FOBAB 2014

2 if you count the sink i did not pee in the sink but witnessed it happening a few times. it was a train wreck down there but seemed like you could get your business done faster than through the line on the fest floor.

Line at UIC was not bad and i don't think i ever waited more than a couple of minutes.

also, we headed straight into the fest to hit up the #whalezbro and then checked our coats and bags about an hour in. No line to check your coat, was able to sample chocolate rain. then, while people were waiting around to get coats, we ran around the pouring stations to see if anyone was willing to offer up sess 1 leftovers in the various pitchers, which some volunteers were willing to provide. got at least 3 more pours after "last call."

thoroughly enjoyed myself this year.

 

Yes, there should have been. A few bottles appear to have been 'misplaced'.

 

Some observations/experiences:

1. The GI peeps had their shit down. Despite the long line, you were in and out in 10-15 minutes. Plus, the fact that they didn't run out of Prop until 9:00 showed how much beer they brought.

2. The GI vanilla and Templeton were both pretty stellar. The Prop was pretty much a cinnamon bomb (I think I got diabetes drinking it). It was OK, but I think last year's blew it out of the water.

3. The 2 Side Project sours were incredible. We had Raspe at about 6:45-7:00 before it kicked.

4. Loved the Dawn of Aurora from August Schnell. This may have been our unsung hero of the night.

5. Agree on the number of people milling around in between booths -- it made it extremely difficult to navigate.

6. 15 tickets are PLENTY.

That is all.

 

Here's what I see as the venue pros/cons:
Pros

• Easier to get to via public transit/uber/etc
• More food in the area
• No elevators
• Shorter bathroom line
• No separate sour/GI room
• Lots of water stations/dump buckets

Cons

• No skyline view
• No attached parking lot
• No GI Brewpub catering (likely due to contract with Sodexho)

The rows too close together thing was more a layout issue... which I'm not sure how they could really solve, save from having more stations along the walls. I found myself heading out into the hall to drink/talk just to get out of the way. It did stop me from exploring unknown things that weren't on the outside, since it was hard to judge which did/didn't have a line.

 

Also, after FOBAB, I feel bad for people who rushed out of work to drop $35 on a bottle of Conquistador de Muerte.

 

I will agree with you 100% and the crowding in between the rolls was was the worst IMO. I also sampled and moved on to talk etc.

 

I had an awesome time, and thought the event was handled well, in general. I was a little disappointed that the big whalez disappeared so quickly (didn't even seen BA Abraxas, Proprietor's tapped right before I got to the front of the line, etc.), but there was just so much good beer that it didn't really matter. Really enjoyed Begyle's barleywine Barricale entry, got to try Southern Charred which I thought I'd miss out on this year, GI really brought it with the side projects, and a lot of the smaller breweries came out with all their guns firing.

I think the only things I'd change are: 1) Maybe I'll get an ImBIBE membership next year, because that first hour seems to be crucial, and 2) I'd go a little slower and give my palate more of a break. Either way, it was a great time, and the Twitter feed was a mark of brilliance by whoever decided to put it up.

 

You forgot the biggest Pro: High Celings. This kept the temperature at a reasonable level all night and beer farts were not an issue.

 

The event ran very smooth, all things considered. It started on time. They got people in quick. Nothing broke or caught on fire. There were no (visible) issues between the event and the venue. No fights broke out (again, far as I can tell). Lines moved quick for the most part. They had enough volunteers to cover.

Did some stuff kick quick? Sure, but that happens when you have 300 pours for 1500 people. But the event itself ran smooth, which is more than I can say about many other events.

 

Consider it ammended.

 

ehh I went about a week after the release and they still had it at FFF And I got crop dusted by a rather larger female. It had to be her, she was talking to us and just ran off then the smell hit me. She shit herself at FoBAB.

 

Anyone else stand in the south line to get into Session 3? There were 2 lines: 1 to the north that wrapped all the way around the building, and a second one to the south with maybe 200 people in it. I got there at 5:55, stood in the second line, and was in the building before 75% of the people in the north line. We asked one of the workers what the difference in the lines was. His response: "That one is longer." I'm still unclear of what happened.

 

Yeah, for sure. No complaints other than that people need to get out of those middle aisles if they're just drinking.

 

I was also in that South line. We started out in the North line, positioned right at the blue security light about 20 feet from the corner. This was at about 5:40. The guy coming around with wristbands mentioned the other line being shorter. We made the move and it worked out very well. Besides being shorter, once the doors opened the South line also seemed to move faster for whatever reason. I had beer in my glass by 6:10.

 

IMHO - part of the charm of FOBAB has been the venues. I agree with some of the statements: restrooms, easier to get to, parking/public transport.

CONS: Not only the shitty sterile space, but the layout of the shitty sterile space. The bistro tables were only in the back vs spread out. I really liked the Bridgeport Art Center how everything was around the outside and the space in the middle was for a) lines but more importantly b) socialization and hanging out. I felt like I couldn't plan my routes and get to what I wanted nor scan the beers as easily.

I hope they do not go back to this venue. There has to be better loft space in the city with modern amenities at an affordable rate

 

Unless a random old creeper came up, hit on a female friend, and crop dusted on his way out.

It was pretty hilarious actually, but the farts were indeed strong towards hour 4.

 

Pretty sure I'm the one that said that. So, I'll clarify what happened. The lines were moved from the center two doors to the left two doors. Don't know why, but whatever. We were then asked to form two lines from those two doors. People just happened to keep joining the northern line that wrapped around the forum. Our main concern was to get everyone banded before they made it to the door to prevent a massive pile-up at the front door. As people made it in the door, suddenly EVERYONE stopped using the door on the left; which made everyone go in through the second door. By the time I realized the line had merged and everyone was going through one door there were about 50 people left in line.
I thought it all ran pretty smooth, though I would have liked them to open the doors a little earlier to allow people to stage up inside, but that's about it.

 

I think this was my 5th FoBAB, and I had a great time. A lot of really great beer and people were generally very friendly.

I will say the venue just doesn't cut it. They need to get a bigger room, have even more sessions, or sell fewer tickets. There were times where it felt like it was so crowded that there could be safety issues. I felt like I was getting bumped into/spilled on every thirty seconds or so during the first 2 hours of my session (session 3). The outer edge of the room could be decent, but it was a total cluster in the interior rows. Thankfully it started to clear a bit by 8:00 or so. Anyway, even though it was a good time, every person I was with said they hoped it changes venues next year, and some said if it stays they would not return.

The restroom situation there was vastly improved, so that was nice.

The volume of the music seemed to change at random, and at times, was painful (and I'm not normally sensitive about this sort of thing). The switch to boy band music/90s R&B later in the session was surprisingly and hilariously good. Boyz II Men was a surprisingly good accompaniment to beer drinking.

The Twitter screen was a great idea.

 

This was my first time and I would much rather go to a big release bottle share (KBS, Darkness, Dark Lord Day) than this.

I wasn't going to try for BA Abraxas but went it came out the second time I got in line. When they flipped the sign over I decided to just get something and as I got to the table they "found" a Veritas 013 so I was happy to get some of that.

I guess everyone went straight to the Abraxas and Goose because when I walked in the door there was nobody at the table for BA Yeti and Vanilla Rye.

Oh yeah - they were pretty adamant about tickets (except GI).

 

The switch to a glass with a handle was a good idea. I noticed fewer abandoned or broken glasses than in years past.