Jester King Thread

[rainer1]

We got there at 11:15, and like I said, there was already a line. Since there were 3-4 in our group, we took turns going to Stanley's to get beers for everyone, hitting up the taproom for more beers while others were still waiting in line, and buying our glassware while also still waiting in line. So by the time I bought my bottles I'd already had 4 beers and bought my glassware.

You really can't blame a business for being popular, but you can plan more intelligently and make the best of it.

Or you can not go, if it's all too much.

No one ever says "Damn, that Aaron Franklin is not running his business very well, because every time I go there there's a long line I have to wait in."

I'm not blaming Jester King for being too popular. Yeah, I guess I could've gotten there an hour before they opened with a group of friends so that we could take turns standing in different lines. I guess I'm not very intelligent for sleeping in on a Saturday and going only with my girlfriend who understandably wanted to spend the afternoon with me, not alone in separate lines in order to make the process of getting our bottles, merchandise, and pours a little more efficient.

Jester King is my favorite brewery. I will always do what I can to make the six hour round trip to Austin and spend a couple hundred dollars on beer at new releases, special events, or random weekends. I have no problem waiting in long lines when overall it's a great experience, but there is a point when large crowds and multiple lines compound the wait times and it's no longer a great experience. It's hard to imagine it ever being too much for me, but I can't say the same for my girlfriend or family members or non-beer nerd buddies.

So, instead of saying 'that's just the way it is', or 'it wasn't as bad for me', perhaps we could have a more open conversation about how Jester King fails and succeeds in their processes and share new ideas on how they could make everyone's experience even better.

 

[falc0n26001]

You guys wanna see inefficient? Go to Russian River.

 

[kmello69]

I'm not blaming Jester King for being too popular. Yeah, I guess I could've gotten there an hour before they opened with a group of friends so that we could take turns standing in different lines. I guess I'm not very intelligent for sleeping in on a Saturday and going only with my girlfriend who understandably wanted to spend the afternoon with me, not alone in separate lines in order to make the process of getting our bottles, merchandise, and pours a little more efficient.

Jester King is my favorite brewery. I will always do what I can to make the six hour round trip to Austin and spend a couple hundred dollars on beer at new releases, special events, or random weekends. I have no problem waiting in long lines when overall it's a great experience, but there is a point when large crowds and multiple lines compound the wait times and it's no longer a great experience. It's hard to imagine it ever being too much for me, but I can't say the same for my girlfriend or family members or non-beer nerd buddies.

So, instead of saying 'that's just the way it is', or 'it wasn't as bad for me', perhaps we could have a more open conversation about how Jester King fails and succeeds in their processes and share new ideas on how they could make everyone's experience even better.

Did I miss the part where you suggested a solution? I didn't see it in your first post.

Based on your response, you want (a) a situation where you can show up, have basically no wait for anything you want, and that would signify a "great experience." Or, (b) you don't mind waiting in lines when overall its a "great experience" but you never define what you actually mean by "great experience," except for pointing out that this wasn't one.

The reality of having pretty much 1 world class, extremely popular brewery in town is that when they have new releases or special events, EVERYONE is going to go there. All you had to do was look around the parking lot - there were plates from Oklahoma, Louisiana, Missouri, and New Mexico, to name a few, plus people (like yourself) who had come from Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. In this case, they had 2 new releases, both small batch collaborations, and both of the collaborating brewers were going to be on site for the day. It also happened to be the best weather we've had in a month.

How could JK have planned better for that? I'd be interested to hear suggestions. If you showed up and expected it to be anything but crazy, based on all of those factors, I think you were fooling yourself.

Apparently Sunday was super chill, but you wouldn't have been able to get both bottles that day. Pick your poison.

 

[thejukes]

One of the friends I was with said he overheard an employee say people called in sick on Saturday. If that is the case, I'd say those who were working really stepped up.

To me the solution is to plan on standing in lines if you go for a release or event. It is the same as going to any theme park, and there is no way around it except massive expansion and hiring on the part of Jester King. The only gripe I am on board with is the driveway/parking lot. Even in a truck, it was pretty sketchy.

 

[rainer1]

Did I miss the part where you suggested a solution? I didn't see it in your first post.

I didn't offer a solution, just shared my experience to start a conversation and was hoping a solution could come out of it.

Based on your response, you want (a) a situation where you can show up, have basically no wait for anything you want, and that would signify a "great experience." Or, (b) you don't mind waiting in lines when overall its a "great experience" but you never define what you actually mean by "great experience," except for pointing out that this wasn't one.

I didn't say I wanted (a). (b) is more accurate. While 'a great experience' is subjective and hard to define, I was trying to illustrate that point by saying at some point, the long lines make it not a great experience. You might be more tolerant to the long lines than me, and I more than others, but the long lines are certainly a contributing factor to one's enjoyment or lack there of, and the more people there are, the more there are affected.

The reality of having pretty much 1 world class, extremely popular brewery in town is that when they have new releases or special events, EVERYONE is going to go there. All you had to do was look around the parking lot - there were plates from Oklahoma, Louisiana, Missouri, and New Mexico, to name a few, plus people (like yourself) who had come from Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. In this case, they had 2 new releases, both small batch collaborations, and both of the collaborating brewers were going to be on site for the day. It also happened to be the best weather we've had in a month.

How could JK have planned better for that? I'd be interested to hear suggestions.

Perhaps Jester King could've not had so much going on at once? I'm no event planner but I would imagine overcrowding becomes a issue at some point. I don't know what their resources are for employees/volunteers/taps/etc but it would've been nice if more people were pouring beer or taking pre-orders or even if there were additional pour stations. Or maybe none of that would've helped. I don't know.

If you showed up and expected it to be anything but crazy, based on all of those factors, I think you were fooling yourself.

I have been to many release events at Jester King. I don't think I've ever seen so many people there and I think most people were surprised by how long the lines were. Hell, people were getting in line for beer damn near Stanley's and Nic was having trouble making sure everyone was stamped. I knew it would be busy but I think it's reasonable to say the size of that crowd wasn't predicted.

Apparently Sunday was super chill, but you wouldn't have been able to get both bottles that day. Pick your poison.

After also going to Hops & Grain and Austin Beerworks on Saturday, my girlfriend and I stayed the night in Austin. Maybe I should've bailed after getting bottles and gone back on Sunday to actually drink the beer, but I suck at predicting these things.

 

[kmello69]

I agree that I've never seen lines like that, except at special events. But I also think it was just a perfect storm of things all happening at once - there hadn't been any releases for several weeks; limited double collab release, with glassware and brewers; amazing weather; possible short staff at JK; 2 weeks notice of release, etc etc. Maybe that's too many things going on on one day. I'm interested to see if the next release is like that, or if things go back to a more normal routine.

 

[mwbbq]

Whoa there rainer, I'm pretty sure only shelf_turd_ferguson is allowed to multi-quote that many times at once. This is the real issue.

 

[Phil_S]

Possible suggestions:

-Cash only lines.

-Faster/More Reliable POS system. (Overheard one employee saying that once the ipad got below 40% it could take up to 2 minutes to run a credit card.)

-The ability to set up a separate pour/merch/bottle line on the fly when they see it getting busy. (A separate pour line on Friday night would have been great, especially since the wait for beer was almost an hour).

I like Jester King and will continue to go. And maybe these ideas won't work.... Any other ideas?

 

[thejukes]

Move the brewery to Laredo. Virtually no tourism, terrible weather 9 months out of the year, and maybe 40 people out of 250K here even know Jester King exists.

It would basically be me and 5-10 of my friends in line.

Unless they do a barrel aged light lager refermented with tomatoes, clams, salt, and chamoy (collaboration with Los Tigres del Norte). Those lines would be formidable.

 

[TxUltraRunner]

Took off from work Friday afternoon because I knew Saturday would be hectic considering who was going to be there. I didn't like the lines Friday night either but I did it anyways because I love Jester King and wanted to try the new brews. When it's something I enjoy, the waiting doesn't seem to matter at the end of the day. The bottle line moved smoothly and the volunteers we nice. The bottles-to-go/merch and tap line were a bit of a slog but the guys were pretty quick getting orders ready. As others have said, an outdoor station would have been nice, especially considering the new releases. The POS system didn't seem to be an issue and I really don't see a need to change that aspect, aside from making sure they are charged. It works for them so no worries. While in the tap line I noticed the counter was vacant and no one being served on a few occasions. I know they were working their butts off, but another person, or two, would help out those behind the counter. Props to the volunteers for working a hectic weekend; if I could buy you a beer I would.

The driveway/parking lot is atrocious. Those potholes get any bigger I will not be able to drive to the brewery as my suspension will be shot.

At the end of the day, I'm glad Texas has a brewery like Jester King that I can head out to for the day and chill out drinking killer suds. Vermont may have Alchemist, Hill Farmstead, etc. Oregon my have Upright and De Garde. California may have SARA and The Rare Barrel. Texas has Jester King and it's accessible to most people in the area - we should just be thankful for good beer and good company. What's the next release?

 

[mattchow]

im just happy i can drive my girlfriend's vw jetta, it isn't as low as my cars. its time to get a real parking lot going..

 

[SirDickButts]

Unless they do a barrel aged light lager refermented with tomatoes, clams, salt, and chamoy (collaboration with Los Tigres del Norte). Those lines would be formidable.

tequila barrel, of course.

 

[jbeezification1]

That damn Aaron Franklin tho!!

 

[Lutter]

I think I'm the only one in history that didn't fall over head over heels for Franklin BBQ. I thought it was kinda average.

John Mueller Meat Co is still my favorite in town. *shrug*.

 

[mattchow]

Louie Mueller beef ribs all damn day.

 

[kmello69]

I think I'm the only one in history that didn't fall over head over heels for Franklin BBQ. I thought it was kinda average.

John Mueller Meat Co is still my favorite in town. *shrug*.

 

[mwbbq]

JK just posted a new blog...they are brewing another collaboration with Live Oak today! A farmhouse version of Live Oak Hefeweizen...sounds really tasty.
http://jesterkingbrewery.com/second-collaboration-with-live-oak-brewing-co-begins

Second Collaboration with Live Oak Brewing Co. Begins

This morning we began our second collaboration with the incomparable Live Oak Brewing Co. in Austin, Texas!

For our second collaboration, following Kollaborationsbier released in October of 2014, we’re brewing Hefeweizen wort at Live Oak and transporting it to Jester King for fermentation. We plan on transferring the wort into a foudre, inoculating it with Live Oak’s Hefeweizen culture, allowing primary fermentation to occur, then moving the beer to oak barrels, and inoculating it with our house culture of brewer’s yeast and locally harvested native yeast and bacteria. The beer will then ferment in oak barrels for several months and hopefully develop some interesting and enjoyable flavors and aromas.

Thanks again to Live Oak for working with us! It’s truly an honor, as Live Oak was one of the small handful of breweries that inspired us to make beer in the first place.

 

[Hookemhops13]

Now that sounds awesome...

 

[THRILLHOUSE1]

I think I'm the only one in history that didn't fall over head over heels for Franklin BBQ. I thought it was kinda average.

John Mueller Meat Co is still my favorite in town. *shrug*.

Average?

I do love John Mueller as well, though.

 

[Lutter]

Average?

I do love John Mueller as well, though.

The meat tasted almost like it was boiled. I get the feeling it was an off day/bad cut considering all the worship.

JK just posted a new blog...they are brewing another collaboration with Live Oak today! A farmhouse version of Live Oak Hefeweizen...sounds really tasty.
http://jesterkingbrewery.com/second-collaboration-with-live-oak-brewing-co-begins

Second Collaboration with Live Oak Brewing Co. Begins

This morning we began our second collaboration with the incomparable Live Oak Brewing Co. in Austin, Texas!

For our second collaboration, following Kollaborationsbier released in October of 2014, we’re brewing Hefeweizen wort at Live Oak and transporting it to Jester King for fermentation. We plan on transferring the wort into a foudre, inoculating it with Live Oak’s Hefeweizen culture, allowing primary fermentation to occur, then moving the beer to oak barrels, and inoculating it with our house culture of brewer’s yeast and locally harvested native yeast and bacteria. The beer will then ferment in oak barrels for several months and hopefully develop some interesting and enjoyable flavors and aromas.

Thanks again to Live Oak for working with us! It’s truly an honor, as Live Oak was one of the small handful of breweries that inspired us to make beer in the first place.

 

[BusinessSloth]

Unless they do a barrel aged light lager refermented with tomatoes, clams, salt, and chamoy (collaboration with Los Tigres del Norte). Those lines would be formidable.

I shuddered/cringed reading this. Sounds so nasty. But lol'd @ Los Tigres del Norte.


On another note, why doesn't JK post the merchandise for sale anymore on the bottle list? Is it listed elsewhere?

 

[nathanmiller]

Speaking of BBQ, anyone going to the St Arnold event on Super Bowl Sunday this year?

 

[thejukes]

When I was there last weekend sipping on my Live Oak hefe, I was thinking, "man, I wish they would do a mixed fermentation version of this with Jester King."

Wishes do come true.

 

[kmello69]

When I was there last weekend sipping on my Live Oak hefe, I was thinking, "man, I wish they would do a mixed fermentation version of this with Jester King."

Wishes do come true.

I'll be there tomorrow to start the line....

 

[thejukes]

I'll be there tomorrow to start the line....

You gonna be driving your road grader up? I'm going to rent a belly dump truck full of caliche.

 

[blatherbeard1]

I think I'm the only one in history that didn't fall over head over heels for Franklin BBQ. I thought it was kinda average.

John Mueller Meat Co is still my favorite in town. *shrug*.

Ive actually heard that from others.

what i dont hear is how i think JK has average beers.

for me.



But as most of you know, im a stout guy.

y know, like BM used to be.

 

[boogercrack]

I DRANK BLACK METAL BEFORE SOURING BUGS WERE COOL. GET THIS GODDAMNED FLORA OFF MY LAWN.

 

[jbeezification1]

Anybody opened an OG BM lately?

 

[HopAG]

Anybody opened an OG BM lately?

Nope, but I do have 1 last bottle to test.

 

[thejukes]

Nope, but I do have 1 last bottle to test.

Same here.