Parageusia 3

now that was funny. I give them credit for playing on as the majority of the line was making jokes about them.

 

Well... most of F&M beers are better anyway

 

what a bunch of whiny brats

 

Sad thing is for everyone that says they won't attend another release, there are 5 people who will take that spot. Lining up like rats entering a maze...

 

The sense of entitlement here is ridiculous. It's not TH fault you all didn't plan properly. Someone even mentioned in this thread last week that it was going to be crazy. If you took the time to check the various trade pages and saw how many pre-trades and IP trades were set up, people were flat out saying they were getting there at 6am, you would have known about what time you needed to be there.

As far as line cutters, I'm sure there were a couple, but it wasn't as bad as you all are saying it was. As already stated people were getting their spots rotating in and out of line for warmth, coffee, "coffee", food, etc. So all of your counts were really just a semi educated guesstimate. There were people who tried to cut by me multiple times and they were promptly called out and they excused themselves or defended their spot to the satisfaction of the people behind them. So if you don't speak up, that's on you.

To those saying Tired Hands doesn't care, that's also bullshit. They brought in security for that reason and I watched them confront line cutters and line drinkers yesterday, so while they might not be perfect, there is a clear effort. They also put out free coffee and bacon for everyone. They sent out two comedians imitating a dial up modem for entertainment. Christian's spiel was way shorter then it has been in the past. Lastly, I straight up overheard Jean express his surprise in the turn out and how bummed he was about people possibly being shut out. He even thought about changing the bottle limits but he knew people would then bitch about getting only two.

My experience was pretty good. I had my bottles, got a table, had bread and bacon, had a taste of every beer on tap, and was out the door on my home by 1:15ish. I also saw all your dirty glares in my direction as I passed by all of you with my bottles. It made me laugh inside.

For those of you with all the bright ideas with tickets, guess what? That shit doesn't go perfect either. I've seen people with counterfiets, I've seen people auction off tickets, I've seen people sneak past without turning in their ticket and then get back in line, etc. Not to mention, people cut in line to get tickets too. There is still a fucking line. No method is perfect, and if you didn't get bottles yesterday, the only person to blame is you.

 

Translation: I got my bottles, so everything was fine.

 

I've been to many of these releases and never seen any line cutting. People jump in and out of line all day long to go to bathroom, eat, drink, etc., but I've never seen any cut in line. Most people know who is in line around them and I would think if some random just jumped in there everyone in line around them would not allow it. The constant flow of people in and out of line could certainly make it appear that people are cutting in line though. I've waited in line and been shutout myself multiple times, but I certainly couldve arrived earlier those times if I wanted guaranteed bottles. If you want someone to blame for you not getting bottles (other then yourself), set your targets at the mules!

That being said I can't wait for the believers club to start up, so I won't have to be waiting in line anymore!

 

Translation: I'm a jealous whiny brat that didn't prepare and will place blame on everyone but myself.

 

The part that no one seems to mention which was key in this whole endeavor was the weather. I'm all for new faces at these beer releases, good for local business and all that jazz. BUT the fact that people are leaving their house at 4 and 5 a.m when roads are icy and driving conditions aren't even safe for beer is when I have an issue. I was up at 6 a.m and very well could have left, but I waited for the weather to warm and roads to properly be plowed to leave at 7 a.m and got shut out. Was I unprepared? NO, I just happen to care more about my safety than beer.

 

First, on te 1.5 hour trip I was on, roads were fine, second, you mean to tell me a measly hour was the difference between safe and not? I'm also surprised someone so concerned about safety was okay with driving home after going to a brewery.

 

Mike & I were right behind you in line. Nice time chatting but this line cutting is a joke. TH's know of the issue but they really don't care at all about us or they would make a change. Next TH release its 6:30am or don't bother showing because its not worth the time.

 

Now that you said that people will start getting there at 430.

 

It's not on you when you show up at 8:30 and have over 5 different people count the line between 8:30 and 9:30am, and each one of those people when they go by you ask what number do they have you at and you get the same response; 170 to 185. Now I can understand people are out of line talking but they weren't behind me talking at 8:30 since I was the last in line at that time. So that means 40-55 people were missed by 5 different people counting heads. That's almost a third of line missing from the TH area, come on we all know that's not true; I'll give you that people might miss 20% of the people in line but that's still only 34-37 people. So again where did everyone else come from?

As for changing limits, I was shut out by 2 people and I commend Jean on not changing the limits. You can't change limits to accommodate late show ups, its not fair to those that arrived early. Apparently 8:30 is not early enough anymore for a TH release.

 

But their mules won't show up that early, so they will have to cut in line

 

You underestimate the game. By the way, you just reminded me about another problem with tickets, more mules. If I tell you I need you to sit outside in the snow for 6-8 hours you might say no, but if I tell you I only need you to walk up, grab a ticket, then you can go, you're more likely to help me, thus, more mules.

 

If you hand out tickets at like 9:00 then anyone with a ticket gets a beer but you still have to stay in the area/line since the release will start a few hours later. Now they just have their mules show up around 10:30 and jump in line. Those people wouldn't have a ticket and thus wouldn't get an allocation. If after handing out tickets there are tickets left then those people in line at after the ticked people get beer get first shot an allocation. If you aren't in line when you are up you lose your allocation, its not that hard.

 

My 2 cents.

You CANNOT, and I mean, CANNOT, rely on any type of unofficial counting. Yes, you may have been estimated at 175-180, but is this official? No way.

We had a girl come by and say we were 120th in line, she said didn't count empty chairs after we asked. Our friend, who does as best of a job he can, had us somewhere between 150-160th. Again, I took this with a grain of salt.

The best advice I can give is:
1) If you want bottles, get there early.
- If you've been to a release before at TH, you should have an idea of what time puts you where. Get there BEFORE that if you think you're at risk of not getting any.
- If this was your first TH release, then you know now. And again, I'm sorry that you didn't get bottles, but it does happen.

2) If you rely on someone to 'count', they are most likely wrong, and it's not in anyway official. As everyone mentions, people get out of line to drink, go to Wawa/McDonalds, warm up in the car, etc

3) I've been to 5-6 release and have never seen any cutting, personally. Most people that are in the 1st 100 people or so are the same people that are at EVERY release and get there real early. Not saying it doesn't happen, but I highly doubt 50 people cut in line

4) If you are by the back of the post office around the corner, you are cutting it REALLY close, and may not get bottles depending on the total allotments.

I agree, they should do tickets as well... but they don't as of now. If you want bottles, refer to #1 on my list. That is the best way to not get shut out.

 

These discussions always devolve into accusations and name calling (pwoody11 seems like a real mature guy), but the original point is: If they just had respect for people's time, there'd be a lot less hurt feelings. Letting people slowly creep toward your brewery until nearly 2:00 before you have a goofy actor inform them that bottles have run out is insulting. Have your staff do a headcount once everyone is back in line, and give people a realistic expectation of whether they're going to be able to get bottles, not going to be able to get bottles, or are going to be right up on the edge - and then let them make their own decision about whether to keep waiting for another two hours. It's that simple. No tickets, no wristbands, no nothing. Tired Hands does an amazing job in most respects, which is why everyone was there in the first place. Well, almost everyone.

 

I would guess there were 80+ people still in line when they sold out. It wouldn't have helped me as I would have been right on the edge and would have waited but it would have saved 50+ people the time which would have been nice.

Also I do have to say it sucked that after getting turned away and told the brewery was full I was told I had to get in a new line that was 15+ people long to wait to come inside for a beer. They were nice enough to go inside and grab my BC tekus since I couldn't come inside and didn't want to wait in line again. That was very cool of them since it was obviously a crazy day for them.

Also I don't think anyone truly believes this is THs fault but it would be nice if they addressed the issue.

 

Seems like a ton of discrepancy here on arrival times correlating to bottles. Two separate friends arrived at 8:45 and 9:00 respectively. The one that arrived at 8:45 missed bottles by "5 goddamn people". The one at 9 missed by 20 people. I've seen multiple posts about people arriving at 8:30 and allegedly missing bottles. Did that many people arrive at the same time (approximately 830?)

Myself and @Fievel, along with some other non-BA friends, arrived at 7:55 and were counted somewhere between 100-120 people. If those numbers are somewhat accurate then that means that over 100 people showed up in the next 30 minutes. Doesn't seem too plausible but I suppose that it could happen.

In regards to linecutters, I have been to nearly every Tired Hands release since The Emptiness is Eternal last year and have only seen a handful of patrons do it. The few that did were either spotted by Security or called out by other patrons. Those of you who are proclaiming that 40-50 people cut is ridiculous, imo. And if I'm wrong and there were that many jackasses doing it, why didn't you call them out?!

I do agree that improvements to events like these need to be made. The ticketed system is something that, while still somewhat flawed, could likely alleviate some current issues. All-in-all, I enjoy going to Tired Hands releases and have never personally missed out on bottles. If I did, the only person I have to blame is myself.