Advice for Funky Buddha visit

Discussion in 'South Atlantic' started by AleToTheVictors, Apr 14, 2014.

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  1. AleToTheVictors

    AleToTheVictors Zealot (581) Feb 7, 2012 Maryland

    I'm visiting funky Buddha for the first time tomorrow (Tuesday). I understand Tuesday is growler day and I heard that Last Snow is on so I'm excited to try that. Any advice from someone who has been there before for similar releases? Should I plan to be there promptly at noon or close to that to have any chance to get a growler or is it more mellow than that? In general should I expect a long line or big crowds on a Tuesday? Anything else on that is a must try?

    Thanks in advance.
     
    #1 AleToTheVictors, Apr 14, 2014
  2. nopropulsion

    nopropulsion Initiate (0) Jan 21, 2013 Florida

    I don't know that they'll be doing growlers of last snow, but I may be wrong.

    I do know that according to facebook they have last snow available for purchase on tap.
     
    #2 nopropulsion, Apr 14, 2014
  3. CaptainFleeker

    CaptainFleeker Initiate (0) Aug 27, 2012 Illinois
    Trader

    #3 CaptainFleeker, Apr 14, 2014
  4. nopropulsion

    nopropulsion Initiate (0) Jan 21, 2013 Florida

    well I was wrong, it is Last Snow.

    Dang.
     
    #4 nopropulsion, Apr 14, 2014
  5. jivex5k

    jivex5k Initiate (0) Apr 13, 2011 Florida

    It's going to be a shit show in the afternoon due to the growler.
    If you go for lunch though it won't be busy at all and you can actually relax and enjoy a nice beer.
     
    #5 jivex5k, Apr 14, 2014
  6. cacostaj

    cacostaj Zealot (579) Feb 15, 2013 Florida

    My advice would be to arrive early (growler sales start promptly at 7p). When they do growlers of Last Snow, Bonita, PB&J, etc it can get crowded and a line starts forming relatively early. I'd suggest being there at least around 5p. Ask a staff member where they're gonna start the line at (most likely it will be in front of the first register as you come in), and start lining up as soon as you see other people doing so. Servers make rounds so you can order beer and they'll bring it to you. Other than that enjoy the LS, it's an awesome batch. They should also have Vanilla OP porter and Raspberry Floridian. The Crusher (session IPA) is nice too. I'll be out there around 5. Cheers!!
     
    #6 cacostaj, Apr 14, 2014
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  7. jivex5k

    jivex5k Initiate (0) Apr 13, 2011 Florida

    Are you considering staying there from noon til 7pm just to get a growler of last snow, or did you not realize the time it is being released?
     
    #7 jivex5k, Apr 14, 2014
  8. cacostaj

    cacostaj Zealot (579) Feb 15, 2013 Florida

    He was probably under the impression that they still had those at noon
     
    #8 cacostaj, Apr 14, 2014
  9. jivex5k

    jivex5k Initiate (0) Apr 13, 2011 Florida

    I really hope so lol.
     
    #9 jivex5k, Apr 14, 2014
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  10. jcb7472

    jcb7472 Initiate (0) Jul 13, 2011 Florida

    I'm considering going over there tomorrow since I work down the street but I really don't want to wait 2 hours to get a growler. I was there the evening of the No Crusts growlers (not tryng to get a growler) and there was like 75 people waiting just before 7 and the demand will be bigger for Last Snow. Might just go around 6:30 and see if it's possible to get a growler and if not, just have a couple of beers and hang out. I was there a little over a week ago and tried the Vanilla OP porter and it was really tasty.
     
    #10 jcb7472, Apr 14, 2014
  11. jivex5k

    jivex5k Initiate (0) Apr 13, 2011 Florida

    I got there at 6:45ish and was the very last person to get a growler of it. I think some dudes cut in front of the line at one point though.

    I wish they would do it at noon like they used to, it was so much quieter and less crowded. Guess too many people complained about it though.

    Honestly the last time I had last snow from the oakland location it was pretty bad. Super artificial aftertaste.
     
    #11 jivex5k, Apr 14, 2014
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  12. AleToTheVictors

    AleToTheVictors Zealot (581) Feb 7, 2012 Maryland

    Thanks for the clarification on the 7PM vs 12PM. No, I do not plan to stay there for 7 hrs.

    One more key question: to confirm, is the growler fill at the lounge location on North Federal Hwy or at the brewery on NE 38th St? Get the impression it's the former but want to make sure.

    Sounds like earliy-ish arrival is recommended. Hoping they might have Last Snow on tap, so I can enjoy some while waiting. Sounds like the Vanilla OP Porter is good.

    Thanks to all who responded already and thanks in advance for answering my follow-up question. To Sam: Go Blue! To All: Cheers!
     
    #12 AleToTheVictors, Apr 14, 2014
  13. cacostaj

    cacostaj Zealot (579) Feb 15, 2013 Florida

    Growler fills at the brewery only (Oakland Park). And yes they will have LS on tap
     
    #13 cacostaj, Apr 14, 2014
  14. jivex5k

    jivex5k Initiate (0) Apr 13, 2011 Florida

    It's in Oakland, they usually have the special growler beer on tap, they did for no crust.
     
    #14 jivex5k, Apr 14, 2014
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  15. andyctree

    andyctree Zealot (663) Apr 20, 2010 North Carolina

    If you go at noon you will be the only one there. I went by with my family on a Tuesday afternoon two weeks ago, brought some LaSpadas subs, and enjoyed an empty brewery. Granted, they only had their base beers on tap.
     
    #15 andyctree, Apr 14, 2014
  16. jcb7472

    jcb7472 Initiate (0) Jul 13, 2011 Florida

    For anybody that went for Last Snow growlers, how was it? I knew it was going to be a total shitshow and didn't want to get there at 5 pm. Instead went to Laser Wolf and had Oude Tart on draft. FB posted that they tapped a 2nd keg to make sure everyone got their growler, but that slowed down the regular service and they apologized and said growler tuesday would go better next time. Anyway, looking forward to the More Moro bottle release...
     
    #16 jcb7472, Apr 16, 2014
  17. AleToTheVictors

    AleToTheVictors Zealot (581) Feb 7, 2012 Maryland

    I'll start by saying the Funky Buddha Brewery is a very nice space: basically one large room with incredibly high ceilings, a very long bar and a large seating area. The brewing area was visible through a window on the bar side. The staff I met were incredibly friendly and professional, especially James who provided his honest opinions on the brews and explained how and where the growler line would work. As I'm visiting on vacation, had luxury of arriving a bit early, around 4:15, so was able to grab a table, enjoy a Last Snow and a flight of other special beers in relative peace. I noticed they had already started filling the 32 oz growlers of Last Snow which went a long, long way toward speeding things up later.

    Around 5 PM, they put the sign up for Last Snow growler fill and several folks started lining up. Crowd was good, bar staff did a great job taking orders from people in line, and there was a food truck serving Mexican fusion outside. By 5:30, the place started to get busy. By 6 PM, you could sense panic on the faces of the people walking in with their empty growlers to find a sea of people and a line that snaked completely around the place, starting at the bar register nearest the door, continuing around the entire bar, along the back walls, and back to start point. We did a rough count around 6:45 and stopped counting after 100 people. By then it was obvious they would need to fill more than sixty growlers if they wanted to make sure everyone got theirs.

    After a spirited countdown led by one of the bartenders--10, 9, 8,......GO!--they promptly started selling the growlers. I was pretty close to front and got one of the pre-filled growlers very quickly. Didn't stick around much beyond that, so if there were any big problems I wasn't there to see them.

    Overall, based on my experience I'd give the place a 10/10. Showing up on a day when Last Snow and Nib Smuggler were on tap probably was plain luck. The Vanilla OP and Raspberry Floridian were also nice brews.

    Cheers!
     
    #17 AleToTheVictors, Apr 16, 2014
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  18. cacostaj

    cacostaj Zealot (579) Feb 15, 2013 Florida

    After the 2 kegs kicked (120 growlers or so), there were still 30 some people still in line who had not gotten growlers so FB did a stand up thing by giving those people tickets which guaranteed them a growler, but they just had to wait 30-45 mins or so until they could get them sanitized and filled. I hung around until 10p and the place was still buzzing as is the case on most releases. Most importantly everyone who showed up looking for a growler, grant it with very few exceptions, was able to get one. They are working on ways to speed up the special growler release process so things should run even smoother and faster once that happens
     
    #18 cacostaj, Apr 16, 2014
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  19. Krafty34

    Krafty34 Initiate (0) Jan 13, 2014 Florida

    I say go back to releasing them at noon, I'm just saying that because I work on Tuesday nights :wink:
     
    #19 Krafty34, Apr 16, 2014
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  20. jivex5k

    jivex5k Initiate (0) Apr 13, 2011 Florida

    Yeah it wasn't bad if you went early, had to take a half day off work though. I was there at 4 30, but we chilled at the bar and had a good time. Got real busy but we got a table easily since we everyone was still in line when we got our growlers.
    That's really cool of them to hook everyone up. Kudos for that.
     
    #20 jivex5k, Apr 16, 2014
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