Tell Me About Jester King?

Bottles generally last a couple of weekends. They put out the bottle list at mid week showing all the stuff they have. If it is on that list, you will likely still get it Saturday night (hell, Atrial is going on 3-4 weeks right now even).

Waits? Depends. Saturday is the most crowded. And it is not like Hill Farmstead or any other place with waits. I usually go up, get a beer, and wait until there is no line for the bottles. It doesnt take long at all.

If you show up later on Saturday, there are likely to be no lines.

What weekend will you be in town for?

 

No matter when you go, they will have some amazing bottles. They are cranking out a new beer almost every weekend. Lines are almost nonexistent on Fridays and Sundays.

 

As @aschwab said, bottle offerings should last through the weekend, but if you're coming in on the very tail end of something might run out Friday night or Saturday afternoon. If you're worried about something running out, it might be easier to set up a trade for it.

Waits on Saturday afternoon usually go in waves and are longest for the to-go line and the indoor tap room. The outdoor tent will have a shorter line and sometimes something special on cask. The longest wait I've encountered was ~20 min, but normally it's 10-15. Fridays, Saturday evenings, and Sundays are much more relaxed and have little to no wait.

If you're interested in beers not on JK's menu, Stanley's next door has a few taps and bottles as well.

If getting there is a concern, I know some people here carpool down to JK and can be bribedpersuaded to give you a ride .

 

Jester King is a must stop, but don't forget about the rest. Freetail and The Granary in San Antonio are cool brewpubs. While you are in Texas be sure to grab some Live Oak at a bar (no bottles). Best German styles you will get made in the States. Not an opinion, fact

 

So I have learned. I will be at Hill Farmstead in two weeks but will be going on Wednesday at noon when they open.

I hope to avoid the lines...but I doubt it.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...huejhCSDZ5TllveFZsX0toTXc&usp=drive_web#gid=0

Maybe ^^^^ that will be useful to you (breweries on first tab, brewpubs on second tab). Should include all of the current breweries and hours in TX.

San Antonio to JK will probably take 1.25-1.5 hours to get to. I think Middleton Brewing will be open (again) by then, may be worth stopping by as well....if you take that route.

 

I was at HF just a week ago and I was thrilled to get through the line in just about 2 hours. Could have been a lot worse.

Jester King is an amazing experience and everyone should visit all the time.

 

What time/day did you go? I am not looking forward to this experience to be honest. Which sucks. I hate lines for beers.

 

I know you're in San Antonio but visit the sub Reddit /r/AustinBeer to get a layout of Austin and find what's going on around the town to maximize your time in our city. Find me for an Austin Beer Guide that will open up the city's beer establishments. Bring beer as there will be bottle shares somewhere (probably me) and if you'd like to extend your allotments through trading since most JK beers have limits.

 

I went on a Wednesday, got there around 12:45, was aiming to get there around noon. There weren't any releases announced for that day (there were two surprises though), but it was the beginning of the 4th of July weekend I suppose. The line went very quickly, really. It didn't feel like 2 hours. And you do get samples of growler stuff while in line. I'd get there earlier if you want a shorter line. And of course you can chat up the fellow beer nerds making their pilgrimage as well.

 

It does suck. Never go there on a Saturday or holiday. In fact, during the summer you'd better get there a half-hour before they open. The line never goes down so getting there later son't let the line subside.

 

Maybe I was just lucky, but I've done HF 3 times and only dealt with a line once. And even then, it was only about 30 minutes. The other 2 times were a Thursday and Friday at noon, with no special releases.

Oddly enough, one of the times I was up there was when the Jester King folks were visiting. It was the day before The Festival last year.

 

Bring some fresh Gandhi Bot and some other good NEBCO beers I'd be happy to swap you atrial/Nocturn and maybe some others that will likely be gone when you get there. IP in San Antonio

 

Ha...thanks for all the HF advice. I figure a Wednesday on a non-holiday weekend just when they open won't be horrible. I just plan on doing the bottle line. I do not think I can deal with getting growlers back.

 

If on tap at NEBCO I'll take a growler of Fuzzy Baby Ducks for another IP trade.

 

That's what I did for the BB Flora release. The bottle line only took us 30 mins, while the growler's line was out the door.

 

Not my image, but still amusing.