FOBAB 2015

Thought I was a pro at how to handle this fest, FoBAB humbled me this year. Crazy amount of awesome beers. Maybe this is blasphemy, too many beers? Just thinking out loud, could FoBAB be limited to only Illinois brewers? But in the end, it's an awe inspiring selection of BA brews. Maybe not all great beers, but certainly many choices for all tastes. (btw: I was at Sat pm, and nobody was taking tic's....I was they had

 

This was fixed on Saturday. It was annoying on Friday to have it running down the middle. Saturday they added a few extra gates and it snaked around tight to the wall so it was a lot nicer.

 

That sounds better. Glad they fixed it.

 

So you're telling me all the beer is donated and all the workers are volunteers?

 

I volunteered for the Saturday afternoon session and out of 11 scheduled for my section we only had 6 show up. Stuff happens, it's just the nature of this kind of event.

 

It's a fundraising event for a lobbying group.

 

I worked both sessions on Saturday as well because they were so short handed. I didn't know about the Sunday thing either. Was it something that all the volunteers were supposed to be invited to?

 

It seems not all volunteers were invited which is not right. They expected 120 people at the post-FOBAB party on Sunday and less than 50 people showed up. Hence, beer to take home.

 

Please tell me there weren't extra bottles of Liquid Spiritual Delight given away . . .

 

I was pretty sure I had read about the Sunday party on social media and/or an email when they were doing their call for volunteers...and it is still there on FB - August 18 post: "Would you like to volunteer for ‪#‎FoBAB‬? Let us know! As a bonus this year, we will have a post-FoBAB party on Sunday, November 22nd for those who volunteer on the 19th and the 21st (late shift). The party will be hosted by Blue Nose Brewery and sponsored by KegCraft and Goose Island!" So looks like just specific shifts...or else they typed in the dates wrong...

 

I was a volunteer as well. They were short on staff long before that. A free ticket to another session should be enough to get a surplus of volunteers imo.

 

I was under the impression it was a party for those that were part of the set up and take down crews for working strange hours. Maybe I misunderstood

 

I also thought the party was for those who helped set up/take down.

Either way, I had a blast volunteering and attending, again. Yes, the festival is not perfect, but FOBAB is a privilege for us beer drinkers. To be able to dump an otherwise wonderful barrel aged beer so as to not become too drunk is to live like a king.

Did anybody see the guy in the middle of the floor, Saturday session 2, who had somehow procured a bomber? He was just drinking a bomber of something that he probably should not have. That was interesting.

 

Just realized I have 2 extra programs if anyone wants one or both. One is mint and the other has a little wear, but still pretty good. Let me know. Live in Lincoln Square and work in the Loop. Or I could mail out. Can also send one or both wristbands that were not cut.

 

They accepted anyone who wanted to volunteer at any session of their choice up until the last minute. I signed up to volunteer on Friday from the beginning and saw that I was assigned to Saturday, I politely let the lady who was coordinating the volunteers and she switched it immediately. Sure the updates were sparse and we didn't get a whole lot of info, but considering they are organizing hundreds of volunteers, I think they did awesome. I personally had a blast volunteering and found it to be more enjoyable than actually attending.

 

I'm glad it worked out for you, but it would have helped me and, I suspect, others if they announced it before tickets went on sale.

 

I'm with you. I registered to volunteer before tickets went on sale because I had a great time pouring last year, heard nothing. Purchased my ticket after reaching out again, still nothing. A few weeks later (beginning-mid September) I received an email that said "you'll be receiving an email with assignments next week," which never came. Finally, two weeks before the event they sent out another email saying the still needed help, but at that point other plans were made since it didn't appear they would need volunteers. I know they're busy trying to organize an event this size, but the communication this year was really poor.

 

As a first-time FOBABer and one who left Cleveland early Saturday morning and drove thru rain and heavy snow to get to the 1pm session on time, my expectations were surely met. FOBAB had long been on my bucket list of beer fests/beer events to get to, and after attending 4 Elf and EBF in this past year, I had a lot to anticipate. Thanks to @jmarsh123 for hooking me up!! My bro and i arrived to the 1pm session right at 1pm. I was shocked to see just how long the line was, and with the heavy wet snow falling, our place in line and the time it took to get into UIC Forum was insane...but worth it. After drying off and checking our coats, I immediately felt like a kid in a candy shop...or an adult in Binny's South Loop for the first time (which coincidently happened upon arrival to the Windy City prior to FOBAB).

Despite the program's order and the realization that the beer categories were in no particular order, I felt that it was completely fine to venture around aimlessly without a guide. This created a fun little puzzle and made it interestign to get to the next table and the next one only to find such great beers. I understand others saying a map would be useful but I think that would lend itself to Charlie Foxtrots at the more desirable, hunted beers tables (ie BA Abraxas if it had been there, blah blah blah). The flow of the space, was for the most part, accomodating however there were times when lines at such tables as Madagascar were a mess, especially since that beer was being poured right next to BA Hunter (i think...).

The anticipated GI lines were initially busy so we skipped them. However, towards the end of the session, we made our way back over and man, let me tell you...we destroyed both lines in rapid fire succession. One pour, back in line, next pour, back in line...repeat...repeat...repeat. Got to try Coffee, BW, Regal Rye, '15 Prop, Rare, Cascara, Vanilla Rye, and Real Nice Surprise all in about 15-20 minutes. Regal Rye, which was the variant I was most excited about was a letdown. Too sweet, didn't grasp what went into it. Not ISO now. Rare was solid but at the marketed price, it's another non-ISO. Coffee, as usual, was coffee forward and my favorite, while VR and '15 Prop were great to try as well.

Aside, from the GI stuff, there were many surprises, many of which have been mentioned throughout this thread. Tons of people were talking about Spiteful Malevolence Chocolate Caliente, and it did not disappoint. Better than Mexican Cake IMHO. Right next to that was No Rules. Awesome sauce. Other winners: Fremont B-BOMB, BBA Dark Star and Dark Star Coffee; Pipeworks The Jones Dog and The Abduction, Surly BA Darkness, Rhinegeist Sherry Ink, Trinity Red Swingline w/ Peaches & Apricots (award winner), and Bells BBA Expedition. On a side note, some random dude could not stop talking about this beer near the GI end called Hickory. Scratch Brewing Co. Single Tree Hickory was one of the single weirdest yet enjoyable beers I have ever tried. A sour with all parts of a hickory tree used in the brewing and fermentation process. Smoky, sour, woody, weird. Worth a try if you ever see it.

Overall, FOBAB should be on every beer lover's bucket list. At least all of those who love wood/barrel aged beers. This will not be my last FOBAB.