NC Rare & Vintage Beer Tasting

Bumping this thread. Weather looks perfect. Tap list looks delicious. I'm super psyched to host this in Durham this year. The old ballpark is walking distance from my place so no transportation worries. Looking forward to seeing BAs both old and new this afternoon. Let's do this!

 

Incredible list. Going for the first time this year, VIP....what beers do people see on that list that make them say "I'm making a beeline for that stand?"

 

These are what I'd target as far as beers that might go quickly:

• Bells BBA 30th
• Bond Brothers (though that's mostly because I haven't tried their stuff, so I'd be upset if I missed it)
• Haw River
• Natty Greene American Sour and Wooden Ladder Kriek (at every festival I've been to that they've been at, they've brought plenty of beer and haven't run out in VIP time, but they're also great sours and the word is getting out I think)
• OHB Flanders - this is the first time this beer is 'officially' hitting the outside world. Some of us have tried it around the brewery, but never in a 'public' setting
• WW Bless Her Heart - Never released, I've seen it for on-site at the Funkatorium maybe a couple times (one of which I got it). Really good beer.

I don't really see much on the list that I think will run out in VIP, though you really never can tell. So really VIP (to me) should be able hitting the breweries that'll have lines so you can hit them when there's less people around.

 

Trophy is hosting a few Night Shift Brewing tap takeovers this weekend at Maywood, State of Beer and Trophy Tap & Table.

 

Shh, dont tell anyone, I want all that Nightshift to myself.

 

Soooo.... for anyone that went, how was it?

 

Great as always. An absolute whirlwind of beers I'd never seen, just like every year. Love that they refuse to oversell it; even the most in demand beers never encompass more than a few minutes' wait.

 

Thought it was another solid performance for this festival, with a few missteps. Several breweries that previously were advertised weren't there, which I know always happens, but apparently one (Jackie O's) never had even agreed to come and asked to be removed. While I was bummed to miss The Answer and Jackie O's, there were more than enough incredible beers to make up for it, beginning with Destihl's Dos Vadanya.

Also, the food was not as advertised. In years past they had a food tent with plentiful options ... this year we were told food trucks were coming in and there would also be passed appetizers throughout the festival. Well, the food trucks charged money and the passed appetizers consisted of corn dog nuggets in a Miller Lite bucket. Someone who brought this up to the festival organizers was told that the food trucks were supposed to also make free food to be passed around but they got too busy with everyone ordering from them.

To top it off, prices this year were around $30 more than in the past and it seemed like around 100 more VIP tickets were sold (judging on the line). Again, I had a blast, there was some incredible rare beers there and I'll be going again next year but hopefully these issues are going to be addressed for future festivals.

PS to the organizers: You may want to look into security watching surrounding gates/fences, by my estimation about 25 or so ppl snuck in.

 

Good to hear things went (mostly) well. I've been to, I believe, 6 Pints for Prostates events now split between Asheville Funk (which is no longer a Pints for Prostates event) and Denver Rare Beer. I keep meaning to make it to the Raleigh event and just have never made it. Hopefully, they take the feedback about the food to heart and either make certain it's provided or that it's clarified in the promotional material.

 

Not as good as in years past + a lot more money= Not going back If they had announced ahead of time that food was not included this year and not pulled the bait and switch with breweries attending I could have possibly forgiven them. But that reply about the food trucks being too busy is complete weak sauce and I feel like a lot of the beers that were there would not be considered "Rare" by most either...