Save Hunahpu's Day! (positive/constructive feedback only)

Avoid distribution as well! As someone who's not local and always buys any CCB I can get up here (Jai Alai, hopped on the high seas, Florida Cracker) I know it will be damn near impossible to get Huna. The move to 22oz bottles is a little disheartening, but I understand it extends the reach of a single batch of beer.

 

This was my first time in Tampa and experincing Hunahpu. One of my friends lives there so I've had CCB beers before and that enjoying Jai Ali and Maduro Nut Brown were part of the reason I wanted to go to Hunahpu's Day (And getting out of the crappy Maryland weather for a few days).

I had an awesome time. While there were times I didnt get a beer I wanted I still got to try a bunch of amazing beers. I showed up at 10:30 thinking I would be able to get in and get settled but still had to wait in a small line. When I got to the entrance I couldn't believe they only had 1 person scanning tickets for the general public and 1 for El Catador members. Easiest way to get rid of a line is to have more people scanning tickets.

As soon as I got in I saw people lining up by the tasting room but walked by (didn't realize until later it was for the DB Huna). Walked by the mass of people lining up for Toppling Goliath. Thats when I saw where they were selling the Hunahpu. Our group of 3 went up and bought our 3 beers each. They let us have the empty case to carry the beer. Then we settled down placed our chairs around the Hunahpu and went in search of samples.

While I didn't get to try Zombie Dust, KBS, pseudoSue, Maple Bacon Coffee Porter, Sweet Repute, Hunahpoopoo Imperial Stout or Head Hunter India Pale Ale. I did get to try Penultimate Push (thanks to someone who freely shared their taster, and also us a taste of Backyard Rye), DB Hunahpu (Thanks to someone else who shared a sample), Hunahpu (which was fantastic and I get the hype), BA Behemoth, Random Arizona Wilderness Barleywine and a bunch of beer from the smaller breweries.

I encountered many awesome people and had a great time. I was hoping to get 4-5 extra beer for firends but I will just have to share mine. I did get 3 extra bottles becuase one guy wanted to trade his sisters allotment for a Dogfish Head 120 (I was wearing a Dogfish Head shirt) + the beer cost.

I was planning on making this an annual trip to include more Tampa Beer Week and I still might but this is sad. I think this can become the ultimate beer event of the year. Just some tweaks to the event.

Side note, Did anyone try Rapp Brewing? I didnt at the event but went over to the brewery and loved it. The Gose is amazing and so is the Chocolate Hazelnut Porter.

 

I sent Eventbrite an e-mail seeing if they can create a legitmate ticket exchange on their website. Just trying to think of ways to make the event better. I agree with most everything people said above.

 

Well this was my fourth year in a row and I hope the beer festival part (at the very least!) continues. So many traditions built around this event at the center, it was always one of my favorite weekends of the year. I could go on and one, but basically I just hope they continue to have some form of beer festival every year where their (and other great breweries) beers are served on a large (but not too large ) scale.

 

No pets!

 

No pets? Haha. Yeah, during all of the madness I was thinking "that collie really ruined the day for me" . Unreal.

 

That python sure did.

 

Unless the brewery is REALLY interested in taking steps to make this run smoothly, all the kings men could not put Humpty Dumpty back together again. Unless there is real committment on their part to seriously address the deficiencies, they should just let it go. Pointing the blame to fraud tickets and putting your head in the sand on real issues is not a good starting point to this process.

First and foremost is to get a professional organization to handle, limit the amount of beers that one can have to reduce excessive number of drunk attendees, and separate bottle from festival. In my mind not having all of these, the same results are likely to occur.

 

Here's my two cents...Why is everyone so fixated on a hunapuh day? We can have this exact event somewhere else, with the same beer and the same people. I think CCB has proven that they cannot pull an event like this off, heck the owner even admitted this yesterday. Some people with experience need to step up and put together a real beer fest worthy of tampa. Let's showcase the lesser known breweries a bit more, and have it at a real venue with real planning. I think with the resources available in the Tampa area and the beer industry knowledge of people who care; another much better event will spring up in it's place. No offense to CCB but I do t think anyone really wants to put anymore money into their pocket after this weekend.

 

I'll take a thousand snakes over people bringing their dirty little kids to bars and festivals.

 

I wouldn't want either of those. No kids, no pets. This is a beer fest, not a petting zoo.

 

The fuh? One, no one even mentioned that kids should be allowed, and they weren't. So this is completely not germane to the discussion.

Two, and maybe I'm taking this personally, I'm one of those jackwagons who selfishly insists on taking my family with me when I travel, and I don't always assume that means I can't swing by a brewery (often seen as a "bar") at a reasonable hour and check it out while I'm there - after checking with the management to ensure it's okay with them. Children were not allowed at Hunahpu Day, and that should remain the same for sure. A guy once challenged my ability to capably raise a child because I stopped in at CCB to grab a growler on a weekend beach trip and didn't leave my daughter alone in my vehicle during the five minute errand; if you're being that guy, I'd respectfully ask you to cram it. If you're merely stating that there are good times and bad times for such things, I can concur. (Still not sure at what point you saw kids running around at Hunahpu Day though.)

I would make the blanket statement "leave your poorly behaved anything at home." If you have a crappy kid, a crappy spouse, a crappy pet, or a crappy buddy, then yes. Don't bring them with you anywhere. Would prevent worlds of difficulty.

 

I'll take a thousand snakes over people bringing their dirty little kids to bars and festivals.
I have no problem with any of that... And not being "that guy". My point was , if you're at an establishment or function where adults primarily go to be adults and consume alcohol... That's not a spot for children. I think we've all been to a bar where the parent thinks it's cute to prop their 3 year old up on a bar stool for an hour. Those same parents get offended when adult conversations and actions occur. That is what I am referring to. Just a comment, I wasn't referring to CCB specifically. I know children were banned (thank god)

 

Here is the Facebook Page I created. It's to show support for Cigar City and to resurrect Hunahpu's Day. I can be the best beer event in the world with proper planning. So please click the link and like the page so we can show Cigar City we support them and want Hunahpu Day to survive.

https://www.facebook.com/savehunahpusday

 

Yeahhhh, I went all personal-offense and off topic there (and also into a Positivity Grey Zone, violating terms of this thread, muh bad.) My kid's never known the life of a normal child without a bartender parent, so I tend to not think of it as a big deal if she's in a bar, just like most people wouldn't mind swinging by the office with their kid. (Blessedly, she has finally come to understand the difference between "work" and "live" and has stopped telling people I live at a bar. WORK, baby, Mommy WORKS at a bar.)

People who expect special behavior out of patrons due to their precious angels' proximity are taking it a bit far. Swearing is common in a bar. Coloring books are not. The swearer need not be the one to adapt.

 

To me, it sounds like the cause of and root of all the issues was that more people were there than should have been. Short staffing, long lines, and rowdy crowds were bound to happen

 

What was the deal with that guy?

 

From the start it should have been.." If you dont buy a ticket from us directly, we are prepared to refuse you entry to the fest if it does not scan or is a duplicate." This should have been the first sentence of every single post cigar city made regarding the event. Don't think I ever heard that once. If there was an issue with it scanning and you were positive you purchased it directly through eventbrite and it therefore had your name on it, it could have been looked up manually. By not investing in an effective ticket authentification process, everthing went to hell.

my honest opinion is cut out the bottle sales. or limit it to 1 per person. People who say you are in it for the experience, the comraderie, enjoying the bottle shares, being around great people, You shouldn't care because that is exactly what you get. Maybe make it a $50-75 dollar event, and include a single bottle of hunahpu with your entry that you get as they scan your ticket. You can drink the shit all day long and walk out with a nice bottle of it.

The rest should go into distribution or sold randomly throughout the year. This stuff is limited, its sought after for many reasons. It has gotten to the point there's no possibly way to remove the douchebagery if there is any possibility of getting a large quantity of it. The douchebags will stay away at a 1 bottle per person limit at an event that costs $50 to $75.

Oh and definetly, definetly, don't ever use the words fashionably late again.

 

+1 support for Huna 2015 with no pets/snakes, a proper event management company with security (even at a higher ticket price). Could it not be done in the empty lot across the street (carts and general taps) with only bottle pickup in the primary parking lot? Sadly I think that ship has sailed (not hopped) and it won't come back but we can hope. I am happy that my wife and I were able to attend the last two years.

 

No to distro!