I noticed this upcoming event in town: http://www.pinnaclebankarena.com/tickets/event/2014/05/03/2014-capital-city-beerfest Does anyone have any info on what brewers will be attending and what they may be pouring? Seems to be poor execution to only last 3 hours and to be planned the day before the Lincoln Marathon.
There was some discussion of this on the Lincoln Lager's Facebook page. Look at that. Most were in agreement with your analysis. They announced it before the Zipline or Nebraska Brewing Company staff were even aware that it was going to be held.
I e-mailed and received a response from the organizer stating that the list(s) will be posted online sometime this week.
It appears the event listing has been updated with the following: Upon entry, all patrons will receive a program that lists available beer and vendors. Please note that all breweries and beers listed are subject to change.
I thought that the organization was terrible. No direction as to where lines formed or, where the lines were going. Beer stations with as many as 6 to 10 different beers to try with only 2 people (when one wasn't gone, for what ever reason), to serve and explain what each beer was. No back help for the 2 individuals serving, and or, explaining what they were serving. I watched several servers taking time away from serving patrons trying to pack their beer in ice trying to ensure that there was a cold sample for the paid customers to enjoy. Overall, I think that this beer fest was a complete cluster f***. The only informative bit I took away from this night was the introduction to one of Omaha's vodka distillers. I just have to remember the name. It won't be very difficult to figure the name out.
I can second this opinion. I first thought Founders and North Coast didn't show, because they weren't located where they were supposed to be on the map. I then realized they were shoved into the corner with the other widely popular breweries. Lucky for me I'm not claustrophobic. I also wasn't keen on having to backtrack the entire perimeter of the arena in order to get back around due to the VIP section being in the way. It was also very apparent that a majority of the tasters hadn't been to a beerfest before. They'd wait in line for the 5-10 minutes and then stand at the table tasting every beer the brewery brought while striking up a conversation with whoever was behind the table. PLEASE, take one drink and move to the side for a conversation. Also, the stage and seating area should have been switched with brewery tables from above. Or at the very least move it to the corner facing the beer tables. That was the elephant in the room. I kept trying to remind myself that this wasn't the Great American Beerfest (multi-year participant and previous volunteer myself) and that they need to work out the kinks. Pinnacle Bank Arena isn't the best venue for this function. Or at least it wasn't set up the most efficient. Overall, for $20 it was about what I expected. I stayed for an hour and tasted 4-5 beers I hadn't had before. Will I go next year? Highly unlikely.
