Anyone go to the WOB "Rare beer" fest in Columbus?

Discussion in 'Great Lakes' started by GR_Beer_Nut, Jun 17, 2013.

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  1. GR_Beer_Nut

    GR_Beer_Nut Initiate (0) Nov 18, 2012 Michigan

    I was wondering if anyone else went to this event and was annoyed with the lack of beer as I was? The festival confirmed 206 draft beers for this event....and only 150 were tapped...and yes, I counted. The specialty kegs included founders imperial stout...not special what so ever. When I approached the guy in charge he claimed that the "rare" part of the event was how many beers were tapped. WOB has that many beers sitting in coolers inside. I've been to several beer events and this was by far the worst one yet...by a mile. To lie about your beer selection and not tap anything special is a joke. The only upside was a good band and that they were not taking tickets for beer. If getting drunk on kona or yungling is up your alley, this event would be great...but I enjoy craft beer. The manager for this location was working his butt off, but the corporate guy was a complete a**hole about everything. Please don't take this event and think WOB is at fault, because only a few people screwed up...not the whole company. Anyway, that's my rant about this. Thoughts?
     
  2. emagdnim13

    emagdnim13 Initiate (0) Jan 18, 2011 Illinois

    That is my takeaway from my experiences with them too. I sat down at a bar and happened to sit next to a corporate guy from WOB before they put in a new location. He rambled about how amazing WOB is, and even called the owner of this bar over to brag about the amount of business they would be doing right down the road. The owner blew him off and I have always had a sour taste in my mouth for WOB ever since.
     
  3. Spider889

    Spider889 Pooh-Bah (1,933) Mar 24, 2010 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah

    The event was never billed as a "rare" beer event from everything I saw via Twitter, FB, their website, working the event, and word of mouth. To say that there was little beyond Kona and Yuengling is a stretch beyond belief. There were a few true gems being poured that lasted all night.

    Most of the beers were printed before the event and from what was there it wasn't hard to determine what the "specialty" kegs were not going to be. Not to mention that this was a first year event in the city. Can't expect to see CBS, Black Note, Rackhouse Ale, BA BORIS, etc when no one had anything invested in it this year.

    Founders Imp. Stout? I didn't notice it but that's better than I was guessing (Double Trouble or a dry-hopped cask of IPA was my assumption going in).

    If you're angry about the price then well... that's just WOB for ya. It was all you can drink craft beer, about the same as most every other fest imo.
     
  4. GR_Beer_Nut

    GR_Beer_Nut Initiate (0) Nov 18, 2012 Michigan

    If you look at the list of beers on the website that you bought your tickets from, they were missing over 50 beers...kind of a lot to miss. Yes, they did have some good beers, but I can get all of the beers that were tapped in a bottle (minus a very select few).
     
  5. Bogforce

    Bogforce Initiate (0) Sep 2, 2010 Ohio

    This event was never labeled as a rare beer event. I didn't go but it looked like a lot of fun. If you are searching for rare beers at a large event... You are doing it wrong. Going to a Jackie O's bottle release.

    And something must of happened to you if you wanted to come on here just to rant. What really happened?
     
  6. Spider889

    Spider889 Pooh-Bah (1,933) Mar 24, 2010 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah

    I didn't have time to walk around and sample everything I would have liked, but I saw non-bottled stuff from Bells, GI, Brooklyn, Ithaca, CBC, Elevator, Great Lakes (if you count the collab porter), SN, etc. This doesn't even include the brewpubs who don't bottle like Barley's, 7th Son, Gordon Biersch, etc.

    Buuuut, as Bogforce mentioned, this is the type of stuff you see at virtually every large event. Yeah likely half or more is bottled or on tap regularly, but that shouldn't be surprise. If you prefer rareness and explicit listings, I suggest forming a tasting group or traveling to the more exclusive events ala BA events, Savor, brewery parties and release specials, etc.
     
  7. GR_Beer_Nut

    GR_Beer_Nut Initiate (0) Nov 18, 2012 Michigan

    Funny thing about Jackie O's is they were going to tap several kegs from them...and that never happened. Was looking forward to them and some ten fidy. I guess I must have just expected to much from this event. Never been to an average beer fest before.
     
  8. Bogforce

    Bogforce Initiate (0) Sep 2, 2010 Ohio

    Like I said most of big beer festivals are a a great place to try a lot of beer but not usually rare/hard to find.

    I know Dayton has a big beers festival that you might want to look into. Personally I like the north markets local beer festival in September. If you want to Jackie os they have cans available in Columbus and they will be at the Lancaster briwfest
     
  9. GR_Beer_Nut

    GR_Beer_Nut Initiate (0) Nov 18, 2012 Michigan

    Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'll stick with events in Michigan, Colorado and California beer fest for now. It's seems that when you get several world class brewery's in the same event, the compete for who's the best..and everyone wins. I hope Ohio can start to build off of Jackie O's and hoppin frog so that everyone can get as spoiled with beer as I am. I unfortunately did not have a ton of time for bottle shops on my trip, but I plan on making a big haul next time I visit my buddy.
     
  10. Spider889

    Spider889 Pooh-Bah (1,933) Mar 24, 2010 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah

    Hoppin' Frog had 2 beers there, Jackie O's had none. If that's your bar for where the other Ohio breweries should have been at on Saturday then again, why were you so surprised with the event? There are plenty of superior events in Ohio throughout the year, but assuming that all events are created equal is naive.
     
  11. Keffa

    Keffa Initiate (0) Jan 8, 2009 Ohio

    Pretty sure that it was only labeled as Craft Beer Fest, not Rare Beer Fest.

    Even if it were, going to World of Beer for rare stuff is like going to a Barnes and Noble expecting to find a mint copy of The Amazing Spiderman in plastic. It's just not going to happen.

    Also, this is coming from a guy who delivers to BOTH of the World of Beers in Columbus.

    Cheers.
     
  12. stxSS07

    stxSS07 Initiate (0) Nov 23, 2010 Illinois

    I saw a WOB one time.

    There was a party bus parked in front full of in-character pirates throwing beads and plastic swords everywhere. I instantly regretted volunteering to chauffer my grandparents to the Morton's next door.
     
    Spider889 likes this.
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