Snallygaster 2014

I had a great time. The worst part of the day: rain.

 

I had a great time also. Metro took for ever so I didn't get there till 11am. But was probably 50-100 people back in line. Barely had to wait to get ID'ed and no line to buy extra tickets. I think Fou Foune, Chocolate Rain and BB Abraxas were the only beers that sold out in the first 30 minutes. You basically had to choose one of the three and get in line immediatley. Got in line right away for Fou Foune and got one. One of my friends got in line for Abraxas so I got to try a sip of that. The Fou Foune line was the only long line I had to wait in all day. I ate a couple times and had little to no wait. Did have to wait for the bathroom later in the day but nothing to bad. By the time things got really crowded I had tried more than enough beers and even then I could still find beers with little to no line. Only down sides were the heavy rain and the total cost of the day. Including the vip ticket I dropped about $150 but that is what I was expecting going into it. Overall I had a better time than expected and would go again next year.

 

I knew there would be lines for the bruery, perennial, and cantillon, but i didn't have to wait in line for a single other beer. Even without the top ten beers there, it would have still been the best festival i've ever been to by far.

 

My strategy: Go through the list and choose beer beforehand; group by individual stand/brewer/abv then by number of tickets required. Stick to Taster pours (6 Ticket Limit), drink lotsa water and leave when tickets (75 Total) are gone. Yeah, I miss a lot of good stuff, but do get an opportunity to try some new ones from Firestone Walker, etc.

It was a decent event that was made overwhelming by the sheer choice of beer. Greg is serious.

 

I thought the event was run much better than expected. Aside from the whales previously mentioned, I thought the Hardywood/Cigar City Mega Stout was great. Not as good as BA Abraxas, but less fatiguing.

 

This was my first time going to this event and I thought it was awesome. The VIP was totally worth it; however, it totally helped to have friends who helped pick stuff up. I stood in line for fou foune and got ba abraxas and ba sump handed to me while I was standing there. We did so much sharing of everything in the end I was just picking up random stuff because I had some tickets still. I only bought $60 extra over the 25 I got with the package.

 

There were definitely a lot more people out for the VIP session this year but it looked like everything ran fairly smoothly. Really the only downside was the afternoon rain. Didn't see too many drunk people either but I also did not stay until the end.

 

Some troopers out there

 

Loved the Mega Stout. The Hardywood owner was there and I talked to him a bit, was super cool. Glad to give my business to a great brewery knowing it's run by nice people.

I couldn't justify to myself the extra $20 just for early entry. Missed out on some good beers but there was SO MUCH good stuff there.

Only downside was the weather, and even more annoying than the rain itself were all of the umbrellas being waved around...

 

I realize that my earlier post may be taken out of context, I really enjoyed the festival, incredible beers and it was generally well organized. The rain was just too much to handle though, even after it stopped i was soaked to the bone. If not for the rain though it would have been a great event. I'll be hoping for better weather next year.

My favorite beers were BA Blackout Stout, Green Flash Seranno Stout, and Hardywood Gingerbread Stout. I've had GBS a couple times before from a bottle, and I thought it was great then, but it was even better fresh from the tap.