Sun King Anniversary Party

Over the weekend we had the opportunity to celebrate with a pretty big crew down at Sun King in honor of their fourth anniversary. We all know how much the Big Guy and I like Sun King, so it was no surprise that we bought our tickets early.

Picture live music(Luella and the Sun, Saint Paul and the Broken Bones, Sturgill Simpson), food trucks (Mac Genie, Spice Box, Scratch Truck), tons of people, and limited releases of Sun King beer tapped every hour. It was great. The tappings inlcuded Grapefruit Jungle, Port Barrel Aged Wee Mac with Cherries, 777, Afternoon Delight, and Velvet Fog.

Of the beers tapped, the Port Barrel Aged Wee Mac was the standout for me. In general Wee Mac is my go-to Sun King brew, so having it with this twist was definitely fun. The flavors were rich, but not overly heavy and the port balanced well with the maltiness Wee Mac already has, almost finishing like a sour or a flanders. The aromas were a bit boozier than the regular version, but nothing that would make you want to put the glass down without taking a sip.Check out tomorrow's post for more details on all of the limited release beers.

  

Favorite band of the night, definitely Saint Paul and the Broken Bones. Not at all the voice I expected to hear when looking at the lead singer. I was blown away. Favorite food truck, Scratch Truck for sure. How can you go wrong with a grilled cheese sandwich that has short ribs inside? You can't.

Cheers to many more anniversaries to come!

The Big Guy: Damn it was a great time! I showed up with great friends, and I made some new friends while I was there. I totally got hit with a brewmance or two. We got our first beer really quickly. The second one scared me. The line was getting insanely long. Our new buddy Daniel was in line for almost 30 minutes trying to get some more Grapefruit Jungle. Luckily right after he finished up they opened a new spot selling cans and GFJ on tap. There were some awesome food trucks at the party. I love Scratch Truck and their Scratch Burger is outstanding.

I totally fell in love with Saint Paul and the Broken Bones. They were just a great band to watch and listen to. They reminded me of the old school R&B that the Blues Brothers put out. O-Dawg was pretty upset about how Sun King handled the limited releases. They were definitely more limited than I thought they would be, but we were aggressive and upfront. Most of us got a glass of everything they had on tap. I will let O go into his problems with the releases.

O-Dawg:
Being constructive for next year's SKV Anniversary Party:

-More bathrooms.  I hit the head once in the beginning of the night and that was it.  Boy was that a good thing!  The Big Guy had to make multiple trips and got mired down in the dilemma of the evening "Should I go now?  What if I miss a tapping?!" Lines were a little long.

-More taps.  As stated previously, the emergency second tap station was erected just in time!  It dispersed a line that was threatening to wrap its way to the Beer ticket booth and strangle the fun out of the event.  High-fives for Sun King's quick thinking and ingenuity under pressure, but why wasn't it there to begin with?

-Limited Releases.  I have waffled back and forth on this one going from a VIP ticket sales to keeping it for everyone.  In the end, I vote for everyone with an eye on modifying the process so more people get a taste.  More quantity made in preparation or a limit on the quantity poured per cup.  No one likes feeling left out after standing in a line for an extended amount of time, no matter if you are within reach of the taps or towards the back of the line.

High Fives to keep up next year:

-Responsiveness.  As the night wore on Sun King's Staff & Volunteers were trying to keep up with the event.  Additional taps were had, pours altered, and anticipation of the hourly releases were prepped for to keep things moving.  Rocky starts aside, keep it up guys'n gals!

-Food Trucks.  No seriously...  The diverse food selection and support for the local small business food trucks is a win win in my book.  The only thing for me that would have made the event an eleven would have been Der Pretzel Wagon being there!

-Live Music.  I always feel like it isn't a party unless you have a band playing.  None of the bands on the schedule disappointed.  All of them brought their A-Game!