Brew Fest NYC

Edward could not have put it better!  I purchased tickets to this event, under the impression it was a heaven sent, for Edwards Birthday.  It was not only the ferry lines, It was the line at the end of the cobblestone road as well.  We were herded like cattle to only fit in 4 stalls for general admission.  I could see if there were a few hundred.... but it was thousands of us! No rhyme or reason, smelly hot people, dripping sweat on everyone in the hopes that it will all be better after waiting 2 hours just to get in!  What a let down!  Other people have said they ran out of food and were cooking on small bbq's.  I don't know about anyone else but the beer for the most part was flat, some were warm, and I am only talking about 3 of the  4 out of 300 we were supposedly able to try!

 Enough about the event!   I really want to hear others complaints about this even to know we are not alone, but I also want to leave my blog off on a happy note!  I have to say, I tried the Blond Ambition and the Massive IPA at The Great South Bay Tent, and I Loved them both!  The Blonde was Light and fruity, but not girly fruity, just well balanced and the Massive had a pair of cojones set in a floral explosion.  It was our first time trying Great South Bay Brewery's beer and we salute you!  If you would like to know more about The Great South Bay Brewery and their wonderful brews visit them at www.greatsouthbaybrewery.com
We Tapped out after being there for an hour to do what we call SALVAGING THE DAY!  I Decided to take Edward to one of my places in the city.... BLOCKHEADS.  What is Blockheads you ask? 

LOOKS TAME HUH?

Not a chance! Don't let this fool you at night it can be quite nuts!  The food is is so so but after just 1 Red Nosed Bulldog alot of things may change.  I discovered this place after a few friends of mine invited me here and said it was a beer garden.  My idea of a beer garden is a location where there are many types of beers from all over the globe for you to try and drink but I was not disappointed.  Even with only a few beers,  to be exact one being corona and the other Heineken I was surprised to find they were only $3.00 .  Edward was surprised to find the beers were cheaper in the city.  We were not there for the beer, I took him to experience the Red Nosed Bulldog. This wondrous drink consists of Half  Frozen Margarita, Half Sangria, with an upside down Nip of Corona aka Coronita sticking out of the opened circular top of the cup.  Mega strong, tastes nice and gets you where you going quickly. Tequila shots are $3.00 and they are big. The regular margaritas are $3.00 add $1.00 for various flavors and their specialty Ritas are around $6.00.  Everything here is soooo reasonably priced which is the biggest allure, well that and the outside atmosphere.  There are 2 sides to Blockheads.  The Seating area, and the Public seating area.  If you want to eat and order from a waitress you need to sit in their designated seating area which can take 1 to 2 hours to get a table but you can wait and have cocktails in the public seating area... if you can find a table!  Still worth the wait!

Thank You Blockheads for SALVAGING OUR DAY!

http://www.blockheads.com/

50th between 8th and 9th

Amanda Vivian

The NY Beerfest – Creating Mass Disappointment

Like many of the thousands of people who geared up for a Summer day on Governor’s Island, I too hoped to partake of what seemed might be the ultimate “must go to” beer event of the year according to the advertisements. Over 100 breweries they told us would be available for us to taste the newest and best beers from all over the country. Great food, non-stop musical entertainment, convenient transportation by Water Taxi, it just seemed it would be a magical event. Unfortunately we were all duped. The event already being described by others online and in other medium forums, seems to show a consensus that it was designed to lure us in, take our $55 tickets plus handling fees and taxes and not deliver. Like immigrants coming to Ellis Island, many of us came from all over and waded into a crowd of thousands by Water Taxis waiting to be wisked away to Governor’s Island where the event was being held. This was the first part of confusion as the volunteer staff was unprepared for the oncoming crowd nor did the organization seem ready to accommodate people on to the Water Taxis. Soon four Water Taxis after an hour of waiting were full of thousands of people queued up to deliver passengers to the island. At this point already people were tired after waiting for a boat ride. Now beer attendants were dropped off on the island and informed they would have to wake a long cobblestone walk to the event which was not nearby from the docks. After slugging it out on the route to the entrance, already people were becoming anxious. The anxiety would be even worse as the thousands of people were halted at the entrance. Now people were packed in like sardines waiting for over another hour in the hot sun to get into the event.


At this point consider that people were thirsty, hunger and tired. Many people had shown up at the Water Taxis around 3:00 P.M. since general admission was 3:30 P.M. for the event. Upon entrance into the event, it was clear how ridiculous the event would be. Each brewery had on average, just two beers and only one setup with two taps going for each line. Each brewery had lines of people 40-50 people deep, no organized lines which resulted in lines merging and cutting one another and causing confusion.



In terms of food, forget it, the line was not moving for more than an hour. Bands, there was one band that played crap music and then all music came to a halt.



Many people realized it was taking over 30 minutes just to get one “4 oz” beer. Many people ended up waiting for 4 beers then deciding it was time to wave the white flag and leave.

Now, I’ve been to many beer festivals and events. I understand waiting to try a beer. But from a logistical/command & command control perspective, the event was not designed to accommodate 10,000 people seeking to just simply try a wide variety of beers. No planning was put into how the amount of people would cause various problems with the movement of people. A competent planning organization would have been able to handle this event.

A tell tale sign of the guilty of the parties involved in putting this event together, is how the removal of any blog/comment sections of the webpages on the social networking sites promoting this event.

The most fun of the day I think was the camaraderie of people leaving the event early. Being tired and frustrated, many people on the return boats complained together and made plans to enjoy the rest of the day at bars throughout the city. Many of us ended up telling our tales at local bars with wide varieties of beers to make up for the disappointment.

In the aftermath, its amazing how many people are creating similar postings, reviews and complaints. We are unified in the feeling that we were ripped off and demand satisfaction.

I urge all of you to seek a refund for this event to spread the word to avoid this event like the plague next year.

As for me, I’m looking forward to hitting up the North Fork Beer Festival in August on the North Fork of Long Island at the Martha Clara Winery.
 
Edward Maggio