Last year Hunahpu’s Day at Cigar City was a lot of fun. It was also flawed. By midnight the night before the release there was already a hefty line of beer hounds queued up to gain access to the event. A few hours later there were more than 300 lined up. By the time the sun came up the line stretched several blocks, into nearby businesses parking lots with thousands of beer lovers. This prompted the businesses to call the police who consequently issued the ultimatum to the brewery that they either open the event early and get the people off the street or it would be shut down.
Another issue with the event was poor line management, particularly for the most popular beers. Lines for some were hours long and unscrupulous imbibers routinely cut into the line making the wait even longer for those behind them. And worse still, the folks pouring the beer were hired from a staffing agency and had no experience serving. This made for confusion and foamy beer.
To try and cut down on these issues for this year’s event, the brewery has decided to make the event a ticketed festival with maximum attendance set at 3,500. Attendees will not have to purchase tokens to exchange for tastes, instead the single admission ticket will entitle them to sample as many beers as they like for the duration of the event.
In an announcement posted to FaceBook, December 30, the brewery said that bottles of Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout would be available throughout the day. Details on bottle limit have not been announced yet.
The Cigar City Brewing Company Hunahpu’s Day event will take place March 8, 2014 from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the brewery in Tampa, Fla. Tickets will cost $50. Ticket purchase details have not been released yet, but the brewery has said that members of their El Catador Club will have first opportunity to get the tickets.
