Craft Beer Express in Philly Saturday March 9.

Went one year. Bus, sucked..... Never came, for hours.... We ended up walking most of the route which negated the need for the bus. But, we also missed out on alot of bars because we wanted to avoid walking too far. Wasn't the best time because the bus sucked. But, it was still a good time cause the beer was good.

 

Yep, much of the route is walkable, so the bus isn't a must-have. On a nice day you could walk the entire route. I find the fresh air and exercise helps with endurance when you're talking about a 10+ hour crawl.

But if you have a ticket already, you might as well take advantage of the bus when you see it. Just don't wait for it too long since you can always walk to the next stop.

 

Did it last year and it blew hard. It wasn't bad at first. We started at Jose Pistolas and had a couple of beers. The first bus came and it was already full. We waited 30 more minutes for the next bus and had to cram our way on and sit in the aisle. The next stop (Sidecar) was crowded but we were able to get a table so it wasn't too bad. We waited at least another 30 minutes for a bus (keep in mind they claim there's a bus every 15 minutes), which again was a sardine can filled with drunken raucous 20-somethings. We got off at Brauhaus Schmitz and it was so crowded it took 15 minutes to get someone to serve us, and the whole time people were bumping us and spilling beers. We left, got a cab back to Market East and went the hell home. It was a truly dreadful experience. My girlfriend and I both emailed them with our grievances and they didn't respond. I would only recommend doing this if you love waiting for buses and unbelievably crowded bars.

Keep in mind that this is the same weekend that the Erin Express runs, so the city will be full of drunken college kids. I think the CBX just gets the runoff of whoever couldn't get on the Erin Express.

 

my sole experience of actually riding this bus:

standing outside of kite and key waiting for the supposed last bus back toward south street, we see one approaching. my buddy jogs down the street to flag him down, so the bus stops.

he opens the door, my friend says "hey man can we ride back toward south street?"

response: "nah man, i'm going home" ::closes door and leaves::

we all call cabs home and never take it again.

also, we had to switch drivers at one point because i believe the current one was too drunk to continue driving. it's a nice idea, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. having said all that, i always check out the events when they do the CBX bc there's usually some nice tappings that i'll walk over to while avoiding the whole hassle of the bus.

 

And since there is absolutely no requirement that you have a cbx wristband to partake in any of the special events, you might as well just make your own route based on the tappings and walk (or worst case, sub) between them in your preferred order.

 

We went on the last one. It is actually really nice right when the busses start running in the morning, mostly because they are empty and running on time. As it gets later in the day, more and more people start their tours and they get drunk FAST. Come 5pm the over stuffed bus' turn into rolling frat parties. I think the best thing to do is start early, get as many of your stops in as quick as possible, and then break off the tour just before dinner time and hit a few bars that aren't on the tour.

 

This is pretty accurate. I've had more luck than most in this thread in catching buses, but they do slow down significantly as night approaches. The taplists are usually top-notch, however and posted on tapfinder in advance to help you plan your attack.

 

Do not take or follow the buses. Do not buy tickets. Walk and take cabs or public. Go on your own schedule.

 

We will be doing the tap lists for the events again. I have not had the terrible bus experiences, but definitely frustrating at times. I take at least 3 SEPTA buses per day so maybe I'm a used to getting frustrated and my threshold is higher. One suggestion - pick the event that you think will be the biggest draw and start on the opposite end of the route. Mabye you'll miss KBS or something (just an example - I have no info yet), but it may make for an overall more pleasant experience because you are less likely to have packed buses and bars.

 

Also, I think not starting at Jose Pistola's is good advice too. That where we have started in years past. It seems to be a popular first bar.

 

Yup, Center City spots are probably very popular. I generally start where I'm most interested in brunch. Good way to start a day of drinking.

 

Depends upon when the bars get them to me, but I usually have the large majority of them posted by one week before the event. As to the "must see" bars, I will leave that up to the rest of BA (I work with these places).

 

I disagree. Last year it was practically empty when we got there and only moderately crowded when we left. Granted they didn't have a stellar tap list, but the buses were already packed when they picked us up.

 

I've been on everyone except for this last cbx.. we always had a good time and never really had any issues with the bus.. yeah sometimes it takes longer to show up than you would want..but if you are going with a group its a good time anyway..just relax and grab another beer