Artenbru: Good idea. Will there be another?

So ARTENBRU.  It's taken me some time before I could get to this with a rational mind, but here it is.  Rather than bitch, a few points about what (in my opinion) went right and what went wrong, and what might have to happen for there to be another go 'round.

It was kind of a good idea, if one that I was totally fuzzy on until only a short time before the event.  The organizers' goal, I think, was to bring together the innovative brewers of the Twin Cities with the innovative graphic artists of St Paul's Lowertown arts quarter, all in the pleasant atmosphere of the Black Dog Cafe.  The brewers made beer, the artists made posters, and all was lovely.  The homebrew would be tasted, and the posters that went with each brew would be seen, and the audience would get to see how collaborations like that could be cool.  Oh, and there would be $2 pints of some local commercial beers as well.

The thing was always a little sketchy, in a kind of charming way -- somewhere between art-scene flakiness and "Hey gang!  Let's put on a show!" idealism.  I'm usually a cynical bastard, but some measure of that is probably necessary for good ideas to ever see the light of day.

It all fell to hell when someone figured out that you couldn't actually serve the homebrewed beer without risking the Black Dog's liquor license.  So no homebrew to taste, and no collaborative teams to talk to.  There were some brewers there, and some artists, but you kind of had to find them yourself and figure out who went with whom.

Clint Luger's winning poster, from the ARTENBRU site.
Too bad I haven't tried the beer, brewed by Steve Fletty.

Oh, but there were a ton of people.  It was like a college party gone bad.  They started giving away the commercial beer they lined up--at least I think so.  I gave up when I saw the line and the frenzied looks on the faces of those up at the front of it.  Figuring that we had jobs and could skip the line in order to pay $5 for a Summit, the Bishop and the Actress and I did so pronto.  Then we all talked to the artists (or the ones we could find) for a while.

Despite it all, I still like the idea and I'd love to see the event work if it ever happens again.  So here are my thoughts and suggestions.  Have others?  Feel free to add in comments if there's anything I missed!

1. Make the brewers happy.  The no-serving homebrew issue was a severe bummer, as that was an integral part of the whole idea.  If there is to be an Artenbru 2, this has to be worked out.  There are ways -- you just can't charge entry fees for that part of the event.  The brewers that I talked to were mostly good sports about it ("More IPA for me" said Curt -- um, I mean "Dr. Stock").  But if anyone's going to go down this road again, this issue has to be worked out first, not last.
2. Make sure the artists are happy too.  I'm not sure if the artists felt as let down as the brewers, but several of them were not there, or at least did not seem to be.  And several of the posters were not for sale. Too bad since the artwork was really first rate for the most part.  Clint Lugert's poster for Fletty's historic British IPA was fantastic.  "Cork Leg Nelson" did the graphically simpler but really cool images for Kris England's beers, and this was probably the most commercially oriented artwork -- I mean that in a good way; it could have been the basis for a whole brand for a commercial brewery.  I really liked Lucas Glusenkamp and Bud Snead's designs as well.  (Check here to see many of the posters)
3. Too many people, or at least too small a space. I say this with great love for the Black Dog cafe.  But holy hell.  If it's gonna be like that, find a bigger space.  Or else go for a smaller, and more committed beer/art crowd and stay at the same space.

Two happy codas though.  Tired of battling artiste elbows, a bunch of us skipped out and headed for Heartland instead. The Heartland bartenders (who get no love on the website) have been outstanding both times I have hung out at the bar there.  They've got some wicked concoctions going on back there, including their own infused liquers.  Bar menu ain't bad either!  Also, I just got called by Nick, one of the Artenbru organizers, who informed me that I won the drawing for $15 at the Ale Jail.  I guess not that many people put in the extra $ for the drawing!  Guess I can't complain too much...