Naperville Ale Fest

Yeah I was not looking for an ROI, but more of an enjoyable experience. I am not really concerned about the money. But if I am going to make plans and have someone watch the kids, etc then I expect it to be run well and not like a bunch of kids putting together a lemonade stand.

 

Were u able to go? If so what did u think? My wife felt the same way I did.

 

Yes, I went. Could've been ran better, noooooo doubt. Hopefully they will straighten things out for next time. I feel bad for the lame VIP experience. How were you to know. 2112? Possible RUSH fan, like myself???

 

Yes huge rush fan. Nice catch. I went to the concer a few weeks back and have been to about 20 of them over the years.

 

Saw my 80th show in Milwaukee. That's my kind if ROI! 8^)

 

Wait, so you asked for a refund on the way in? Like "Hi I'm here and I haven't walked in yet but I'm already so unsatisfied that I want my money back." Maybe I'm reading that wrong? I can't imagine that happening.

I was one of the non-VIP regular folks and I felt pretty swell about the whole thing. Only hiccups we experienced:
- Beer list said DFH would be bringing Festina Peche and we wanted to give it a try. Didn't see it listed when I got to their tent.
- My wife was excited to try Metropolitan Arc Welder and the guy said he never got it at the regular tent - that it was maybe VIP only?
- Water started to get harder to find by the end of the day. Lots of empty jugs.

Otherwise we didn't have many issues. Never waited in a line more than 5 minutes, we stayed almost the whole time, and we didn't just visit the unknowns (wait for things like Pipeworks, Half Acre was almost nonexistent). Wasn't too crowded at any point (yeah had to walk through/past people but I expected that going in). Volunteers were nice and pours were mega generous (we guessed that we averaged 4-6 ounces). Even got a "free one" when Metropolitan didn't have Arc Welder. What little food we sought out was decent.

Glad we didn't go VIP, though. Looks like it wasn't worth the extra $$$. Also glad I didn't waste a lot of time chasing the crazy rarities.

 

No we asked for a refund after walking around for a bit and finding out about all these issues. It just was not right. Bait and switch.

 

It seems like people were expecting a festival for beer advocates and not a festival put on by a town to raise money for some cause. Barington BrewFest is the same way, as was the brew fest at soldier filed and pretty much every other non-brewery fest i've been too. 90% of the people that go to these things go to just drink a bunch of random beers with friends and get hammered. If you want to pop whales with knowledgable people and eat awesome food, schedule a bottleshare at your house (or an awesome local restaurant) with people who know will enjoy it or only go to brewery sponsored events (beer dinners at local restaurants put on by breweries, for example)

 

My wife and I had a great time. I went knowing that it's their first time running and that there will be some minor hiccups along the way. We met up with some family members that did purchase VIP tickets that were a little disappointed but they too didn't let that ruin an otherwise fun event. I'm looking forward to next year's event.

 

I had fun!

And goose was definitely set up within the first hr. They were hard to spot, but I surely enjoyed a bcbs at about 1230

 

We asked 6 event employees one of which was one of the main organizers and they could not even find goose for the first hour. Also they did not tap bcbscs at 3:30 and softie paradisi did not make the trip either. Also it's funny how my comments to their Facebook page disappeared and I can't make any comments. Guess they got their feelings hurt and can't accept criticsm. Truth hurts I guess!

 

Man, I had three healthy pours of BCBCS from 3:30 to 5 or so...

 

Where? Another BA said he asked at the VIP tent and they had no idea. Again, poor communication between employees.

 

Yeah the timed stuff seemed hard to find but they all came out except for paradisi from what I saw. The bcbcs was in the VIP area. No lines. Just a group of about 10 of us knocking it down

 

Good to hear they did wind up tapping the BCBCS. I asked about it at 3:30, and the VIP tent guy said he had no idea, and he pointed to his kegs and said he didn't have anything resembling BCBCS. Sounds like I probably missed out by just a few minutes, while your patience was rewarded. Ah well. Glad someone was able to enjoy it, and it sounds like the 10 of you did your best to make sure none was wasted.

 

Come to my house in the next few weeks and we will break out all sorts of cool shit!! BM me again.

 

Got there a bit before they opened the gates for non vip...not alot of whales..but who cares..good beer..short lines..nice venue..had a great time..one of our group had vip and wasn't impressed with the selections in the vip area. Great time for a first time beer fest..

 

which ones?

 

Which brew pubs? Most I've been too like two bros, rock bottom, etc.

 

rock bottom has 5 oz pours, as do most of the breweries in chicago. And Rock Bottom has most of theirs for a dollar IIRC. Most places aren't selling samples for 3.00 a 3 oz unless it is a specialty. Even bars such as Green Lady have samplers of 4 5 ozers for 12$.