HopHead Throwdown (2015)

Ha!

 

It's on draught. And I've never been to a bar/restaurant that doesn't open the can before serving it.

 

That's all well and good, but in the case of the line I posted above at Lord Hobo, most of those people waiting in line were never getting in. It's not like a ride at an amusement park, where you'll eventually get to go on it.

If you're not one of the first 100 - 200 people, you actually may not get in, and have wasted hours waiting for nothing.

 

Tickets would be a strange model for this. You show up and pay as you go. You'd have to somehow guarantee everyone orders a specific amount of food/beer or work that into the price to the ticket to cover if they don't. And it would have to be split into sessions to rotate crowds. Sounds like a beer festival and that's not what the hophead throwdown is about IMO

 

You wouldn't necessarily have to "sell" tickets. You could make them free but only the first 100 are guaranteed entry, then if you show up after the fact without a ticket you can get in after people leave. This way if you miss out on the tickets you can still get some beer, just not the highlighted beers as they might have kicked.

 

What the hophead throwdown was originally about was a small group of BAs getting together to enjoy scathingly hoppy/bitter beers (back when this wasn't universally appreciated). Today, things are much different.

And I don't see how this would be a strange model at all. CBC splits their pumpkin festival up into three sessions, and operates perfectly fine both as a restaurant and a bar (with three bars set up) and a pay-as-you-go set-up that works wonderfully. You buy an initial ticket, get what beers you want, and stay for that session if you like. Or you can grab a table and eat. No huge lines.

Not to mention, people could pay for quarter, half, or full pours. And the beers could be allocated throughout the sessions.
One event caters to IPAs from all around region, while the other caters to pumpkin beer from all around the region. Otherwise, they're very similar.

 

You'd only have to sell $15 for the cover online, that way the ppl who buy them are promised entry. From there, it's on the customer to buy food/beer.

 

No, see you are proving my statement by using the pumpkin fest as an example...its split into sessions now. I don't think PH gets a particularly high amount of all the rare beers to spread it equally through these hypothetical sessions and also offer full pours for everyone. It's easy to get a lot of pumpkin beers. Especially when you are brewing half of them

 

This idea is still flimsy. Say 75 of those 100 people show up. You got 25 people waiting outside that could be crushing rare beers left and right with the other 75 but instead they will probably miss out on something waiting for the ticket holders to show up.

If you did a time limit, say 20 mins after they open then anyone can come in, you'll still have some ticket holders that show up five minutes late, end up having to stand in line and come in here to say "Fuck PHouse"

 

I hope this is packed the fuck out with a long line to get in... it is for charity.

It seems like we all have lost the whole point of this event and that David & his staff are putting on this awesome event in hopes to raise a ton of cash for MS.

 

I agree it would take some tweaking....but all they would have to do is let ticketed folks in first and then let anyone in until they reached capacity. Then as people leave more people can enter.

 

Exactly. I'd pay $15 for the opportunity to try some of these beers and know I wouldn't have to wait in line.

It was always split into sessions, the sessions part is less relevant anyways. The only change was they moved to a ticketed event so people wouldn't wait in line for hours to MAYBE get in.

Which is what a ticketed event would avoid. I understand where you're coming from, I just feel tickets are the lesser of two evils.

 

Moderators, Brothers....Can we tag this as post of the year? You really can't top that comment. It's so god damn true and on the mark for 2015

 

Dat hidden gem tho...8am here we come!

 

Ha, thank you! I was pretty pleased with myself for this. I was thinking of how I was reading "FT: Apricot Stonington" threads while drinking mine just a few hours after waiting in line for it.

 

Wow, imagine drinking an entire pint of Habanero Sculpin!!!

 

Not a chance

 

CBC Pumpkinfest wasn't split into sessions or ticketed until 2 years ago. Before that it was first come and you paid an entrance fee at the door. I preferred it back then because I would show up 45 minutes early and could stay as long as I wanted and who cares if the noobs who just showed up looking for a costume party didn't get in. The 3 hour sessions aren't long enough IMO.

 

As if I wasn't already using both hands to rub one out over this...Now I'll have to see if I'm flexible enough to get my foot involved...

 

Ah you are correct. Sorry about that.

The year before it went ticketed I got in just fine, only waited about a half hour to get in at 1 pm (or whenever it started, maybe noon), and was able to get a table. Obviously just my opinion, but I still prefer the last two years ticketed. I also go to the 3rd session, which is 8 pm to 12 am (and they usually serve until 12:30 am I believe), so I get four hours of drinking .