I am really, really pleased and proud of the effort and execution of the 11th Beer Expo. But I know we have some stuff to improve. Plus, these were my favorite beers.
We were talking to head of security at the stadium. I don’t know if this is all true but he said the liquor license for the event didn’t start until 5:00 so they couldn’t let people into the stadium until 5:00, even if they were not pouring. He said if they had a liquor license that started at 4:00 they could have started to let vip in at 4:30 but then waited until 5:00 to start serving.
I'm torn about the location - it had a lot going for it, especially parking (though, having to loop all the way around to get access to the lot was not intuitive. I could see this type of event just totally taking over Parcel 5 downtown, however. Of course, the problem there is controlling access to a big open space. However, having more space for lines to the breweries would definitely be helpful, and I feel like a parcel 5-like space would be conducive to that. I know there were several breweries that I ended up not sampling because the lines were really long and somewhat haphazard (i.e., I didn't want to inadvertently cut in front of someone.) But all in all, I thought it was a fantastic event, really great beers, and my group of friends who attended all seemed to have a great time. Great job!
Thank you for the feedback! I don’t think Parcel 5 is big enough for what we want to do, especially infrastructure wise. We’d have to rent a ton of porta potties and other stuff to make it work. But this is a lot to think about, for sure.
So I very much enjoyed the expo, though we did leave early once it became clear the right hand side was going to be a huge logjam and a mess.
That said, I don't think a baseball stadium as a great venue here. You're inherently limited on the width of the the concourse. The only places for someone to get out of the crowd are at either end of the arc. I think the expo would be much better served in some sort of park setting, at least, where yo could put tables in the middle. Circle the beer vendors in arcs on the left and right, have entry be at the bottom, and maybe put food trucks at the top.
We were talking to head of security at the stadium. I don’t know if this is all true but he said the liquor license for the event didn’t start until 5:00 so they couldn’t let people into the stadium until 5:00, even if they were not pouring. He said if they had a liquor license that started at 4:00 they could have started to let vip in at 4:30 but then waited until 5:00 to start serving.
If true, this is great feedback. Thanks for the intel. Definitely something to explore.
I'm torn about the location - it had a lot going for it, especially parking (though, having to loop all the way around to get access to the lot was not intuitive. I could see this type of event just totally taking over Parcel 5 downtown, however. Of course, the problem there is controlling access to a big open space. However, having more space for lines to the breweries would definitely be helpful, and I feel like a parcel 5-like space would be conducive to that. I know there were several breweries that I ended up not sampling because the lines were really long and somewhat haphazard (i.e., I didn't want to inadvertently cut in front of someone.) But all in all, I thought it was a fantastic event, really great beers, and my group of friends who attended all seemed to have a great time. Great job!
Thank you for the feedback! I don’t think Parcel 5 is big enough for what we want to do, especially infrastructure wise. We’d have to rent a ton of porta potties and other stuff to make it work. But this is a lot to think about, for sure.
So I very much enjoyed the expo, though we did leave early once it became clear the right hand side was going to be a huge logjam and a mess.
That said, I don't think a baseball stadium as a great venue here. You're inherently limited on the width of the the concourse. The only places for someone to get out of the crowd are at either end of the arc. I think the expo would be much better served in some sort of park setting, at least, where yo could put tables in the middle. Circle the beer vendors in arcs on the left and right, have entry be at the bottom, and maybe put food trucks at the top.
I really appreciate the critiques, thank you. We definitely have a lot to consider!
Gonna try to make it next year.
You better. And you’ve got a place to stay, if you do.