FOBAB (2019)

Discussion in 'Great Lakes' started by NBHeart, Aug 16, 2019.

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  1. Jplachy

    Jplachy Pooh-Bah (1,664) Feb 12, 2012 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    FoBAB is a fundraiser for the Illinois Craft Brewer's Guild and has FAR FAR less resources and sponsors than Great Taste of the Midwest.
     
    BuffaloBill12, ChicagoJ and Bretts545 like this.
  2. HouseofWortship

    HouseofWortship Pooh-Bah (2,629) May 3, 2016 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Tax deductible marketing expense. Boohoo.

    Really? Isn't the GToM a volunteer based organization? Do they have a paid staff?
     
    Beer_Economicus and jlsims04 like this.
  3. diamdiam

    diamdiam Aspirant (264) Jan 18, 2016 Illinois

    Just got the confirmation email and so did my friend.
     
    DeadWax likes this.
  4. Jplachy

    Jplachy Pooh-Bah (1,664) Feb 12, 2012 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    The money isn't to pay the staff its to pay for literally everything else. And in exchange keep the ticket prices low.
     
    macewank and ChicagoJ like this.
  5. NBHeart

    NBHeart Crusader (451) Jul 27, 2015 North Carolina
    Trader

    Any update?
     
  6. Nbrock24

    Nbrock24 Pooh-Bah (1,736) Mar 11, 2016 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Presale Wednesday
     
  7. goods_the_man

    goods_the_man Initiate (0) Apr 26, 2016 Illinois

    I haven't seen anything posted on the website or their Twitter that confirms this. Where did you hear about this?

    Edit: Assuming this is coming from IMBIBE. In that case, I'm curious when they'll announce the public sale.
     
    #27 goods_the_man, Sep 9, 2019
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2019
    Nbrock24 likes this.
  8. ChicagoTarheel

    ChicagoTarheel Devotee (385) Nov 23, 2013 Illinois

    IMBIBE e-mail says public GA sale is 10a Wed Sept 18th. Odd there hasn’t been a formal announcement on their website or social media...
     
    whatruDOINdragic likes this.
  9. Nbrock24

    Nbrock24 Pooh-Bah (1,736) Mar 11, 2016 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    The email went out to Imbibe....with the wrong dates/days on the links. I imagine another email will be coming at some point.
     
  10. whatruDOINdragic

    whatruDOINdragic Zealot (670) Aug 22, 2013 Illinois
    Trader

    Agreed it's odd, especially since we're now within a week from the sale. Has this been confirmed anywhere else?
     
  11. EastHastings

    EastHastings Aspirant (200) Jan 30, 2019 Estonia
    Trader

    I've never been to FOBAB before, so a newbie question here.. if I understand correctly, the ticket includes 20 pours. How much are the extra pours?
    Also, do you usually attend just one session or multiple sessions? I assume that there are different beers poured during different sessions.
     
  12. randjuke

    randjuke Zealot (596) Feb 13, 2010 Iowa
    Trader

    The beers are the same for the three sessions. I have never seen a charge for the extra pours. Mots of the time they don't keep close track. Whether you go to one or more is personal preference. I have been to a session on Friday and one on Saturday, but for me it would be tough to do both sessions on Saturday as most of the beers are high alcohol content.

    Though the beers are the same for all three sessions, often the most popular beers will kick very quickly so there might be some variation in what you can actually get from session to session.
     
    EastHastings likes this.
  13. HawksBeerFan

    HawksBeerFan Maven (1,354) Dec 24, 2011 Illinois
    Trader

    1. I think they have to give a specific number of tickets for legal reasons but they have never collected them. It's as many pours as you want
    2. One session, attending two would be bonkers
    3. The beers poured are all the same, part of the condition of breweries attending FOBAB is the provide enough for all three sessions
     
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  14. HouseofWortship

    HouseofWortship Pooh-Bah (2,629) May 3, 2016 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    The only times I've used all of my tickets was my first few Fobabs when I would liberally dump anything that wasn't good after 1 sip and move on(BA programs have come a long way in 10 years, the majority of BA stuff in the early part of the this decade was garbage, now the average BA beer is pretty damn good) and even then the outgoing crowd was just giving their extra tickets away. That being said, as my Fobab game evolved to trying the best stuff and utilizing lines as a reprieve from pounding another high abv sample, I have never come close to using all my tickets.
     
    EastHastings likes this.
  15. EastHastings

    EastHastings Aspirant (200) Jan 30, 2019 Estonia
    Trader

    Thanks, very helpful.
    Also, since there are so many breweries and beer lovers in town for the event, there are probably a lot of side events during the weekend, right? Bottle shares, tap takeovers, that kind of stuff.
     
    ChicagoJ likes this.
  16. HouseofWortship

    HouseofWortship Pooh-Bah (2,629) May 3, 2016 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Tons of tap takeovers and special events. No public bottle shares that I'm aware of...
     
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  17. ChicagoJ

    ChicagoJ Grand Pooh-Bah (4,073) Feb 2, 2015 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I volunteer at FOBAB, and wasn't even aware patrons were handed individual pour tickets, we pour for whoever pulls up with a glass.

    I'd suggest getting a good food base, arriving early, drinking water / rinsing your glass between pours, and pacing yourself to get the most out of your ticket / day.

    Outside of a few "whales" which will likely be tapped by VIP early entrants, you can take your time as most beers are available for the entire event. It also helps to review the substantive (over 300) beer list before, if possible, or go through the book you receive to plot out the top styles / beers you want to hit to start the evening.

    One good strategy is to take a break standing in Goose Island BCS line (for variants) when you want to take a break and regain your footing/palate. When it first opens, the lines are short, but by the 90-120 minute mark, the line gets pretty long.

    Unless you are very ambitious and like to try just about every style, one session should be enough. FOBAB is a great time, definitely worth checking out.
     
  18. bgrzywa2

    bgrzywa2 Zealot (714) Nov 8, 2011 Illinois
    Trader

    When was/is the presale till? I just looked through my emails and did not find anything even though I signed up. I just emailed them hoping to get a link
     
  19. HouseofWortship

    HouseofWortship Pooh-Bah (2,629) May 3, 2016 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Hmm, I may go to Fobab with a pint glass....
     
    GuyFawkes likes this.
  20. macewank

    macewank Zealot (666) Aug 28, 2010 Illinois

    The ticket thing is a dumb IL law. Happy hour laws forbid public unlimited sampling events
     
    ChicagoJ likes this.
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