It was the perfect for Capital Brewery’s Bockfest. The weather was a balmy 20 degrees, the sun was out, and the crowd was ready for beer.

I arrived in Middleton a little before 11 a.m. The line was already quite long, but I knew beer awaited my arrival on the other side. Or at least so I thought.

Once inside, I met a friend and we both noticed something curious; no one had beer. We asked a bartender why, and she informed us that they did not start serving until noon.

We were disheartened. We investigated the brewery for a bit before making the decision to walk to a local bar.

The Hody provided warmth, basketball, and most importantly beer. We sat and talked until noon before making our way back to the brewery.

When we arrived, we were greeted by lines at every beer tent that would require twenty minutes to navigate. Rude patrons yelled as we walked through with no intention of displacing them in line. Also we discovered the “Beer” tag on our wristband did not entitle us to a free beer, but rather the opportunity to buy a glass of the Blonde Dopplebock.

It did not take long before we decided to head back to the Hody. At the bar, we could quickly obtain Capital beer for less than at the brewery. We stayed there until just before the fish toss was scheduled to begin.

The fish toss, like every other aspect of Bockfest was a disappointment. We sat outside the gates and watched a crowd of people on top of the brewery throw about a dozen fish over a five-minute span.

Bockfest is a victim of Capital Brewery’s success. As we walked away from the brewery, a patron of Bockfest told us to “boycott Bockfest next year.” While a full boycott of the event would require seems a bit harsh, I do not anticipate anything that would get me to “attend” the event again.