FOBAB 2016

With that criteria you basically described 3 Floyds a few years ago and they've been a mainstay at FOBAB for years. Considering TG is going to move into the Illinois market, already are bringing beer to events in Illinois , and there has been precedence with non-Illinois market brewers bringing stuff to FOBAB...Yes. Why wouldn't you bring some of your best stuff to one of the best fests in a market that you have stated you will expand into next? Great marketing.

 

That's a bummer. At the end of the night at Fobab, you know you've hit rock bottom when the only thing left is Rock Bottom.

 

I mean.. Let's not act like 3 Floyds isn't basically a Chicago brewery.

Bigger picture though - My understanding is that the ILBG does not compensate breweries for the beer poured at FoBAB, and I think that's why you don't see a lot of these hyped-up near-ish breweries attend. Believe I saw Cory King talking about that last year as a reason why Side Project does not attend, but could be wrong. I know that's not the only time I've seen/heard it though.

 

The marketing itself is worth any price of the beer. Cory King has gone to Fobab before and won medals with Perennial and Side Project. I think it is more likely the extremely small output of Side Project has more to do with his failure to submit Side Project to Fobab last year. Toppling Goliath has substantially more output than a side project like Side Project.

 

Last year I recall someone asking the folks at TG on social media if they were entering anything at FOBAB. Their reply was something like, "We weren't invited, so...no."

 

Scratch eralier comment about SP/Cory. Went back thru the Twitters to figure out what I was halfway remembering.

It was a conversation between Ron Jeffries at Jolly Pumpkin and a couple other brewers (Cory being one) about the keg donation ask for FoBAB being the reason why JP (and others) weren't there.

Mah bad!

Yes and no. Cost isn't really a factor. My point was more that a brewery like TG, who can't keep up with demand as is, probably doesn't have much incentive to give product away to try and grow their market share, when the limiting factor in said share is product availability.

 

Hello all,

Actually, I can't remember if the ILBG compensates for the beer, either way, thats isn't the reason we do not pour at FOBAB at this time. FOBAB is one of the best things we have ever attended, but when they went to 3 sessions, the requirement went to 3 1/6 bbls of each beer (obviously 1 for each session). When we go to festivals, we like to make sure that we bring the beers that you guys and girls want to try from us (Derivation?). But for most of the Derivations, I don't even keg 3 1/6bbls, and what I do keg is for The Cellar. With our new brewery, maybe one day we can attend FOBAB again .

We attend festivals that are fun for us in which was have enough beer to adequately attend. Not about cost or visibility or marketing, just fun... I do miss judging, trying all of those BA stouts and hanging out with a lot of our Chicago friends and everything about FOBAB. Just wanted to clear that up!

Cheers,

 

^Class act. Sounds like someone just got tired of carrying home empty 1/6 barrels AND medals...

 

There are some that would argue that winning medals does not affect their bottom line. I have spoken with a couple brewers that indicate they did not improve business with medals. The rationale is that the beer geeks will go there anyway, and the casual beer drinker won't care about medals.
Chicagoland may be a different landscape, and brewers there may want to standout; thus, it may make more sense for them to attend. I can understand why out of state brewers may not want to attend.

 

Ask Spiteful how their BAMCC impacted their ability to sell $110 tickets to an event

 

No Side Project

If a smaller brewer wins a gold medal it definitely helps their brand. Now, if 3 Floyds or Perennial win, not really.

 

As I said, for Chicagoland breweries it would make more sense as they want to stand out in a crowded market. I'm surprised by the number of non-Illinois brewers that do come. Perhaps, like Corey noted, that they just enjoy the festival.

 

So for context, I offer this anecdote, with Side Project used simply by way of example. Two years ago I was just getting into sours, having focused almost exclusively on big stouts and IPAs. I went to FOBAB knowing hardly anything of the style, and certainly knowing nothing at all about Side Project other than the name (I was a bad BA'er). And then I got in line and tried Raspe. It literally not only put that brewery on the map for me, but opened up a whole new style of beer. I'll take a good sour over any huge BA stout any day.

My point is, something like FOBAB doesn't have to be solely about the whalze bro (although they're fun). It's much, much more than that. This is to the point where last year my first stop was to the experimental room, bypassing a lot of those whalze along the way. So it can, and does, help some brewers.

 

A couple years ago, I walked over to your booth at FOBAB, had no clue who Side Project was. I drank the last of the Saison de Ble. Absolutely, amazing. This 3 oz pour was so good that I drove 5 hours to St. Louis for the release the following year. Just bring the sours. We won't be mad.

 

Funny you mention Raspe as I had the exact same reaction. After getting my BA Abraxas pour, I immediately went to Side Project and it absolutely blew me away. Will miss SP this year.

 

I'm so thirsty....

 

Question. Did anybody use all 20 tickets last year or were they not really collecting them? I've been to other Chicago beer fests where they have a set number of beers but nobody has ever really taken them. Usually I use 5 out of 20.

 

They didn't use tickets last year. It was stamps or punches or something in the booklet they give you. I don't really remember because I didn't get a single one.

 

It depends on the person who's pouring in my experience. I distinctly remember BA Malevolence Chocolate Caliente taking tickets/stamps last year. Others (GI booths) couldn't care less.