Toppling Goliath Releases and Updates

I wasn't there but I will say, a 4 hour wait after opening is a bit much....

 

They won't give 2 day heads up for those releases, Atleast I would hope not.

 

Did Chainsmoker sell out? I assumed it did but I've heard nothing from Twitter or from here

 

Should make it through the weekend I would think

 

Yes, my buddy got there around 7pm and still got 2. He guessed at 12 cases being left so I doubt it last long if it made it past today

 

They still had bottles at 10pm!

 

I would agree that the line was very slow. I got in line at 9:45, we were the well within the first 100 people, but we didn't get through the line until 2:00. Between ordering Chainsmokers, other bottles (ZeeLander, Sol Hunter, Sosus, Imperial GN, etc), Term-Oil, other pours and growler fills, there were simply too many options to make for a quick exchange. Multiply that over a few hundred people and it is going to take some time.

However, I'm not sure what else they can do. The current tap room is simply too small for releases like this. The only way to make that line run at a steady clip would be to cut out everything other than Chainsmoker, which would make for a much different culture to the release. There isn't room for a separate "Chainsmoker only" line or room to split the line into separate lines for bottles and pours. The people further back in line made a go at trying to get pours, but the tap room simply isn't big enough.

Hopefully the new taproom offers better options for events like this.

 

Its also a good thing for TG because they were able to sell out their other bottles. People might as well make the most of their trip by being able to get bottles, growlers, and tap pours!

 

No.way any mule will be happy waiting in line for 5 hours. That will increase their asking price for sure.

 

Why not do it like the MD release? Close off the parking lot and have the bottle line outside and cash only. Growlers and pours you buy inside. TG would probably need to have some additional staff there for this but I think it would be a better experience for everyone. I agree with you about their space/limitations currently and would be surprised if TG does the same thing again in the future but it's hard to say with them.

I ended up getting there about 10 and had my bottles of Chainsmoker and a pour of Cherry Term-Oil by 3. It wasn't the greatest experience but I got what I came for so I guess it worked out.

 

I agree with space limitations. With the new building things will improve. I think they should've done a bottle line in the beer garden for Chainsmoker. If you want pours and more head on in afterwards. But gotta give it to TG for bringing another pallet of Chainsmoker to ensure everyone who could wait to get some. Plus bringing more out to share.

 

Unfortunately, it has nothing do with the size of the taproom. The last KBBS release was very well planned & thought out. See the post above regarding the last MD release. Not only do other places with small rooms do releases without multi-hour waits, TG has done it in the past, too. There's really no excuse for the crappy planning.

 

I think having a separate line is a good idea, I'm sure it would have helped things go faster, but everyone was able to get what they were after and I think it was really cool of Clark to bring bottles and share! I guess at the end of the day I'm OK with having to wait a while and get what I came for than blow through the line and they run out. It will be better next year when the new brewery is open.

 

Why would they run out quicker if the line moved faster?

 

A simple bottle line would have made the experience much more enjoyable. Totally useless to be filling growler after growler in the fricking Chainsmoker line. Get a cash line so people can get their 2 bottles, THEN they go inside and start buying your tap beers and filling growlers.

My friend and his 4 year old son were extremely patient throughout the whole deal, I'm talking over 4 hours in line. I felt so bad after about an hour in line that I almost collapsed and said "let's go". I think I'm glad we didn't leave, but I really owe my buddy a few favors. I hope TG can take something away from this and make the next couple releases a little more convenient, especially for the folks that drive several hours, that really would make for a grueling day, no beer is worth that. Hopefully see you all in the MD CASH LINE!!

 

I worded that wrong. The point I wanted to make was I would be fine waiting a while in line if I knew I was guaranteed to get some bottles.

 

I was in line a little after 10 am. Line was going extremely slow, but I estimated I was around 120-150 in line. If it takes just a minute to get each person transacted (doesn't seem unreasonable with multiple bottle purchases) then my 2 1/2 hour wait to get my bottles seems about right. The only problem I had was I did not know you could bring bottles to bottle share. I thought I read somewhere that no bottles were allowed outside.

Clark and Mike were awesome (keep in mind I do not know these people at all, and I am just using their names so people know who I am talking about). I was able to get a sample pour of BA chainsmoker (could have had several, but I passed it back after the first to let others try it), sosus, king sue, full pour of cherry term-oil (honestly wish I could have tried regular, being as I don't like cherries and all), and what seemed to me to be the biggest sample pour of SR-71, which I was super excited about. I probably could have tried others but didn't want to be moochy and linger around, being as I don't really know anyone who works there. So kudos to TG for opening up what was at least dozens of free bottles for people to try.

 

No, I told him it would only be an hour or so in line, so he told his wife he'd take the boy for a little while. Been to several KS releases, this was a totally different animal.

 

Anyone have Intel from today regarding bottles left?