Zwanze Day @ WLV

Surprise draft beer of the day for me: El Cedro from Jester King

 

I had a great time this year with similar complaints as I did last year but improved nonetheless. Communication was again lacking imo - many people I heard talking were confused about what the ticket price included and some didn't know to check both spots or tapping times. Hell, the Classic Gueuze was almost forgotten!

I thought that the issuance of tickets for the bottle sale was an improvement over last year, but it sounds like there were still significant flaws. I tried to snag a bottle early on before they forced a line to form and people were cutting in front of others to grab into the boxes brought up from downstairs. By the end of the day I got into a line and waited 30 min to watch the last of the Cantillon go a couple people in front of me. Most everything left was sitting on shelves around Chicago or Columbus that I'd seen recently. I was still happy to walk away with a bottle of 3F Oude Gueuze.

The whole thing with the bottles is a headache, and while I and others understandably feel a tad disappointed, that wasn't why I attended Zwanze Day in the first place and knew going in that there wasn't enough Cantillon bottles to satisfy everyone. I would like to at minimum see a limit of 1 Cantillon bottle per person or something though. Frankly a lottery or on-site consumption change would be ideal imo.

All that said, things were as smooth or smoother than last year and the beer was fantastic. If you went in knowing that Zwanze wasn't going to be a lambic/pure sour, I think you ought to have enjoyed it. I felt it was one of the more nuanced beers of the day and happily went back for several extra pours of it. The Grand Cru was amazing and between the 2 worth the extra $10. I'm also happy I kept asking about the Classic because no one was left when it tapped and I got 3-4 full pours and could have had more if I was willing to drink it faster.

I actually felt it was less crowded than last year and/or ought to have appreciated the line keeping that was going on more than I was at the time.

 

There were a lot more people than 250 throughout the day.

 

yeah I hope removing the bottle sale would be great idea and hope Kristina agrees, maybe doing a raffle for a couple if nice bottle would work... I think removing it would open up the deli side to allow more people to hang out and drink and not be crowded with people standing in line waiting for something that "might" come up from the basement

 

If "nothing respectable on tap" includes Off Color Blueberry Berliner, Side Project Saison du Fermier, 3 different Cantillon drafts, hoppy beer from Pipeworks, couple rare Jester King beers, Blackberry Albert, little-known European sours that were really nice, and a Perennial Zwaze Day only-keg (plus many more), I don't know what would have made you happy. This does not include anything that was on-tap at the shop. Your comment alone leads me to believe you're doing the whole "beer thing" very wrong.

 

First and foremost I'd like to thank Kristina and WLV for hosting a great event. Were there a few hiccups sure, but I'd say 90% of Zwanze day was great! If you didn't have a good time you were doing it wrong.

A few negatives
- Line forming 7:30/8ish and growing with people under the assumption that doors would open around 10, but didn't actually open until about 11:30 (probably our fault for assuming it would be 10) caused some disgruntled beer geeks.
- Bottle sales - as mentioned above the tickets were a better solution than previous years but doing away completely or going with Sean's suggestion of on-site consumption only. I personally didn't care (I gave my tickets to the first person who would take them) because I was too busy enjoying the beers on tap and bottles shared.
- 1 in 1 out @ the pub. The critical mass of people occurred between 1-4pm when Zwanze & Iris were tapped, which led to those outside the pub having to wait over an hour to get into the pub around 2pm.

Positives:
- Everything else.
- Nice variety of taps. There was something for everyone. I talked to a couple non-sour lovers who loved the taps too.
- Bottles shared (personal highlights: Cali brandy Huna, Soleil de Minuit, 07 Iris, SR#3, BA Kopi Luwak Speedway, BB Solar Eclipse, 02 Bruocsella, growler of Bourbon County Barleywine, S&S4)
- The majority of people. It was great to drink with most of you, there were a few entitled people and random tickers just shoving their glass in your face trying to get a pour of whatever bottle you were sharing, then immediately take it back to their friends to show off like a Pokemon card. Next time try saying thank you (It wasn't my bottles, I wouldn't let that fly). Everyone else was super friendly, courteous, and well behaved.
- Kristina's hospitality. There were tons of snacks (sandwiches, meats & cheese plates, chips, pretzels) for us to nosh on throughout the day. PLUS for those unfortunate people like myself who had to wait about an hour to get back into the pub before Zwanze was poured they brought out pretzels and chocolates to keep us sedated.

 

I echo the bad taplist, did it feature even one barrel aged beer, I mean come on. I only drink beer from barrels and that quad was only fermented inside one so no thanks perennial. If the event doesn't feature 20 different barrel aged stouts or sours, event=fail. #FOBAB4LIFE

Who wants to drink from weird/rare Italian breweries I've never had or collaborative one offs that explode the mind with complexity, I want more barrel aged stouts?

In all seriousness, what else did you want from that taplist? It was pretty similar to the taplists they've had ever year at this event. I mean last year they have fou but you weren't guaranteed any and half the folks missed it, this year she/they guaranteed you a tasting of iris grand.

How does a liquid that lessons inhibitions and enhances evenings make so many people angry? Ride the happy bus and leave the sad bus behind.

 

Go on...

 

I thought the event was well run and I met a lot of cool people. The bottle share was awesome, met some new friends, happened to be walking by the counter as good bottles got released and tried some great beers on tap.

 

Saison du Fermier alone made the draft list outstanding.

 

I was the dude from Seattle at the bottle share in the back of WLV. Coming from Seattle, this was my first Zwanze day (though, ironically, this was also the first year Zwanze day was in Seattle), and I had a fantastic time at WLV! The biggest highlight for me was the people there. Seriously, I couldn't turn around without finding another friendly face. It was great meeting everyone I did -- Leo, Irada, Kevinb, Groupon, Dane, the guys from Madison, and everyone else I met that I can't recall in the haze -- you were all awesome!

I think the next biggest highlight was definitely the bottle share. I was blown away by everyone's generosity. I showed up with the most special beer I could muster without being able to check any bags on the trip out, and was offered incredible samples in return. Every time I thought it might wind down or couldn't get any better, someone would show up with something else rad. Hell, there was even Hill Farmstead in the line to get into the pub! You guys were amazing!

I hope this wasn't me -- a few times I would get a pour and step back from the crowd to share it with someone (which was possible since the pours were almost all very generous!), so that two or three of us could try a beer from a single pour and leave more of a small bottle for everyone else. I tried to thank everyone for every pour, but it might have gotten lost in the ruckus. In any event, thanks again to everyone who gave me a pour, they were all greatly appreciated!

I saw this as well, and it was pretty bad. I hope it was just a misunderstanding of some sort, as all my other experiences with the staff were very positive, and everyone else has had nothing but praise for him. As a positive example, earlier in the day, I'd gone up to the bar to get a pour of one of the beers on tap only to have the bartender go "How about some Splinter Gold!?" and produce that bottle and fill my glass with my first taste of any of the Splinter beers!

I'd like to add my voice to the chorus of support for this idea. While I did get a bottle of '13 Behemoth (which is pretty rad for a guy from Seattle), it seems like just opening them as bottle shares or selling them for on-site would have been a lot better.

I heard about this when I got back to Seattle. That's nuts.

Anyway, I'd like to give a bit shoutout to WLV for the great event and a huge thanks to everyone for being so generous and making my first Zwanze Day so awesome! I'm seriously considering flying out next year even if there's a Zwanze Day event in Seattle again.

 

Reported. You're totally gonna kill our reputation.

 

That would be rad, you got a place to crash if you do. Hopefully my living room will be a bit more welcoming by then.

 

I thought the bottle share was amazing (serious cheers to the guy who busted out the Vanilla Brandy DL!), but the beers available with the glass were lacking overall given the scale of the event. Do not get me wrong, there were a few nice taps (peche mortel, australian summer ninja), but the lack of loons to drink outside the couple that a few bottle sharers brought was a bit disappointing for a cantillon-centric event. I would have rather paid $20 for the glass and participate in the bottle share only based on what was available and what it cost. You could have certainly drank your moneys worth for $50, though. Was glad to be able to get a St. Gilloise for purchase and later consumption that night.

 

You call that a highlight?

 

To those who sampled it; how'd the BCS Barleywine compare to King Henry? Pretty close, or a totally different beast?

 

sweet.

 

Yeah that Bourbon County Barleywine was really good... A highlight of the day for sure...

 

Yeah, I also thought the bottle share was great. It was also really awesome to try the Brandy Vanilla Dark Lord, LPF '09, LPF '10, and mid-2000's Iris, but to be honest the taps were lacking. How old is that keg of Tart Lychee from last year? Not to mention the Side Project Saison tapped in what 45 minutes? Also, I feel really bad for all those people that forked over 28 Euros for Blackberry Albert on etre, that beer was terrible.

Finally, this really isn't the appropriate venue for Zwanze, it really needs a bigger space with pre-sold tickets. There's really no reason to have people wait in line for 2-3 hours to get a glass and then try to elbow your way into a bottle shop or shoebox sized bar for a 2oz pour of beer. I know Kristina does her best to make this a great event, but I'd love to see Revolution throw this party at their brewing facility or brewpub.

 

Sure more space would be welcome and waiting that long for anything is a drag, but the amount of Zwanze allocated to each location couldn't support more people anyway - I mean even with 2oz pours it was still only enough for a few hundred. Then there's the fact that Jean van Roy hand picks the locations based, I'm assuming, largely upon his personal relationships with the venue owners, etc... so yeah - its going to continue taking place at West Lakeview for a while if you ask me... and I am totally fine with that