Schlitzkrieg 2018 - PAX Community brewery tour!

JobiwanKenobi

Date: Wednesday, Aug 29 – Early to Late
Tickets: Too Late!

Washington State has almost 200 craft breweries, many with small-scale artisan brews that you're not going to find anywhere else in the world. Seattle is truly Beer Geek Heaven. The SchlitzKrieg is a beer tour for locals and out-of-towners alike, and focused on tiny up and coming nano-breweries that you probably won't find in the store. Throw in a little local history, an interesting scenic ride, and you've got a great way to spend a day outside of the Convention Center, where you can see more of the city than just the downtown.

Washington State Brewery Map

2012 was the first ever SchlitzKrieg at PAX Prime, where 30 Beer Geeks were loaded onto a big yellow bus and we toured 12 local craft breweries in the greater Seattle Area in 12 hours. You can check out that year's thread here and photos courtesy of @courtneyj from the first year here.

2013 was a Cycle Saloon tour around the breweries in the Seattle neighborhood of Ballard. It was fun but too much work.

2014 was a little strange, as we didn't get enough people to fill up a full bus so we all crammed into a van and a car. It wasn't terrifically comfortable.

2015 was the year we got a motherfucking party bus, bitches!

2016 was our Fifth Annual Schlitzkrieg, where we headed South and threw in some cideries and distilleries to mix up the beer a bit. Also, party bus.

2017 we didn’t get enough people for the party bus, so this was a walking tour.

Transportation
Depending on how many people we get we may get the badass party bus. If not then there are other options.

22 – 27 people = Party Bus with a driver and a banquet permit so you can drink on the bus. AND there's a gaming laptop hookup to the video screens on the bus so we can play while we're traveling again. It's seriously an amazing time.
10 – 21 people = We may be able to get a party bus with a driver, but it may be more expensive…
~ 10 people = Jobiwan Kenobi will be your designated driver… we will get a rental van that can accommodate this group comfortably.

Itinerary
The route is still TDB, but we will be heading towards the south sound which should have a good mix of breweries, cideries, meaderies, and distilleries. The route shall be announced as I get confirmations back from each brewery/distillery/meadery... here is the route so far:

Stop 1: Tin Dog Brewing
Stop 2: Oppegaard Meadery
Stop 3: Sidetrack Distillery
Stop 4: Rail Hop'n Brewery
Stop 5: Scamp Brewing
Stop 6: Off Camber Brewing
Stop 7: Tacoma Brewery District
Stop 8: Engine House 9

Costs
Assuming that we will get the party bus, tickets will be around $100 per person. However, if I am your designated driver prices should drop and there would be a refund at the start of the trip.

JobiwanKenobi

Questions? Answers!

What is it?

A tour of an area around Seattle for beer lovers - whether you're local or coming in from out of town. Some more unusual, hidden gems will be included for any locals who might want to tag along and find new spots. It will also include some awesome area history, scenic rides wherever possible, restaurant stops, and the opportunity to see more than just the city.

What isn't it?

This is not a low-budget event. Also, much like the Pub Crawl, this is not a frat boy event. We're trying to pace the liquor so that everyone has a good time, including the guy that you didn't puke on.

When is it?

Wednesday 8/29 from early to late (exact times TBD)

What's included for the price?

• Transportation
• Happy Hour snacks
• Driver Gratuity (assuming that we get a driver, if Jobiwan is the designated driver then no gratuity is required.)

What's not included?

• Pints and Tastes
• Dinner & snacks
• Souvenirs
• Brewery Swag, bottles or Growlers
• Pre-Funk Breakfast, Lunch

Where are you/we Going?

South to Tacoma or east across the mountains. See the itinerary section above for specifics.

How much will it cost?

$100 to reserve.

If we reach our quota of 25 people, the price will drop to around $88 or less and I'll refund you the difference or you can donate it to Child's Play. Most of the price is based on splitting the cost of the bus evenly and I'd rather give people money back than ask for more if we don't make our quota.

How is the cost calculated?

Here are the cost details from last year… this year’s details are coming in the next few weeks.
Bus - $1850
Happy Hour Snacks - $11 per person
Water and snacks on the bus - $20

There simply aren't any inexpensive group transportation options in Seattle anymore. In 2015, we discovered that the approximately $25/per person increase in price between a school bus and a party bus made a HUGE difference in the comfort and fun of the ride. Just the bus costs $1800 for the day but it's worth the money, trust me.

Can I change my mind/plans/existence and get a refund?

Yes, but it's discouraged after August 15. People change their travel plans to attend this tour, so it's tough to fill in vacancies at the last minute. Also, since the ticket price is largely dependent on dividing the cost of the van between everyone on the tour, cancellations that we can't fill with a warm body makes a huge headache for everybody on the day of the tour, as I try to recalculate the cost and figure out exactly who owes what. Of course, I understand that shit happens but please make every effort to stick to your reservation.

Can I attend just a portion of the tour?

Sure, if you have your own car and designated driver. We'll be in a rural area pretty far out of the city and won't be accessible by bus or taxi.

I have a better/different stop/place/brewery to suggest:

Suggest away! All suggestions are welcome but keep in mind that stops will be decided on the following criteria:

- Proximity to the tour route
- Hours (they need to be open, or willing to open for us)
- Size (macro breweries are discouraged)
- Willingness to accommodate the tour

How do I sign up and/or pay?

The ticket link will be posted at the very beginning of the thread.

Do you need any helpers?

We always need helpers.

Why a Beer Tour?

Seattle loves its beer. There are a ridiculous number of macro, micro and nanobreweries in and around the Seattle area, from small garage operations that sell growlers on the weekends, to large factories pumping out nationally distributed brews. Most Seattleites either home brew or know someone who does and the options here are amazing.

I can't go/It's out of my budget: Will there be another event later?

If you can't make it to any of the tours, just check out the Washington State Beer Lovers (WABL) Brewery map and make up your own tour.

JobiwanKenobi

Well, I'm a bit late in closing down the form... here are a few interesting items from the data...

1. A bit more than half of you want the Schlitzkrieg to be on Thursday. No one wants it to be during PAX.

2. Most of you want a bus-tour. There is some interest in being back in Seattle before dinner, although most responses were in favor of the full-day Schlitzkrieg.

3. Everyone likes beer, no surprises there... more of you are interested in distilled spirits than mead or cider. The most important places to visit are Micro-Breweries and Nano-Breweries.

4. That being said, if we can't fit mead into the schedule there is interest in a separate mead tour.

The next step is for me to chat with LexiconGrrl to get a bit more info about how she has run the event in the past, and then I'll try to start putting together a route.

Odds are this will be a full-day bus-tour on Wednesday or Thursday... and it will probably be heading towards the south end of Puget Sound...

JobiwanKenobi

Hello all, the Schlitzkrieg is officially scheduled for Wednesday, 29-Aug! Please comment on the thread if you plan on attending so I can get a rough count on the number of people who want to go this year.

ClannMorgan

Me, +1. Thank you for putting this together, very much looking forward to it.

DasJester

Me, +1. The date lines up so I'm down for attending this year.

MagnusCarter

I'll be there

Decius

Well I was so close to coming, and bringing some friends that would threaten to empty the taps of our stops, but alas I have to skip PAX another year.

Have fun everyone!

acaraba2

I am interested. And looks like it will work out for me. I manage to change my flight for tuesday night, so I'd be able to join.

JobiwanKenobi

Based on the responses so far, I am anticipating that we will be in the ~10 people range. So, I have arranged for a 15 person van that will be capped at 11 people (which includes the driver and tour-guide, assuming that I can get LexiconGrrl to attend). So, based on the current count there is room for three more people before things would start getting "cozy." If I am wrong we can still jump up to the party van, but it would be a surprising turn of events at this point.

LexiconGrrl

Going.

LexiconGrrl

"• Driver Gratuity (assuming that we get a driver, if Jobiwan is the designated driver then no gratuity is required.)"

Incorrect. Extreme gratitude is due to the person who gives up their beer privileges to drive the rest of our drunk asses around ALL DAY LONG after doing all the work to plan the trip in the first place. If you give him money, he won't say no. If you buy him bottles for later, he also won't say no.

JobiwanKenobi

Here, let me fix that...

LexiconGrrl wrote: »

"• Driver Gratuity (assuming that we get a driver, if Jobiwan is the designated driver then no gratuity is required.)"

Incorrect. Extreme gratitude is due to the person who gives up their beer privileges to drive the rest of our drunk asses around ALL DAY LONG after doing all the work to plan the trip in the first place. If you give him money, he will donate it to Child's Play. If you buy him bottles for later, he probably won't say no.

Wishwise

<deleted>

JobiwanKenobi

Quick update, tickets should be available later this week (perhaps as soon as tomorrow, depending on LexiconGrrl's availability). This year we will have confirmed and overflow tickets. Confirmed tickets ensure that you have a seat for the Schlitzkrieg and will be limited to the capacity of the rental van. Overflow tickets give you a seat for the Schlitzkrieg if someone else cancels or if the unlikely happens and we are able to get the party bus. If you get an overflow ticket, I will send out updates as we get closer to PAX to let you know the odds of having a seat. If you get an overflow ticket and we are unable to provide a seat for the Schlitzkrieg, your ticket price will be refunded.

The schedule should be available later this week or early next week. I am optimistic that this year's schedule will include beer, mead, and distilled spirits.

JobiwanKenobi

Tickets are now on sale!

JobiwanKenobi

One week to Schlitzkrieg 2018! The itinerary is getting filled in on the OP as breweries confirm that we can stop by. Tickets are still on sale. Schlitzkrieg day details (where/when to meet, will there be a pre-funk breakfast, etc) will be sent out by Monday the 27th. (Contact me through the forums if you bought a ticket and you have not heard from me by then.)

What's next? More breweries will be added to the itinerary. Final ticket price will be calculated and posted to this thread. (The ticket price will not change at the link, but you will get a refund for anything over the costs of the trip when you check in with me.)

ClannMorgan

Sidetrack!!!! Woohoo!

f33rNapalm

If anyone is interested in sharing some beers on Saturday night the annual PAX bottleshare and six-pack swap will be held Saturday night at the Olive 8. More details can be found here:

https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/220996/calling-all-beer-lovers-pax-west-six-pack-swap-and-bottleshare