Washington Brewers Fest 2018

Discussion in 'Northwest' started by Hal_Hickey, Jun 3, 2018.

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  1. Reidrover

    Reidrover Grand Pooh-Bah (4,886) Jan 14, 2003 Oregon
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I hope your not drinking a beer in front of them!!

    jk
     
    #41 Reidrover, Jun 10, 2018
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  2. Hal_Hickey

    Hal_Hickey Initiate (0) Oct 17, 2014 Canada (BC)

    I appreciate your frustration, but "that old security guy with a cane" would have booted you out of the festival if he heard your rant...

    Unfortunately, the token limit is just one major negative. The other is the huge bump in the token price over last year, which is enough to keep me away from future fests. I can consume all the great beer I want at Rubens for a lot less than $10 a pint, sit in a comfortable chair and get a completely clean glass with each fill.
     
    #42 Hal_Hickey, Jun 10, 2018
  3. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    LOL!!! Damn Matt, don't be so coy. Tell us what you REALLY think on this issue.

    All kidding aside, your candidness is very, very refreshing.
     
    #43 John_M, Jun 10, 2018
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  4. Texwild

    Texwild Zealot (550) May 1, 2008 Washington

    Well, sometimes you just gotta open up and that’s why I love this group...we have been here for years for the right reasons and, knowing many of you, it’s still fun to talk with people who love craft beer but have a clue...like the old times :slight_smile:

    BTW, where is the grammar police these days? I still check all my posts to make sure I have checked all the Strunk & White boxes...with mixed success.
     
    #44 Texwild, Jun 11, 2018
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  5. Naikoon

    Naikoon Initiate (0) May 25, 2018 Washington

    If those gents were to
    police this forum, the jails
    would be overrun.

    Case in point: "where is the grammar police" is a definite no-no. Collective nouns require the plural form.:slight_smile:
     
    #45 Naikoon, Jun 11, 2018
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  6. Texwild

    Texwild Zealot (550) May 1, 2008 Washington

    You are right, I’m wrong
    Proving the value once more
    Of Craft Beer and friends
     
    #46 Texwild, Jun 12, 2018
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  7. Naikoon

    Naikoon Initiate (0) May 25, 2018 Washington

    You ferment, and I'll
    conjugate. Division of
    labor works wonders.
     
    #47 Naikoon, Jun 12, 2018
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  8. ExVashonGujy

    ExVashonGujy Pooh-Bah (2,114) Mar 7, 2013 Washington
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Serious haiku
    Returns to Northwest Forum.
    @Naikoon, Welcome!
     
    #48 ExVashonGujy, Jun 12, 2018
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  9. jaredmull

    jaredmull Aspirant (263) Dec 26, 2013 Washington

    See you all Sunday
    Beer in hand, beer after beer
    Restrictions or not
     
    #49 jaredmull, Jun 12, 2018
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  10. Naikoon

    Naikoon Initiate (0) May 25, 2018 Washington

    Haiku reminds us
    that, while beer matters, it ought
    not be serious.
     
    #50 Naikoon, Jun 14, 2018
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  11. westcoastbeergeek

    westcoastbeergeek Initiate (0) Sep 16, 2015 Canada (BC)

    Curious what all your thoughts were post-fest. I will say that restrictions will keep me from travelling to a fest like that (even with some possible workarounds), that's 2 less people, $1000 less spent in Redmond and surrounding area. My suggestion is to either gate off the kids area or limit the kids time frame from 11-3 on Sat. Don't care about Sunday, that's an easy limit on a day before a workday, but prefer less nanny law overall.

    Big driver for me is the sampling, at least a shot at trying new breweries and old favs with new releases and the rules limit (stuffing my face on Friday isn't a good strategy). Advertising 500 beers and saying you can try 2% of them per day seems like a downer. I'd love to see a better compromise at the end of the day, worse thing is you'll scare off the breweries.
     
    #51 westcoastbeergeek, Jun 18, 2018
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  12. derftron

    derftron Pooh-Bah (1,663) Feb 8, 2012 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    This is a rather interesting thread. Ive never been to a beer-fest in WA, but it sounds like there are some hurdles in place that dont exist in OR ??

    i think that the the kids at brewfest "issue" is much ado about nothing, and it kind of regulates itself. OBF is GIGANTIC, and i can probably count on 1 hand how many kids i see each year. I cant imagine bringing my own kids to OBF under any reasonable circumstances, but I certainly dont need some regulatory agency to tell me so. Either make it 21+ or all ages, and let people use their brains
     
    #52 derftron, Jun 18, 2018
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  13. westcoastbeergeek

    westcoastbeergeek Initiate (0) Sep 16, 2015 Canada (BC)

    Any year I've been it's been a non issue with kids, this is the first issue there's been any changes or limitations because of it as far as I know.
     
    #53 westcoastbeergeek, Jun 18, 2018
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  14. BBThunderbolt

    BBThunderbolt Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,846) Sep 24, 2007 Kiribati
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    AFAIK, the Father's Day fest is one of the few, if not the only, all-ages fest in WA. It's held in a large area, and even I have rarely been annoyed by the kiddos at that fest.
     
    #54 BBThunderbolt, Jun 18, 2018
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  15. distantmantra

    distantmantra Pooh-Bah (2,954) May 23, 2011 Washington
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I think people are angry about not being able to tick as many beers as they possibly can more than there being kids at the festival. It's on Father's Day weekend, it's always been family friendly so people should expect it.
     
    #55 distantmantra, Jun 18, 2018
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  16. BBThunderbolt

    BBThunderbolt Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,846) Sep 24, 2007 Kiribati
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I think your and my comments, combined, about sum the situation up. It's accepted that the chilliuns will be there, but, there's enough space that it should rarely be an issue.

    Most of the family units only go for a couple hours, on whichever day.

    Shrug.

    Us geeks can make our own decisions .
     
    #56 BBThunderbolt, Jun 19, 2018
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  17. Hal_Hickey

    Hal_Hickey Initiate (0) Oct 17, 2014 Canada (BC)

    I was there on Friday and Saturday. Planning to go both days, means pacing yourself on the Friday, otherwise going on Saturday wouldn't be an option. The group hired to "secure" the event was in a completely different league from last year's security clowns. This year's group was competent, chill and mostly invisible. Just the way they should be.

    Saturday was a weird vibe. It seemed like 2/3 of the park was filled with family groups who monopolized almost every square inch of shade for most of the day. After 2pm, hardly any in those groups budged from their blankets or lawn chairs.

    The brewery servers were busy until about 2:30pm, then there were no lines for anything. In fact, approaching a tent side, there was usually no one getting a pour after 3:30pm. Many people were frustrated that they ran out of tokens around 3pm. The food vendors did well as most of the blanket crowd, just ate and dozed in their space all day long. The kids weren't a problem as usual, unless you wanted to dance to the bands, then the kids were too ******* to not have an accident, so the adults didn't bother.

    The token price at $2.00 a pop has become too expensive. For that price, or even less expensive, I'd be better off doing a walking tour of breweries.

    The beers at the fest were great, but I'd save a lot of money, just buying cans or bottles at $2-$3 a piece and sharing.

    It's too bad as this festival was one of my top two value festivals and has now fallen way down my scale for value. I'm sure the breweries took home a lot of beer.
     
    #57 Hal_Hickey, Jun 19, 2018
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  18. DamienI

    DamienI Initiate (0) Jul 23, 2014 Washington

    Getting in on Sunday was a cluster (as should have been expected), waiting in line for 45 minutes in the blistering sun was less than pleasant. Once inside the lines were short although a lot of the more interesting brews were kegged early, likely would not repeat the experience.
     
    #58 DamienI, Jun 19, 2018
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  19. WA_Brian

    WA_Brian Pundit (780) Nov 17, 2015 Washington
    BA4LYFE Society

    Sunday has always had the problem of kegs being gone and some brewers have already packed up and gone home. It's been like that every year and it's always bothered me.

    The lines this year were insane. Friday's line at opening was crazy, but they had a no-bags line at security that wasn't there on the weekend. Sunday was far worse than I've ever seen the event. The line was longer at 1:30 than it was prior to opening. Not once did they use all available ticketing lanes.
     
    #59 WA_Brian, Jun 19, 2018
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  20. woemad

    woemad Grand Pooh-Bah (5,601) Jun 8, 2003 Washington
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    The one in Spokane in September (put on by WABL iirc) is 21+ on it's first night and all ages during the second day. And no, there aren't a ton of kids on the second, all day portion.
     
    #60 woemad, Jun 19, 2018
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