Disappointing Bottle Releases

Well, they can't go back on the limits. That wouldn't be right, and it would cause more chaos than people at the back of the line not getting any. It is the way this game works man.

 

Yeah, Bo & Luke sucks! And I love BBA Imperial Stouts.

 

Beer is popular, man. Releases can be a shit show. People wait over 12 hours in freezing temps to get Bourbon County in Chicago.

My advice is contact the brewery and express your opinion in a respectful manner. They may or may not care but if they hear it from enough customers things may change.

 

Totally agree, but this is why it makes sense not to announce limits until day of if you only have a small number of bottles. It sounds like this one was just a few hundred, which the brewery really should have known was not going to last long. 3pp is for a couple thousand bottles or more--doesn't really make sense for such an apparently small release.

 

This is a scary thought.

 

It's a good thing there are so many breweries in Gary, Indiana, that none of us have any idea what you're talking about

 

I think you're in the wrong thread, man

 

Yeah I think a nice compromise is for the brewery to say we will sell x number of bottles per person but reserve the right to adjust the limit based on turnout. As long as this is clear prior to the event I think it's a fair approach imo.

 

Great Lakes Barrel Aged blackout release is the absolute worst waste of time. 2 hours and you cant even buy any of the beer they are releasing to drink at the event. just a dumb event.

 

If you are so annoyed by not being able to slay this unicorn, why don't you sack-up and use some of the time you waste standing in line waiting for beer to learn how to make your own delicious beer?

 

Are you speaking of the dinner the night before? Not sure if its because the demand isnt too crazy, but I walked right in release day about 2 hours after open and bought a case.

 

Yeah, I agree. Who knows what they were thinking. It sounds like a bad plan from the start.

 

Right - 40+ dollars for average food and nothing on tap but the regular ho-hum beers.
Terrible event.

 

That makes sense. Any of the dinners are overrated. Their food is average at best.

 

Yup, ultimately they created a lot of angry people with this release. When people starting lining up at 4am, you know it's going to be a shit show. People cut in with their friends, waiting for that long is awful. Not going out and telling people is pretty bush league. I've been to some great releases and waited an hour a few times, I'd never go to something like this.

 

I've gotten lucky, dodging bullets as far as the extreme shitshow releases. First one I ever attended was the BA Huna variants in October 2011. It was disorganized, hot and uncomfortable but I got what I came for and got to try some good beers. Next was Huna Day 2013, the one before the mishap of the following year. There were a ton of people, waited in line for half an hour for almost every beer I drank and the bathroom lines were long. But the bottle purchasing went very smoothly, got to try lots of great beers in line through bottle sharing and the line to get in to the actual event was relatively fast-moving. Next was Wicked Weed's first bottle release, Serenity, and was the smoothest of all. They do it the right way: numbered bracelets, they set a time when the line can start and turn away people who show up beforehand and, at that time I don't think they had implemented it yet, but now they scan IDs to make sure no one gets back in line a second time. I showed up about a half hour before they started selling bottles and was outta there about a half hour after. Perfect. Next was Fonta Flora's first release, Vestige Bloom. Very smooth. Waited in line for about 45 minutes, got the allotment I wanted and hung out drinking awesome beers the rest of the day. I skipped the Jitterbug release which apparently was the right move since they got a much bigger turnout than they expected, didn't set the limit low enough and ran out of bottles too quickly (much like the situation OP describes). Some friends of mine went and they were pissed because they'd run out of Jitterbug by the time they got to the POS so they left empty-handed. Even though they dropped the ball on that one, I went to the most recent release for Meemaw and was very satisfied. The bottle count was much higher than Jitterbug and the limits were set so that, if you were within the first 150 spots in line, you were guaranteed a full allotment even if everyone up until that point purchased a full allotment. Got there two hours early, posted up with chairs, got my hand stamped and was told I was number 101 so I was set, waited about another hour once to line started moving, purchased my bottles and, once again, hung out the rest of the day, drank some great beers and had a great time.

TL;dr You just have to assess the situation. Figure out what the bottle count is, read the rules pertaining to the establishment's policies on bottle sharing in line, bringing chairs, what method they're using to regulate the line (hand stamps, bracelets, etc.) and plan accordingly. Also, it's everyone's responsibility to call out line cutters. It's not necessarily up to the brewery to police the line so, if you see someone cutting, take it upon yourself to tell them to get to the back of the line and others will back you up.

 

People lined up at 4am for BA Hunter? That's the definition of insanity. Just my opinion.

 

^^^^--- Some great tips for breweries doing limited releases here

 

agree, I mean BA Imperial Stouts aren't hard to get