Beervana

[Tim]

Just back home from Beervana 2012.

:-)

I have to be blunt: a waste of time and money.

:-(

Wify and I went to the mid day Saturday session, arriving at about 12.20, (to beat the rush or so we thought...) We literally fought our way through the packed and jostling throng to the far end of the dark and noisy hall, choking on fume from a 1/2 dozen or more poorly controlled and ventilated gas cooking operations, used up our 8 tokens to sample four beers ($2/$4 for 75ccc taster, or $6-8 for 250cc 'glass'), only one person knew what they were pouring and had time to inform us, we had to ask each time for the glass to be rinsed... paid $6 for a 'pie', and then we again physically forced our way back to the entrance to get some fresh air, and take stock of the situation. We did the maths on the cost of buying more tokens, reassessed conditions inside, and got into a taxi...

Fifteen minutes latter we were in Hashigozake, where we had a very relaxed time sampling an excellent range of good beers and food for a LOT less than we would have had to spend on tokens in the discomfort of the Westpac Stadium. Moved along to sample a few at the Malthouse for a similarly good experience, and we finished the afternoon with a smile at the Hop Garden.

Beervana Overall:   A great selection of brews available to sample under one roof, but value for money was terrible. It may not be the ideal venue, but seperate the cooking from the beers!

I dont want a nose full of burning garlic while I am sample tasting!!!

The week end overall? An excellent time in Wellington, (other than Beervana..)

 

Tim

(ps. Thanks Russ!)

 

 

[Stu McKinlay]

That's a bummer Tim... I hope you send some thoughts back to the team at Beervana.

 

I had a great time, despite the fact that I worked the whole time, pretty never got to taste any beers and never even managed to get to a single pub after the Brewers Guild AGM on Thursday!! In fact, I'm not sure I've drunk less in a single week, in the last 5 years, than I did last week. I didn't hear any complaints the whole time...

 

Glad you managed to enjoy the rest of Wellington though. It certainly is full of great pubs.

 

Cheers

Stu

[Pilgrim]

My fourth Beervana and the best one yet. My son and I have been going for the last three years and we took four others with us this year. Every one of us thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We all volunteered for the Saturday afternoon session. I can only speak for my bar but we had two brewers on the Central bar who were only to pleased to discuss their beers on sale.

I guess you can't please everyone.

Pete.

[Greig McGill]

Hi Tim,

I've been every year bar the first (I think, Stu may correct me here) 11 years of Beervana, including 9 before it was Beervana. It's been a blast every year, for different reasons. I'd like to address your post point by point, if I may. This is from my perspective as a punter, and nothing else. I blurred the line this year by having a beer in the mix, but I never volunteer or do anything other than attend as a drinker. I love it that much!

1. Arrival time: I'd recommend getting there early, getting inside, and finding "a base". Ideally go with friends, and share a table or two, branching out to get beers and converse with friends, strangers, and generally enjoy the festive atmosphere. 12:20 - doors have opened, every one is inside, and things are in full swing! You've lost any hope of grabbing a table.

2. Don't do the Saturday arvo session. It's ALWAYS packed. Take some time off and do Friday arvo. Quieter, easier to get around, and full of beer geeks, happy to talk and help you find the best beers. Saturday arvo was almost enough to put me off this year. Just too busy.

3. Honestly, don't expect value for money in terms of beer in your glass. Think of the value in terms of a unique environment, and the sheer variety of food and beer under one roof. It's not about drinking. It's about tasting.

4. Ventilation? You're spot on. Also, a better and more "distributed" layout wouldn't go amiss. It was always obvious Garage Project (for example) were going to be a sensation. Give them more space, so the masses queuing for them don't stuff up the flow up and down the concourse. But hey. It was year two. A MASSIVE improvement on year one, and it will only ever get better.

5. Not really the point, but yes, the bars are as good as Beervana itself. Glad you had a great time at Hashigo Zake and the Malthouse. Those are just two! Try all the rest, you won't be disappointed.

Anyway, that's enough rambling. I loved Beervana, and am hoping these comments will hep you in coming to love it too! :)

Cheers,

Greig.