BNA 8 Critique

[Ozwald]

Eeh...u gotta speak up!

No it's not, it's Tuesday.

Just for the recond I'ma semi-young fart. 36

32 in a couple weeks. I ain't scared though. The vast majority of my friends are in their 40's & 50's, and the remainder consist of more above that than below. And the way I work/live I'm 31 going on 58. I swear 68 on some days.

[breslinp]

I think there were some issues with the event, but you had the BN guys coming into a city they've never been and running an event at a venue they have never been to. With that info, I think it was a decent event. Could their be improvements? Sure. But the event wasn't terrible. At most beer events the issues are lines getting in and getting beer, and I had neither of those issues here. It wasn't loud upstairs. Downstairs was only loud during Trophy Fire and those kids, but it's a rock venue so it's tolerable.

The beer list on the "VIP" mezzanine was a little weird. Not a VIP list (just regular beers) and that space would have been nice to thin the non-VIP floor out a bit. My only thought is the VIP ticket included a special section so they were required to provide that, and there were taps on that level; thus, general admission got unintentionally screwed. Some of those beers made it the floor later in the night.
Having bars right in front of the stage also made little sense, but I've been at beer events at WCL before and that where the WCL puts them.

It was a decent event. Not perfect. But I didn't expect perfection.

[brewindruid]

In all seriousness, you will never hear me complain about what the guys do or don't do. The amount of effort they put in to every aspect of what is the BN, I am sure, far out wieghs what they get in return, other than satisfaction.
I think they do what they can to the best of their ability, and they do it damn well!

So Maybe I don't care for loud tunes, or too dense a crowd, but that's just me, and last I checked the world doesn't revolve around me! Just Say'n

Thank You BN
Cheers
Scott

[BrewTa2]

Places I hate loud music: beer festivals, tastings, beer bars, pubs, restaurants, bistros, diners, funerals, airplanes, whorehouses, museums, opium dens and parties. Basically anyplace where quiet or conversation is expected.

Places I like, or at least don't mind, loud music: concerts, music bars, strip clubs, music festivals, raves, dances, and parties.

This was my 6th BNA Party and every one has been billed as a kick-ass party with rock bands and great beer. All 6 have delivered as billed. All 6 have had areas where one could escape the music and talk without yelling. All 6 have had logistical problems. All 6 have had improvements from prior years. All 6 have been great experiences that I'll never forget shared with people that I'll never forget.

Things that would improve everyone's experience at BNAs or similar events:
Don't talk while the band is playing, it's rude to the band and the person can't hear you anyway. Exceptions are short ejaculations such as: Awesome, Nice, Woohoo, Groovy, Boss, Rad, Suck it Schuman, and Yeah!
If possible order by pointing to a list or holding up fingers if the beers are numbered.
Order fast, get your beer and move the fuck away from the bar (I can dream)!
If the beer is free and you think there's something amiss, don't discuss it with the server - just pour it out. If it's bad enough, find a supervisor.
If you are miserable, chances are you'll want to find people that agree with you. Misery does indeed love company, so leave.
If you have a idea that can improve future events, email the appropriate person.

See ya'll at BNA9,
Tat

[spiderwrangler]

Exceptions are short ejaculations such as:

Gahrg!

[Guido]

I think there were some issues with the event, but you had the BN guys coming into a city they've never been and running an event at a venue they have never been to. With that info, I think it was a decent event. Could their be improvements? Sure. But the event wasn't terrible. At most beer events the issues are lines getting in and getting beer, and I had neither of those issues here. It wasn't loud upstairs. Downstairs was only loud during Trophy Fire and those kids, but it's a rock venue so it's tolerable.

The beer list on the "VIP" mezzanine was a little weird. Not a VIP list (just regular beers) and that space would have been nice to thin the non-VIP floor out a bit. My only thought is the VIP ticket included a special section so they were required to provide that, and there were taps on that level; thus, general admission got unintentionally screwed. Some of those beers made it the floor later in the night.
Having bars right in front of the stage also made little sense, but I've been at beer events at WCL before and that where the WCL puts them.

It was a decent event. Not perfect. But I didn't expect perfection.

Like I said, we adapted to the conditions.

[CRBrewHound]

I have been to BN5 (VIP), 6, and now 8 (VIP).

Personally, I think there were improvements from previous years and some changes I could have lived without.

The dinner was an excellent touch, BN5 we did the VIP and it was brats, this was a big improvement.

The thing that I thought was better about BN5 was pouring your own beer and the trailers with taps on each side well apart. It really reduced the waiting lines and made it easy to try all the beers. This could be a legal issue, so they may not have control over that.

I personally liked BN5 and 6 venues better (Northern Brewer & then White Labs), they were wide open spaces, NO STAIRS, and did not feel so packed with people, not nearly as hot.

I agree somewhat with the music issue, I would say loud music is fine, I even like it myself in the right setting. But keep it away from where the beer is being poured or pour identicals in two locations one away from the music and one right by it. There were times I wanted to talk to people I ran into that I had not seen since previous years and could not hardly speak with them because we were waiting in line and it was really loud. Being the first night this is a common occurance and you want to chat with those people some and be able to catch up. The school of rock kids were really good by the way, good job on them. They were really great and their music selection was awesom.

Though I would like to take my hats of to the BN crew for putting the event together for us. I am sure it was a lot of hard work and we all thank you for hosting us (bunch of damn drunk BN'ers that we are). As stated trying to organize a party in a different state all the way across the country cannot be an easy task. Please take this as our personal opinions of changes we would personally like to see. Everyone has different tastes and you won't ever please everyone. This was not my favorite BN Party of the 3 I have attended, but it is a memory well worth the money I paid for it. The BN Party is always one of my favorite events of the conference.

Prost!
Jeremy Orchuk
CRBrewHound

[Skibbereen]

This was my first BNA, and I absolutely loved it! We didn't have VIP tickets but showed up a little early (6:15... I do what I want! ) and they let us in and we hung out at the bar, and got to talk to Ben Franklin, Mike Fairbrother and the guys from Moonlight Meadery. We could have even spoke with Justin but I felt like an and didn't want to get all

We even got into the VIP mezzanine level for a little while and got to try the beers in there before they gave us the boot!

It did get a little packed at the bar downstairs, but I thought having JP, Push, hell even Blober handing out beer at the stage was pretty cool! I got to say hello to all of them without being all groupyish, and that was cool too!

Overall I thought the biggest let down for me was Pro Brewer night. Now THAT was all lines.... I'm not the type of person to sit there bullshitting with the brewer while there are 25 thirsty people behind me either, so I didn't get much out of that.