Maine Dinner Release

Amen. Last release I had an 8am ticket, got there around 7:15am, found a spot at the park-and-ride and was back on 295 by 7:30. Last line release I got there pre-dawn, parked a half-mile away, froze my ass off for hours, nearly tripped and dropped my case while walking back to my car and was quite miserable.

I'm fine with the ticketing system.

 

OK, so, now having experienced both the pre-ticketing and ticketing Dinner releases, I will take ticketing every single time.

I had a 10am ticket, got up there right about 10, parked, walked in, checked off my name, bought a case of Dinner, got in the car, and was out in 5 minutes.

Really, who wouldn't prefer a 5 minute experience to a multi-hour predawn affair? I'd pick missing out on the releases where I can't get a ticket over the old way every single time.

Great experience.

Also, unrelated, Bissell doing cans only from 11-12 on Saturdays is very smart. Big props to them for that decision.

 

might actually go for that. haven't had dinner yet.

Not sure if it's the right thread, but does anyone know if the Maine series Hop Program is still brewed ever? I don't see any of the hop program beers listed on their site. Beer III (black IPA) is one my favorite beers ever and was hoping we'd see it again.

 

I have not done a Dinner release since they started ticketing but am going to try for this one. Question, does one try to get tickets straight from the Xorbia website or at 12:30 link to it from the MBC site? I have surfed around Xorbia and don't see any signs of a Dinner release date or tickets...Thanks for any info.

 

believe they post the link at noon; don't worry, it will be clear

 

On sale! Got 9am!

 

got my ticket. How much of a shitshow is it with the ticketed releases now?

 

Not at all. Show up at scheduled time, walk in and grab your case. Took no more than 5 minutes last time.

 

So easy it's almost criminal. You'll be in and out in like 3 minutes.

 

Sweet. Only thing that could prevent the 3hr trek is snow. I also just remembered I'm supposed to be in New Haven that afternoon, but it's a pre-holiday get-together and at least a couple of them will appreciate sharing some Dinner.

 

Make sure you swing by Bissell Bros, Allagash, Foundation, Austin Street and Battery Steele (all in Portland, all but Bissell in walking distance of each other) while you're up.

 

MBC said 1300 people were trying to get 600 tickets at 12:30 but I still got one. Just in time for the holidays too. Can't believe people on FB are actually advocating for going back to lines. Lines used to be a shitshow years ago and the beer scene is only getting more and more popular. They obviously haven't been to TH recently...

 

I've been to Portland, so I've hit some of those. Won't be able to stop at all of those but since I didn't hit Allagash and Foundation last time, maybe those will be on the list. I didn't hit Battery Steele, either, but found some Kineo (I think) in a store on the drive home. It was arguably the best beer I had from that trip.

 

What time do people usually park / line up at Bissell? Is there a "how-to" guide or specific directions / instructions I need to know?

I checked the BB thread but could only find that there were two lines (front and back) for Swish releases.

Guessing a lighter crowd since it's a Reciprocal release???

 

My first time trying for tickets. In the past the pick up day or the ticket buying time never worked out for me, so happy to get a ticket for sure. I can understand those that want lines, as it means those willing to put in the time get the beer, rather than those that are able to be on the computer at the right time and are one of the 50% who get lucky enough to hit tickets at the 12:30 mark. I had a good time back in the line days, hanging out with a buddy and playing cribbage, but...I am all set with that now. With so much good beer around if I did not get a ticket I would have been just fine. Maybe would have made the drive for some pours and to hit other place in Portland with also excellent beer to take home. These days you really can't lose, if you miss one special release someplace there is bound to be another at a brewery in the near future.

 

Yeah the novelty of the lines wore off after the first few trips. And you’re right, while I love Dinner, I’d just assume wait less time for the cheaper and nearly as good Swish. Or not wait at all for other good stuff. I have yet to miss on the tickets but like you said, if I didn’t get one, I wouldn’t have minded.

 

I would like to get ahold of some Swish but the lines there seem just as bad. I have not followed all that closely but seems like people have to line up at least an hour or two early to acquire a 12 pack. For me, the travel to Portland is the same as a trip to Boston and so far I have opted to just hit Trillium, where I can walk in and out with as much beer as I want. I will probably do one Swish release at some point as I have a buddy who loves it so will go wait with him, but we will see.

 

Swish really isn't that bad, maybe an hour and a half or so at the worst during the first couple of releases of the season. This Wednesday the wait was already down to about 15 minutes, and although it may still be higher on weekends, you can easily come up and grab some later this winter with relative ease, especially as it gets colder.

 

The Swish lines are not nearly as bad as former Dinner releases. When you arrive 4 hours early and are nearly the 600th person in line, that's bad. For Swish you can wait an hour and get cans. Last year I got it without waiting at all. It would definitely be nice if they had a Trillium-like setup with cases of beer available but Bissell is not too crazy as of yet.