Okay, maybe not so bad after all.
I have now been thoroughly schooled in the workings of the Philly Beer Week website, proving yet again that the squeaky, grumpy writer gets the oil. And a bit of smack talk too. The latter comes with the territory and is generally deserved, as it was in this case. Sorta.
Anyway, it does do a lot of the things I’d want it to do and my bad for not checking it out more thoroughly before voicing a complaint.
I’ve been concentrating primarily on the day-to-day calendar, for example, and didn’t realize that there is a Search function incorporated under both Breweries and Participants that let’s me search for all the events by a brewery or a venue in one place. That’s a good thing. I’d love to also be able to search by Meet & Greets, Dinners, brewers and personalities et al as well, but I now understand the complexities a lot better.
Some of those complexities: there are 125 venues and near 300 events to be covered and apparently venues get to post their own information. That’s clearly a necessity given the scope of things but it’s also the pathway to madness for the site maintenance folks. Ain’t no way in hell any system can meet the needs, quirks, potential for disaster of that many users. Not to mention the changes, updates and (sometimes) deletions that are required daily.
It’s a massive and difficult undertaking and I guess we should be appreciative that somebody is willing to bear the load and responsibility. I am told that Don Russell is the guy at the base of that pyramid so let’s everybody buy him a beer when we get a chance.
Also, that newspaper supplement I mentioned as being a big help last year will be published the Wednesday prior to the PBW kick-off and should answer a lot of my, and your, needs.
29 days and counting…
Hey Jack,
I love the blog — please keep up the great work. I just thought I’d fill in some missing info for you in regards to Philly Beer Week.
There will be two Philly Beer Week publications this year. The first will be a pocket-size (about 5″x7″) keepsake Philly Beer Week Guide that hits the streets starting Feb 19. This will have a couple of articles, a map, ads from some of the participating venues and breweries, and business listings.
The second will be the center-spread pullout section of Philadelphia Weekly on March 4. This will feature more articles, ads from every PBW participant, a map, and all the event listings sorted by day.
If you are looking for any other info, please let me know.
Matt
Being fastidious myself when it comes to data, I’m inclined to go with the spreadsheet over at The Brew Lounge.
Thanks for the info, Matt.
[...] The official site is of course growing and growing and getting around it requires a couple of tips. Jack Curtin turns us on to how to find all events related to a brewery or location (participant). [Liquid Diet] [...]
[...] mention this now? Well, I just did a post yesterday in which I played off the squeaky wheels get the oil thing as “grumpy beer [...]
Has anyone seen the pocket-sized, keepsake Philly Beer Week Guide for sale on the street? I want one.