2016 Dark Horse 4elf party.

Stock was high enough last year that bbpt5, and 4elf were available all day Saturday (for order, and pickup). I do not believe they are open the Sunday after 4elf.

I think the remainder would be available starting Monday...and, no distro.

 

^he's correct.

 

Yes. It states that on the form.

 

If you go Saturday morning you'll probably be picking up Saturday evening.

 

Pickup for late comers in past years has taken a long time, often into the evening. However the format changes last year made pickup a lot faster.

They changed the time you turned in the order form, they moved the pickup to the warehouse, and they had more people handling payment and beer running. The line to pickup beer was much shorter, and they were letting people in way ahead of their time.

If you turn in an order form Saturday, don't sweat it.

 

I misread your post. You said pickup but thought you were referring to last time to turn in forms. Figured it out afterward.

Yeah that's the other thing I wanted to avoid. Leaning toward Saturday afternoon.

 

I am burning a vacation day for Friday, so I will be there sometime in the am closer to noon with goodies from the cellar. I am not planning on getting the full allotment of BBPT5th, but will be getting a full allotment of everything else.

 

http://www.darkhorsebrewery.com/events/

 

With the weather looking especially cold this year, I don't think I'll be participating in any beer garden activities. I'll probably just get there around 6 or 7, put in my order form and head over to k-zoo for Bells eccentric day and just get a hotel there.

 

First timer this year- just how early do people get there on Friday?? I was planning on rolling up early afternoon, sharing bottles until later in the eve and then just passing out in my car in some blankets... rolling into the fest the next day at 11.

 

I was also able to confirm via Dark Horse that, similar to last year, there is no lining up prior to the opening of the beer garten. Last year, they mentioned how they would throw people out if they lined up early.

They also prohibit any glass/bottle sharing in the parking lot. Generally, they have had a pretty decent security presence on site for the event; so they do take that stuff seriously.

I think your plan sounds like a good one. Just don't be intoxicated with the keys in the ignition!

 

Now I'm considering just rolling up the morning of and hoping to score a case of BA plead and some rum 4 elf. Any possibility of getting any of the extra allotments if you roll up early Saturday morning?

 

Not if past years have been any indication. In the next few days Dark Horse will likely post the number of cases of each of the "extras". So then you could start doing some maths about where you'd need to be in line.

To be clear though, once you are in the Beer Garten, you can share beer all you want.

 

Unless you are going to drink more than a case in by the end of February, consider saving the cash on other things besides extra cases of BBPt5. There obviously will be people who disagree with this sentiment, but take it from someone who has been up there in 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2015. The stuff does not age well. It's not terrible by any means, of course, but the nice balance of barrel, coffee, chocolate, etc. fades fast and there is far too much old BBPt5 right now in my (and I assume many other folks') cellars.

 

this^^^

I will not be buying bottles this year and probably not even attending the party. last year the 'good' taps kicked quick and it took them a long time to replace. food always becomes a frenzy of people bombarding the poor staff trying to bring it out. I will enjoy myself at eccentric day on Friday where the food is plentiful and the beer flows like the salmon of Capistrano.

 

By extra allotments I meant more the specialty stuff- the maple 6 legs or whatever its called, the double BA in rum and bourbon barrels, the 2015 stuff if they have that... I had a 2 year bottle not long ago and thought it still tasted nice. I wont be buying more than a case of the regular BA stuff, but I think I'd do well with a case.

 

Have you had a bottle of this recently? I would call it...an acquired taste.

 

Haha no - I haven't been able to try that Bourbrum stuff. It was one of the things I was looking forward to if I got there on Friday. Bad?

 

Likely not possible, but try to find someone to bring you a bottle to try before you spend some cash on it, or be on the lookout for one during whatever bottle sharing is going on. Very wide range of opinions on it - personally, I liked it at first, but since then, I can't bring/challenge myself to attempt to take down a bottle. As I said, it's...an acquired taste.

 

I had the exact opposite experience. I did a 13-14-15 vert right after the 15 release and there was no clear winner. I liked them all equally. In fact, I was hard pressed to even note the differences.

All of the beers had been kept at 50 degrees since obtaining.

This is one of the few beers I would actually encourage people to age.