The Perfect Storm: CityBeat’s Beer Club, South Park Abbey, $1 AleSmith Pours
CityBeat's Beer Club takes over The South Park Abbey
The South Park Abbey is one of our favorite haunts. It’s right up the block from West Coaster Graphic & Web designers Josh & Brittany, serves great beer/food at fair prices, and has a friendly & relaxed vibe. On the night of January 5th, CityBeat had other plans for the South Park Abbey.
CityBeat‘s Beer Club met from 7-9PM. The beer? AleSmith’s ESB and X. $1 pours.
I was mortified at the scene of a line going around the corner of the Fern St. fixture, but thankfully I got inside before the South Park Abbey reached capacity. Upon entering I saw Adam Neitzke, one of the proprietors, hurriedly moving about like a captain securing the hatches in a sudden squall. “Some party you throw!” I yelped over the crowd. “THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SERVE $1 BEERS,” he managed before disappearing back to the bar.
The madness of the line, capacity, and crowds suddenly made sense. With the realization in mind, I muscled my way towards the bar. To the left and right of me people were waving their arms about like stock traders on the NYSE, so I followed suit. Soon I was armed with a AleSmith ESB, and I got to work.
I found CityBeat’s Advertising Account Exec Jason Noble, and asked him how this Beer Club stacked up against the others. “This is the craziest [Beer Club] by far. We had 450 RSVPs, and normally you can count on half of the RSVPs not showing – this time over half showed. I think this huge turnout is thanks to the neighborhood craft beer scene & the pedestrian setting of South Park.”
I asked him for more information regarding the clandestine craft beer collective and its next meet-up, and he declined comment. The first rule of Beer Club is that you do not talk about Beer Club…
To sign up for the next Beer Club meeting, check out CityBeat’s website. On the right side find the email subscription form, select Beer Club, and submit your email. A few days before the event you’ll get an email spilling the beans on the next meeting.
4 Responses to “The Perfect Storm: CityBeat’s Beer Club, South Park Abbey, $1 AleSmith Pours”
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I got there late, around 8:30pm and it was crowded but there was no line to get in.
It took a while to get a beer and I think I might have been one of the last to get a dollar beer. Although I don’t think it was Alesmith X or ESB, I heard someone say they were serving Stone IPA.
While there weren’t as many people when it first started, CityBeat Beer Club used to have FREE beers. It was pretty hectic, I don’t blame them for changing it up to dollar beers.
I also got there late (about 7:30ish) and had about 20 people in line in front of me, about the same behind me. After spotting my friends, I decided to stick it out. The line moved fast and I got in in enough time to get an ESB. Some of the people in line were there for the open mic night (which was scheduled to start at 9) – apparently they hadn’t gotten the memo – so this may have contributed to the crowd. Adam did an awesome job to make sure those that hadn’t had a beer yet were first served!
My favorite part was getting there at 7:30, seeing a 30-person-deep line, and walking to Hamiltons. Wish these weren’t so popular!