65 cases, 140 people, Gone in 2 hours

Yep, that’s all it took for last Saturday’s much-anticipated release of Angel’s Share to go from “available” to “sold out for 2007”.

People started lining up at 8 am and by the 10 am opening the queue stretched across the parking lot. Fortunately, the details of the release — which was limited to 6 bottles per person — were thought out in advance, so the maximum number of people were able to get their share of the Angel’s Share.

While in line everyone placed a reserve on the number of bottles they were purchasing. Once inside, one simply walked up to the counter, showed ID and made their purchase. Then they were free to enjoy a few pints of the many other beers on tap that day with the confidence that their allotment of the good stuff would be waiting for them in the lobby upon exit. It all made for a festive and very relaxed atmosphere.

The most amusing note: A guy who couldn’t make the release, placed an ad on Craiglist for a stand-in. The stand-in’s name? Pabst.