Maybe the VIP stuff wasn't a lot worse. But the building was pretty hot. The cider house and the big tent with the fan were better places to cool down. The food pairings and the exclusive beers were done differently. They had all the food available and you took a punch card up and got it punched when you got a sample or the food. It wasn't really clear what food was supposed to be paired with what beer. The "Beer Professor" was the MC again and I don't really know who he is or why he is running the VIP show. They had a few drawings and stuff that were a little disorganized. The speakers I did see were not well prepared or interesting. There wasn't enough seating for all the VIPs.
Early bird is really the way to go, VIP or not. The lines are 1/4 as long at worst during that first hour. I got at least half my samples between 1-2pm.
Seems like some people had issues with the wristbands. I registered my tickets before I left the house and loaded all the tokens I needed for the event and it worked perfectly. It did kind of slow things down that you had to tap your wristband, then they had to select your beer choice on their tablet and then you had to tap again. Hopefully they streamline that next year.
The fairgrounds was so much better than the middle of the street. The cider house was great. Very good AC action going on so everyone had a place to cool off. The karaoke was kind of fun, watched a guy sing "Cause I got high."
I'll most likely do it again next year but may not do the VIP thing. I really hope they stick with the fairgrounds.
