out under a tree in the parking lot in the shade, but surprised how busy it got by open. The entire parking lot filled up, the case/growler/draft line was out of the door and turned down where the food truck typically is... The line didn't die down until maybe 3-3:30 when we finally got our cases and walked right up the register and in/out in a minute or so. It was an extremely peaceful and zen day for us! haha

My guess is not everyone who showed up had tickets, but to hang out, have some drafts and all that. I have not seen a crowd like that since the pre-ticket releases, and no way that extra 50 tickets caused the significantly larger crowd.

I didn’t notice any rowdiness or anything like that, but there was no way I was standing out in that line in the heat so we were away from most of the crowd. We all just hung out until the line went away. We have tickets, so not sure why people hurry up and grab their stuff to only sit and chill for a few hours afterward anyway (without any draft/growler fills…). Waste of time!

 

It was a madhouse around 2-3PM. Both lines were agonizingly slow, especially for growlers. Not worth it and surprised they didn't have additional kegs on stand-by.

In the future if I get tix to these bigger releases, I won't be showing up until 4PM+. Lesson learned.

 

I think I unintentionally did that. I asked the last person in the long line and was told that was the "growler line" so I just followed the people who parked before me hoping to find a "can line". We stood in front of the garage trying to figure things out and seconds later the whole line shifted from the barn wall to that side. Once the can line (very short and quick at that time) formed I moved other to the end of that one. Confusion and misinformation.

 

I must have totally missed you at that point. It wasn't a huge deal but you're right, it was a bit confusing. They should try to move the bottle share area somewhere else instead of right in front of the doors.

 

The tents that were up belonged to myself and another Hoof patron that have been attending the releases since the first canning last summer. While we do not exclude anyone, I also do not condone people failing to go back to their rightful place in line 10-15 minutes prior to opening or loitering around the door once Hoof opens. Personally, we typically move our tents, chairs, and tables away from the door before noon, so that the line can move smoothly. I try to be respectful and considerate; however, I cannot control what other adults elect to do.

 

Will be traveling from Dallas to Ashtabula on a hellish road trip in 2 weeks and should be truckin through the Cincy/Cbus corridor around midday Saturday, 7/30 to eat all of your pizza and drink all of your beer. Just curious what might be going on at HH.

Plan to stop regardless as I do not get up that way more than once a year, just wondering where to get the most accurate info on what might be available and if there is a ticketed release.

Any word (or stanky snarkisms) is greatly appreciated and could be met with high fives and Texas suds as I boogaloo through.

Cheers,
Matt

 

The ticketed releases are at the Marengo brewery on Sundays. If you're driving through Columbus on a Saturday, you can stop at the Columbus brewpub for some beers.

 

The facility in Marengo that does the majority of the canned releases will not be open (it's open Sundays during canning events only), but the brewpub in Columbus will be open. If you're able to be flexible, there *may* be a release that Sunday, but we wouldn't know until the Monday beforehand via a Facebook event announcement.

The brewpub in Columbus has "artsy" food and beer. You can fill growlers at the brewpub (though the fills are pricy), so lunch at that spot might be the best option on Saturday. There are a few Columbus road trip threads, and many are recent. A quick search should yield more information about local breweries. Their website has a fairly up-to-date listing of draft availability.

 

Thanks for the info guys. Will check the Cbus threads.

 

Following the Brewery and the Brewpub on Facebook are your best bets. Following this thread until your trip is over will help as well.

 

Had a dream that hoof can singles were available at my local store. They had tall cans of dragonsaddle. Just saying.

 

@Berrymon There is a bottle release at Wolf's Ridge in Columbus on Saturday 7/30 if something like that might be of interest. The draft list is always great at these events. Details: http://www.wolfsridgebrewing.com/events/2016/5/14/canis-mexicanus-bottle-release

Wolf's Ridge is about 2 miles from the Hoof Hearted brewpub so hitting both would be fairly easy.

 

Lots of line cutters at last release but as pointed out by someone else there was some confusion and you could tell people weren't sure where to go and likely unaware that they were cutting. Typically there is just the one long line that goes out the door and wraps around the side of the building towards the parking lot and once you enter the actual building it splits off into two lines. Instead of people getting in the main line and waiting to split off into the sub lines as usual, they were just walking right up to the tents and started forming a second line and you could tell people were getting really irritated by it (myself included). I got there and got in the main line (with no growlers in hand, just there for cans and a fe drafts) only to watch at least 20 people who showed up after me walk right past us in line and start forming the other line.

 

Wow, tickets still left! I thought simcoe is a popular hop and people would want this.

 

Some folks can't get #hoofed every weekend.

 

I've been to a few releases and been very early usually in the first group or two up under or next to the tents.
Always a great time with great people.
But the line cutting is a problem and some homies just help themselves.

Nope.
The bottle share exists because those who are first few in line start the share. Why have it elsewhere only to be passed over when opening starts?
What has worked is people lining up behind the picnic table and share area. But there are some real troglodytes out there who don't get the concept.
I fully plan on calling them out even more publicly next time around.

If HH placed a sign on the left and right side of the door denoting which line is for which BEFORE opening that would help.

 

This... A piece of paper and communication goes a long way.

 

Opened my first Kong tonight and man does waiting for a beer to condition out go a long way. Had roller blabe and thought that 2 weeks on that was about right for the yeast to settle out. Had the Kong tonight and that beer is significantly better than when I first had blabe. The taste is also significantly better IMO. A fantastic beer and one I wish I experienced earlier. Anyway, this is probably my favorite currently from hoof. Think every beer I have had from them has been pretty darn good. Hope dragon saddle makes an appearance soon so that way I can cross out all the major brands that hoof is known for. Great work though! Can't wait to enjoy another one at a tailgate tomorrow.