[tschmidlin]

And it is a great time hanging out with 1500-1800 homebrewers!

Last year was 1800+.  This year might closer to 2500

The more the merrier ( or hairier or scarier  )

All of the above

[Jimmy K]

Except Mike Bardallis didn't make it last year, and may not this year. 

I'm not following, do I know Mike Bardallis?

He is referenced in the first time attendee guide

Gotcha - no shoes

[garc_mall]

Do the full thing.

Read the first time attendee guide.

Get prepared for lots of beer, and lots of fun.

You won't regret it.

[tschmidlin]

Do the full thing.

Read the first time attendee guide.

Get prepared for lots of beer, and lots of fun.

You won't regret it.

You might regret it if you book an early flight for Sunday.

[theDarkSide]

You might regret it if you book an early flight for Sunday.

Which is the nice thing about this year...I can catch my flight at 2:30pm and still be home by 5pm.

[denny]

Do the full thing.

Read the first time attendee guide.

Get prepared for lots of beer, and lots of fun.

You won't regret it.

You might regret it if you book an early flight for Sunday.

Which I've done all too often.  Many times I've "gotten up" at 1-2 AM to make my flight home....

[bluesman]

Do the full thing.

Read the first time attendee guide.

Get prepared for lots of beer, and lots of fun.

You won't regret it.

You might regret it if you book an early flight for Sunday.

Yes...don't do that! I aim for nothing less than noon. 

[hopfenundmalz]

Except Mike Bardallis didn't make it last year, and may not this year. 

I'm not following, do I know Mike Bardallis?

If you went to NHCs in San Diego and before, you would instantly recognize him, and his wife Annette.

[dbarber]

Do the full thing.

Read the first time attendee guide.

Get prepared for lots of beer, and lots of fun.

You won't regret it.

You might regret it if you book an early flight for Sunday.

I made that mistake last year...that was a rough morning.  Luckily this year I can sleep in.

[jklinck]

Anyone got any pointers for a conference first-timer?  Registration is Tuesday and I"m still not sure which type of registration I'm going for.. looking at the Social - no banquet but could be persuaded.  Any info on what to expect is appreciated.

Monitor your drinking. I was mostly a drunk fool for my first conference, less so for my second one and never really drunk for my third one. There is a lot of great beer, if you aren't completely enjoying a beer then just dump it (but not in front of the brewer). Drink as much water as you do beer. Also tell people to only give  you short pours. I make a point of only drinking 2oz or so of a beer unless it is absolutely fantastic. During my first conference there were a couple of guys that were absolutely hammered 30 minutes into club night (frat boy hammered), don't be that guy. Plus, the more you monitor your alcohol intake the easier it will be to wake up for the talks. You learn a lot of great stuff from the talks as well as have some great beer at them. The conference is awesome and you are going to have a great time.

[denny]

Monitor your drinking. I was mostly a drunk fool for my first conference, less so for my second one and never really drunk for my third one. There is a lot of great beer, if you aren't completely enjoying a beer then just dump it (but not in front of the brewer). Drink as much water as you do beer. Also tell people to only give  you short pours. I make a point of only drinking 2oz or so of a beer unless it is absolutely fantastic. During my first conference there were a couple of guys that were absolutely hammered 30 minutes into club night (frat boy hammered), don't be that guy. Plus, the more you monitor your alcohol intake the easier it will be to wake up for the talks. You learn a lot of great stuff from the talks as well as have some great beer at them. The conference is awesome and you are going to have a great time.

WISE WORDS!  I was "that guy" at my first conference, too.  Fortunately (?), health issues have forced me to really cut back on my drinking.  I don't start til noon now and try to limit myself to less than 3 pints total over the course of the day.  Not saying that anyone else should follow that policy, but I do think that to a degree less is more.

[dbeechum]

I think everyone is "that guy" at some point.

I try and be very careful at these big beer events since it's a marathon and not a sprint. Even still, by the end of conference I'm exhausted by the mix of beer, socialization (hey, introverts lose energy socializing!) and lack of sleep. It usually takes me a day of peace and quiet to catch up to myself.

[jeffy]

It really doesn't help when they schedule a mead seminar at 9 in the morning with lots of free samples, but if you go slow you can make it.
Crispy told me at a conference once that he sampled every beer at club night.  He used a very, very small glass.

[dbeechum]

Crispy told me at a conference once that he sampled every beer at club night.  He used a very, very small glass.

I will say that these days I'm betting that would be an impossible task unless one was using a nano glass. I'm not even sure you could get around the taps in the time for club night.

[denny]

Crispy told me at a conference once that he sampled every beer at club night.  He used a very, very small glass.

I will say that these days I'm betting that would be an impossible task unless one was using a nano glass. I'm not even sure you could get around the taps in the time for club night.

Don't you recall Crispy's nano mug?  Can't be more than an oz.