Snallygaster 2016 - September 17th

If it is like last year, you will be running.

 

Am I going to have to show up significantly earlier than the 1130 start?

 

The worst part was that where you were in line didn't matter, the entrance was very large and when they let people in everyone just ran towards the entrance in chaotic fashion, no orderly line. Good luck.

 

Great. Thanks for the advice. Time to find out if my wife can think any less of me.

 

Fat guys running. Awesome.

 

Of the really rare beers (BA Abraxas, CBS, Fou Foune, etc), I would be expect to be able to try one of them and treat anything else as a bonus.

 

I'm a distance runner, and I generally run my 10-miler at under a 7 min/mile pace. I was not fast enough to get to BA Abraxas last year. Although that was my #1 priority, when the "gates opened" (read: society broke down), I was at least 30 people back in line when BA Abraxas kicked. I was near mid-line, with BA Abraxas being right at the end of the line. No offense to Jim, but I wouldn't take his advice with great confidence.

The event takes place in a big parking lot, with the line going straight down the middle and with beer booths on the left and right of the line. Assuming thing break down like last year, if you have your heart set on one beer, don't think of the line as a method for priority on that brew. Instead, figure out where that booth is (the app includes a map), and position yourself to get to that booth faster than others. Again, this is based on last year, and they may have finally corrected their annual screw-up this go-around. At the prices they're asking, I will not be there to see.

FYI, I'm totally not bitter.

 

What a shit show.

 

This same thing happened to me last year but I was still able to get CBS after the Abraxas keg kicked. You might not get your top choice of the big guns, but the odds of getting one of them are good IMO. I just wouldn't get your hopes up on trying more than one unless you're with someone who can go immediately to another line.

 

I've been every year and have always had a good time. I never go after the top whale...my friends and I just try to agree on a general area where there are a good number of beers we want to try and we hang out there until we've had them all or they start to kick.

 

A good strategy is to skip the top tier beers like Fou and CBS and concentrate on "second" tier stuff. Everyone rushes to the standout beers and ends up waiting in line like 20 minutes, while plenty of exceptional beers have small to no line at all. I managed to get multiple pours of BA Abraxas and BA Sump (two years ago), and ~4 pours each of Feral One and Maltose Falcons (last year) by such a strategy.

The lack of line control last year kinda soured me on Snallygaster, as we showed up like an hour and a half early and were skipped by dozens of people, so I'm skipping this year.

 

This is good advice - last year you could also get Rose de Gambrinus, BA Sexual Chocolate, BA Blackout, etc without much effort. I would say go for one of your whaley beers, then just hit the next tier stuff the rest of the day.

 

This is my strategy. Too many good beers to fret over the top 5.

I don't have a problem with the initial bum rush as long as people don't get hurt. I'm for anything that goes against the culture of lining up early for beer events/releases.

 

I appreciate the advice from everybody. Thankfully I have found about the best solution I could hope for. I got my wife, brother, sister, and future brother-in-law to attend with me, and none of them are anywhere near as into beer as I am. They have all agreed to split up and try to secure the beers I have my heart set on. While it may sometime be frustrating that the people around me do not share my level of enthusiasm, it seems to benefit me for once. Go team.

 

Nice, you might be one of the first people ever to bring mules to a beer festival, you're an innovator!

 

Certainly not the original intent, but yes, it's good to be loved.

 

Can anyone speak to pour size. I saw the two size options but do they do full pours of rarer beers or only 6ozs?

 

It has been my experience that typically for the whale beers they only do the smaller pours

 

Wasn't there another sheet with the BA scores listed as well? Anyone have the link to that?

Thanks!

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...GVsz42XYFTlFvfGwS7XzIxuaNY/edit#gid=553149470