[chumley]

http://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com/tickets/purchase-tickets/


From the link:  "American Homebrewers Association and Brewers Association members will receive a personal offer code to purchase tickets for this session."

Anybody know more about this?  I assume we will be getting an email with this code.  Any idea when that email will go out?  I get so much crap in my email, I don't want to miss it.

[theDarkSide]

That picture alone on the web page makes me not want to go to this

According to the page, people have until July 20th to purchase a membership to get in on the members only tickets.  I'm guessing they'll send the email to every member after that.

[smkranz]

http://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com/tickets/purchase-tickets/


From the link:  "American Homebrewers Association and Brewers Association members will receive a personal offer code to purchase tickets for this session."

Anybody know more about this?  I assume we will be getting an email with this code.  Any idea when that email will go out?  I get so much crap in my email, I don't want to miss it.

The code will only allow you to buy during the members-only pre-sale, if you can get through.  And hope that Ticketmaster doesn't botch it up with capacity issues.  In the past, the email with your member code arrived a week or so before the sale opens.  But if you really want to go at face value ticket prices, you'll need to be at your computer, with a good internet connection, at 10 a.m. mountain time.  Get yourself set up with a Ticketmaster account in advance.  Then at 10:00, be logged into your account, and start trying.  Click, and repeat.  After about 15-20 minutes it'll be all over.

[chumley]

Thanks.  I haven't tried to buy tickets for several years to the GABF.  In those days, it was, "Oh yeah, those GABF tickets went on sale last week.  Guess I will log into the BA website and buy a couple", and all you needed was your membership number.  Sounds more like going to see the Rolling Stones now.

[gmwren]

That picture alone on the web page makes me not want to go to this

The entrance is always mobbed. The scary part is the line that will wrap around the convention center. It goes very fast for how many people attend and it always amazes me how much we disperse inside. Rumor has it 2015 will feature an expansion and nearly double the attendance. That will get interesting without multiple entrance points. Hopefully the ticket purchase issues will be solved this year or next year could get quite ugly.

There are so many beers, pick a region and sample a particular style.

[theDarkSide]

I hope the breweries entering the competition this year have better luck.  There were a lot last year around me that tried to get in but due to traffic issues got shut out.

[hopfenundmalz]

I hope the breweries entering the competition this year have better luck.  There were a lot last year around me that tried to get in but due to traffic issues got shut out.

I read somewhere that there are changing the entry procedure this year so that the server does not crash.

[reverseapachemaster]

I'm going to give it a go at getting tickets this year. Last year I watched the ticket sales but didn't buy any. I was surprised by how fast the tickets vanished.

[rjharper]

I've gone for the last 5 years. It's always been fun, but the last couple of years have definitely shifted away from special release beer tasting to standard offering beer drinking. It's time to find a new event and let someone else go instead. When I attend again in the future, it will be as a brewer

[duncan]

http://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com/tickets/purchase-tickets/


From the link:  "American Homebrewers Association and Brewers Association members will receive a personal offer code to purchase tickets for this session."

Anybody know more about this?  I assume we will be getting an email with this code.  Any idea when that email will go out?  I get so much crap in my email, I don't want to miss it.

Keep an eye out for an email on July 23.

Cheers,
Duncan

[chumley]

Great!  Thanks.

I have an account set up on Ticketmaster and a reminder set up in MS Outlook, so I guess I am as prepared as I am going to get.

[tfrommer]

Meeting a buddy of mine in Denver for GABF. I'm an AHA member, he is not. If I win the Ticketmaster lottery for the members session can he come with me? Are member IDs checked or anything?

[HenryFriedman]

Purchasing GABF Tickets
The Brewers Association just announced that GABF tickets go on sale to AHA members July 29th at 10:00 AM Mountain Time.  Tickets are expected to sell out within a few minutes so you need to be prepared if you want to get in.  Here’s some tips I put together based on my experience last year.  I have no idea what additional steps or requirements will be implemented this year, but the tips below worked well for me last year.
1.   Figure out the correct start time for your time zone.
2.   Setup an account with Ticketmaster in advance.  That way you won’t have to spend time entering your name, address, credit card information, etc.
3.   Log onto two computers so you can process more than one transaction at a time.  If you have a helper (preferred) arrange in advance who is going to purchase which sessions.  Go for the ones you want most first because the other events may be sold out by the time you finish your first transaction.  There’s a limit of two tickets per session per membership number.
4.   Have the Ticketmaster page up and ready to go.  You will have to hit the refresh button as soon as the sale begins before the purchase options will be available.
5.   Last year they had one of those images where you need to decipher the numbers and letters and type them in manually.  I assume they will do this again to prevent automation.  Be prepared and do it carefully.  If you enter it incorrectly it will bump you out and you will have to start over.
6.   Have your AHA membership number in front of you so you are ready to enter it.  Better yet, copy the number from Word or another program in advance so it is in your clipboard and paste (Control + V) when your cursor is in the membership number field.  This technique only saves a few seconds, but every second counts.  I heard they may email members a special code this year, but haven’t seen it yet.
7.   Be prepared to answer other questions, such as do you want the tickets mailed to you or do you want to pick them up, etc.
8.   Make sure the transaction is complete and your order has been accepted before starting over to order tickets for a different day or time.  You cannot order more than one session at a time.  There probably won’t be enough time to go through all four transactions one after the other, which is why I’m recommending you log in to Ticketmaster on more than one computer so that you can process more than one transaction simultaneously.  I got three of the four sessions before the Ticketmaster indicated that they were sold out.  It was a matter of just a few minutes. 
Good luck

[hopfenundmalz]

Purchasing GABF Tickets
The Brewers Association just announced that GABF tickets go on sale to AHA members July 29th at 10:00 AM Mountain Time.  Tickets are expected to sell out within a few minutes so you need to be prepared if you want to get in.  Here’s some tips I put together based on my experience last year.  I have no idea what additional steps or requirements will be implemented this year, but the tips below worked well for me last year.
1.   Figure out the correct start time for your time zone.
2.   Setup an account with Ticketmaster in advance.  That way you won’t have to spend time entering your name, address, credit card information, etc.
3.   Log onto two computers so you can process more than one transaction at a time.  If you have a helper (preferred) arrange in advance who is going to purchase which sessions.  Go for the ones you want most first because the other events may be sold out by the time you finish your first transaction.  There’s a limit of two tickets per session per membership number.
4.   Have the Ticketmaster page up and ready to go.  You will have to hit the refresh button as soon as the sale begins before the purchase options will be available.
5.   Last year they had one of those images where you need to decipher the numbers and letters and type them in manually.  I assume they will do this again to prevent automation.  Be prepared and do it carefully.  If you enter it incorrectly it will bump you out and you will have to start over.
6.   Have your AHA membership number in front of you so you are ready to enter it.  Better yet, copy the number from Word or another program in advance so it is in your clipboard and paste (Control + V) when your cursor is in the membership number field.  This technique only saves a few seconds, but every second counts.  I heard they may email members a special code this year, but haven’t seen it yet.
7.   Be prepared to answer other questions, such as do you want the tickets mailed to you or do you want to pick them up, etc.
8.   Make sure the transaction is complete and your order has been accepted before starting over to order tickets for a different day or time.  You cannot order more than one session at a time.  There probably won’t be enough time to go through all four transactions one after the other, which is why I’m recommending you log in to Ticketmaster on more than one computer so that you can process more than one transaction simultaneously.  I got three of the four sessions before the Ticketmaster indicated that they were sold out.  It was a matter of just a few minutes. 
Good luck

Thank you for the detailed instructions, and welcome to the AHA forum.

I will have to think over going this year. The procedure you describe brings back memories of NHC sign up in previous years which was not a fun experience.

[redharry]

Well I just hope I can get a couple of tickets.  I am coming over from the U.K. for a few weeks in the Denver area and this would be a great start to the trip.  The Great British Beer Festival  http://gbbf.org.uk/   is a lot more relaxed in getting tickets, you can usually turn up on the day and get in - well worth a visit if any of you are over here in August.  Thanks for the tips on securing tickets.