Pros:
- Venue I thought was pretty good and set up well. There were some weird "you can't walk here with a beer" moments, I assume due to licensing issues but that wasn't a big deal.
- New stuff. Got to try some interesting one-offs and some new releases. The Spirit Tree pub cider was a pleasant surprise, as was the Mill St. Weiss. Flying Monkeys had some interesting stuff
- Old favorites. The GL Karma Citra was in fine form as were others. Yumm! Black Oak had some nice bottle cap pins to take home!
- Garrett Oliver cooking demo. I hadn't really planned to attend but was glad I did. He is a great speaker and the recipe was quite tasty.
Cons:
- Grandpa Jer says turn down the G-D music!
It was pretty loud inside the building.- Seating. Could have used some more of the patio seats (which were a great idea, I thought) but that is typical of many fests.
- Cost. $40 to walk in the door is a lot. At $1 a ticket the beer samples where relatively cheap though, so the more you drank the better a deal it was. That is comparable to the Toronto Festival of Beer, but I know a lot of my non-beergeek friends have stopped going to that festival due to the cost.
Having organized a wedding and corporate events in Toronto I realize that venues are expensive, but still... I guess given the caliber of "free" events this week at OCB Week it makes the price seem that much higher.
Ultimately, I had fun and I am glad I went. Will I go next year for the same price? Ask me next year
