Hi Chaos! While talking to some guys at the brewhouse Saturday, I found out a former member is a head brewer at Arclight Brewery in Watervliet, Michigan. I contacted Reggie's and they said it would be roughly $30 a person based on a round trip bus ride from Reggie's to Arclight from a rough time estimate of 11-9. This is for 25 people and the quote is very loose. I feel we should do a couple breweries on this trip, but don't know of any good ones on the way. I don't think we should go past Kalamazoo, either, so we don't spend too much time on the road. I was thinking about a Saturday in March and am putting this out there to gauge interest and get feedback. Talk to me, Chaos.
We might be down for that depending on date. I would recommend barehands as chris was a former homebrewer. I could send him a note and see if he would support a tour. This is a bit further south of the kalamazoo east limit. We have a pretty busy march but we can try.
Interest level: high.
I bet if you reach out to Ed (Arclight guy), he'd A. be hella excited about this idea, and B. would help you get in contact with other breweries up there and would probably get some cool stuff organized. His username is enash7070 here on the site.
Oh... my... god. Why haven't we done this? http://thechive.com/2013/09/17/guys-rig-up-buddies-plumbing-with-beer-wh...
Sounds awesome. I'm in any weekend but March 28th.
I'm in, depending on the date!
Awesome idea! I may be in depending on date, too.
Currently March is wide open for me, so I should definitely be in!
Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.
- Dave Berry
Great idea John! I wouldn't try to do more than 3 breweries on this trip, but there are plenty to be chosen from.
Hell yeah! Happy to see the interest. I'll reach out to Ed today, thanks Lucas. Jeremy, I googled Barehands and it says it's an hour away from Arclight. It seems a bit far, considering all the other Michigan breweries, but I don't know if we want to brand this as a Chaos brewers trip or not. Thoughts everyone? I also think we should nail down a date. 3/28 is out and 3/14 is the weekend before St Pat's, so we may lose people there. I propose 3/7 or 3/21. For those of you who aren't wide open in March, let me know. Thanks!
Greenbush is on the way, The Livery, Tapistry are all nearby. Journeyman is also close if you want to include distilleries.
Farther are Bell's, New Holland, Founders, Brewery Vivant, Arcadia, and Dark Horse in ascending order of distance.
Also very interested. Both above weekends 3/7 and 3/21 are wide open for me.
I will second and third The Livery!
Greenbush would definitely be a good one to check out if people have not been there before. I've heard good things about Tapistry, but have never been there myself.
Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.
- Dave Berry
I'd be up for this. 3/21 is my vote
The emperor is not as forgiving as i am
I'd be down for 3/21
"Give a man a beer, and he will waste an hour. Teach a man to brew, and he will waste a lifetime!" Bill Owen
In. Either weekend is fine.
I'm in!
I should be in.
Alright Chaos! So I reached out to Ed and he's really excited about the visit. He didn't name any other specific breweries and said both days work, but the 3/21 works better. So Saturday, 3/21 is now the official date of this trip. I say we definitely do Arclight first, then push back home and hit up the Livery and then either Greenbush or Tapistry. So now let's get a positive headcount so I can take it back to Reggie's and get a price. They have buses that hold up to 44, so I say we extend this invite to our partners and see how many people are down. Even if you've responded already, can you send me a message (PM or on this post) with the number of people and if you prefer Greenbush or Tapistry. Like I said, based on early estimates the bus will be around $30 a person, but probably cheaper the more people we get. If you can please let me know by next Friday (1/16) then I'll get everything nailed down and reach out to the other breweries. I'm really looking forward to this. Have a great weekend!
John
I prefer Tapistry just because GB is going to be a total shit show on Saturday night. Their beer is really good though. Going Tapistry will give those who haven't had their beer a chance to see what they're all about.
I am going to invite some friends if this 44 man bus is for sure. Reach out to Christopher Mann at CCBE too if you'd like. You could probably get a few from there.
I prefer Tapistry just because GB is going to be a total shit show on Saturday night. Their beer is really good though. Going Tapistry will give those who haven't had their beer a chance to see what they're all about.
I am going to invite some friends if this 44 man bus is for sure. Reach out to Christopher Mann at CCBE too if you'd like. You could probably get a few from there.
I went on a gathering organized by CCBE a few month ago which was alot of fun. We went to 18th St. We took one of the different brew bus companies. Maybe we should shop around regies isnt the only co that does it. It can even just be a regular party bus.
Nik does a great job with that brew bus. The seating in the back is center facing, and you can do a bottle share on the way. It's a bit smaller than 44 person capacity I think. Never been on Reggies' bus.
Edit: Wasn't Kyle on that trip too?
Yes kyle was, Were you?
I would imagine other party bus companies also have the center facing seets, just tring to get a better price.
Im pretty sure the reggies bus's are the school bus kind.
$30 round-trip sounds pretty reasonable already and it still may come down.
John enthusiastically and willingly stepped forward to organize and do the other leg-work on this trip. For whatever reason he chose reggies, why don't we let him take a final head count and price it out?
I was there. :)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sIOq8M6HhLxttSmqE3mugGPZVW4P1gmO...
Sorry to give my opinion. Maybe we should just put it into the idea tracker for next time.
Love the snarkiness!
But, what do you think mine was? I'm flattered that you feel my statements carry the force of law but - alas! - mine was merely an opnion, too. 
In all seriousness, I've seen too many ideas get bogged down by people throwing more at the person organizing. Furthermore, whether John prices out just Reggie's or Reggie's and 100 other companies, the man still needs a head count and he still needs to get a price from reggies.
Thanks for all the thoughts, guys. I will definitely ask some bus companies, once I get a head count, since I want to save money to do more of this (and be able to afford all of Josh's fancy barrels!). Reggie's was my first place and I wanted to see how into this we all would be.
Mark, do you mind holding off on inviting your crew. I'm sure they're awesome and a shitload of fun, but it looks like we have a good amount of people interested and I don't need to pad the stats and make this a HUGE event. I'd like to start it off with Chaos-eteers (all for one, get it) and their significant others and see how many people are down. If we need to get to a certain number, I'd love to open it up to our friends. Thanks.
Also, I didn't know how Greenbush is a bumping place. Good to know, thank you. If that wins in voting, I'll make sure to call them and see if they can accommodate us or if we should go to our many other options. Thanks everyone!
John
I'm up for joining.
I'm in for Tapistry
"Give a man a beer, and he will waste an hour. Teach a man to brew, and he will waste a lifetime!" Bill Owen
I'm in and vote for Tapestry. I haven't been there yet.
Great, idea.
I'm in and I vote for weekend of 3/21
I'm out of town 3/7 and Drunk Monk is 3/14 and Boss Charlie Orr is 3/28
Cheers, Nanc
I'm in for 03/21 and vote for Tapistry. I will also have a plus one.
The emperor is not as forgiving as i am
Hi everyone! Just a reminder to all that are interested that I'd like a firm headcount by tomorrow. I may not have you down, so please check the list below and let me know. So far I have 13 people confirmed
Canuck, Canuck +1, Brock, Ken, Cynthia, Chris, Chris' wife, Nancy, Jeff W, Pete, Mark Walters, myself, and Casey.
At this point, I'd like to shoot for around 25 people, so I'll let you guys know over the weekend what the numbers look like and if we should open it up to friends outside Chaos. Also, Tapistry will be our third brewery visit. Thanks and talk to you all soon!
John
John,
You can confirm me +1.
Maybe to help you stay organized you could start a Google Doc sheet?
Lauren will me joining me as well, so you can put me down for plus 1.
You can put me down with a +1. Thanks!
Oh... my... god. Why haven't we done this? http://thechive.com/2013/09/17/guys-rig-up-buddies-plumbing-with-beer-wh...
Jen and I are in!
I'm still solo. One man wolf pack.
Kelli and I will join the bus.
I second Josh's idea - google docs sign up sheet might be easier way for people to indicate that they are coming...and for organizers to track.
John - Count me in.
I am in too.
I am in and Freddy (another brewer) is also in.
Tim Lange and Eli Espinoza are in as well
"Give a man a beer, and he will waste an hour. Teach a man to brew, and he will waste a lifetime!" Bill Owen
Tim Lange and Eli Espinoza are in as well
"Give a man a beer, and he will waste an hour. Teach a man to brew, and he will waste a lifetime!" Bill Owen
Tim Lange and Eli Espinoza are in as well
"Give a man a beer, and he will waste an hour. Teach a man to brew, and he will waste a lifetime!" Bill Owen
Sorry to go off topic and I will post a separate thread, but if anyone on this one has an interest in an overnight trip, another member and I are planning one the weekend of 4/11 in the Battle Creek/Kalamazoo area. There will be a party bus beer tour on Saturday. Finalizing details in the next few weeks but definitely planning to include Dark Horse and Bells in the tour. Completely open to other recommendations in those areas to add to our itinerary. Hotel in Battle Creek is walking distance to Amtrak (around $50 rt) and Arcadia also. PM me or post in the other thread for more details.
I'm in.
What's up Chaos! So I have reserved a bus for this trip from Reggie's (same buses they use on the Dark Lord shuttles). It's an old school bus, super low key and charming in it's own simple way. I have arranged for the bus to pick us up and drop us off at the club (great idea Pete) and they are cool with us bringing beer on the bus!
There will be 3 stops (Arclight, The Livery, and Tapistry) and I will reach out to them soon to see about accommodating us and what order the stops will be. I extended the time to be 11am-10pm on Saturday 3/21. I hope that's not too late and we can always bring it back earlier if that's what we all want.
The total is $775 plus a tip to the driver. We have 32 confirmed people, meaning it would be $24.22 a person without tipping. I think the easiest thing to do is just make it $30 a person so I have enough money to tip the guy (I'm thinking $100-$150 but am open to advice from everyone). So even if we tip $150, I'm left with $35 extra I was going to buy water/pretzels with for all of us on the bus. The bus can hold 36 people, so if we fill up I was thinking of buying some group beer. Until we do get more people, everyone bring your own beer (I'll find out if it needs to be cans or not).
I'll send an update next week with everyone that I have that's going and any information about payments and all. I'm so glad that so many people are down and I'm really looking forward to this!
But first things first, STOUT NIGHT! See most of you tomorrow!!!!!!
John
$30 sounds reasonable to me. I say BYOB just to keep it simple for you, everyone bring what they want and share if they want. And there is always beer to go at Arclight.
Awesome, thanks for setting this up John! I'm guessing it will make your life easier if you can collect the money ahead of time: you do QuickPay, right?
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