FoBAB 2018

by the way, i realize that this came off as judgy, and it wasn't intended to be. i just legitimately was interested in the rationale.

 

Seems like there is a bunch of back and forth on this event mainly because of organization/line waiting. I have never been. Is the general consensus that it's worth attending?

 

One of the best beer festivals I attend every year.

 

It’s a great event and I am a huge proponent of the Imbibe hour. The food situation is awful and I don’t know if there’s much they can do about it (being in a building as opposed to outside with food trucks). So it requires a big late breakfast/early lunch at a place like Manny’s. The Lost Abbey/Jester King sours, previewing the BCBS lineup, and the emergence of a new beer (More and Arclight last year) all make it worth it. Plus there’s a ton of great beer you don’t have to wait for that doesn’t run out

 

If you can tolerate the crowd and its negative effects (long lines, whales kicking immediately, ambient flatulence) it's just about a perfect fest.

 

Paid my $50 for the first time yesterday. Looking forward to that extra hour

 

What about the Ball Room at Navy Pier? They did Sierra Nevada there and I feel like there were way more people than FOBAB. That space is huge. IF that wasn't big enough there are the Exhibition Halls as well. The total has to be well over 100k square feet available between the 3 rooms.

 

Just Checked.

UIF Forum 23k sqft
Navy Pier
Aon Ball Room - 18k sqft
Hall A 113k sqft
Hall B 57k sqft.

I think that would be a much better option over a sports stadium or McCormick. I know they are cool with beer events as they have held several.

 

Pretty sure the Navy Pier group is the same ones that deal with McCormick Place. I’m sure it’s been looked into. I’m guessing it’s nearly as expensive.

From conversations I’ve had with people who are making these decision, it seems like they want the next location change to be the final one. That might be the reason McCormick Place was the primary target.

 

I just don't see how they could get McCormick Place. I would think that McCormick probably is contractually tied to a specific distributor similar to a sports stadium and that the servers would have to be union employees of the venue...

 

Rev pours at C2E2 so I'm not sure that's fully accurate.

 

I'm sure its possible. But its also been used as a venu for a beer festival before, has the space to be the final location, and is in a better location. It also has segmented rooms allowing for future growth. It is also more set up for events like this over McCormick.

 

So who does the pouring at those events? Volunteers?

 

I honestly don't rememver. I think it was brewery reps last time.

 

Only voluteers pour at FoBAB.

 

when i went in 2016 it was volunteers who got a free ticket to a different time slot.

 

I was asking for the stuff at McCormick place.

 

I’ve been to wine events at Navy Pier before, and pretty sure they cost less than FOBAB. I’m pretty sure winery reps poured at those.

 

Try it out. It's crowded and there is definitely line waiting but it's fun. Don't expect to try all the whales.

 

I don't think that's entirely accurate.

Look at Soldier Field. They definitely have a beer exclusive contract, I think with Miller, and they typically host 1 beer event every year on their field with brewery reps pouring.

I honestly think if they're scaling you to another venue, they should have considered the other venue at UIC, the Pavilion, or the Wintrust Arena.

I want functionality more than anything else. I hate that rows are so close that their lines make moving very difficult at times.

If this is not big enough yet for McCormick, those are probably more practical for incremental scaling