2016 Dark Horse 4elf party.

Had the Michigan Maple Jesus last night, that's a sweet, boozy mess!! Hopefully a year or so will tame that beast.

 

Dark Horse seems to have problems with not labeling their bottles. I've bought multiple 4-packs of stuff in stores where one of the bottles was missing a label.

FT: unlabeled mystery DH Bottle
ISO: Unlabeled BBPt5

 

I will miss that unholy wax in no way shape or form.

 

Just called the general store and the lady told me they have no idea when the 4 elf
leftovers will be sold.

 

Had a BBP5th last night and it was delicious. I though that 6 Pairs of Legs was too sweet, but that just could be my pallet. Bourbrum and Rum Barrel 4elf were both awesome.

 

I'll take any 3 pair / 6 pairs of legs off your hands!

This was my first 4 Elf, didn't do the overnight thing we rolled up at about 9am and were mid-600's. When we placed our orders they said there was still some Maple 3 Pairs of Legs available but when we went to pick up, no dice.

Overall, I REALLY liked the event. Coming from Chicago it was such a cooler more chill laid back thing than hyped up releases here. People were cool as hell, taps were easy to get, they provided food... Very cool and will be going back next year for sure.

All that said- I also opened a bottle of BBP5th last night and thought it was a lot more rich and complex tasting than what they had on draft. I was drinking drafts that were super cold right when the fest started, but still. Liked the draft a lot, LOVED the bottle the next day.

I left with a case of BBP5th, a couple packs of rum 4 Elf and a 4 pack of 2016 Bourbrum.

Awesome event.

 

I had a great time at 4 Elf this year, like every year, but I did feel this was a bit of a step back from the previous 2. The completely outdoor nature of it, no hors d'oeuvres being walked around and served (at least until I left around 5), and the long pick-up lines that did not stick to time slots even though they were slammed left me not ranking this one as up.

Now don't get me wrong. It's an amazing party, what they did the past 2 years was beyond ridiculous in terms of serving all the free (and definitely not cheap) food, and I am in no way saying we are entitled to it.

But if I am making a list, this one doesn't crack the top of the list, which is only because the bar was so high to begin with.

 

If this were Odd Side, we'd be talking about the conspiracy theory of charging us $0.10 deposit for bottles with no label. How can I return the bottle without a label?! You're cheating me out of $0.10 damnit!

So shady!

 

I was picking up my bottles behind that guy.

 

I agree. Still a great party, but I'd always enjoyed the roaming servers with cool hors d'oeuvres. I did like the buffet-style food setup this year though. Seemed to eliminate that mass charge towards the table from past years when they'd drop off a new roasted animal carcass. I hadn't anticipated it still being so cold in the tent, but that's on me. I just wish that the selection/quantity of taps would have held out longer. By 4 or 5 pm they were crossing off a goodly amount of the non-routine offerings, but that tends to happen at every 4-Elf.

 

I must have been right next to you then. Or multiple people wrote their name as subtotal, which there is a high chance of that.

 

So they will put out some bottles from the release in the general store ? I will be driving to Detroit from Chi the day after XMas was going to stop in for a growler fill. Would be cool to get some Rum BA 4Elf.

 

They have previous years the day after the party. Who knows when this year...

 

Sorry I only bought 1 4 pack for a friend of mine.