Hunahpu Day is cause for celebration in Tampa Bay. What began as a modest beer release on a Friday night from 6-10pm in the brewery became a phenomenon when thousands of people showed up for the release in 2013 which prompted Cigar City Brewing to make 2014 a ticketed event. 2014 should have been a different event than it was. From long lines, to what seemed like acres of empty lawn chairs, to shoulder-to-shoulder people, the event felt differently than what it was supposed to be.
Anyone would be hard pressed to find someone with a Cigar City shirt that was not sweating during the event. Every volunteer and employee was toiling in the sun for the people who seemed to keep coming. The people kept coming and their moods were not the best. The people were upset by the lines, the long wait for entry, and a Hunahpu bottle shortage. The breakdown that occurred in general etiquette later in the day was beyond belief as people vented their frustration (a web search will yield mind-boggling results).
This prompted Cigar City take much of the onus on themselves and to issue the following statement:
So, today did not go as expected. We realize that there were a lot of issues with duplicate tickets, way too long waits in lines, and all of that. We can promise 100% that we are going to make it right, whether it be refund, or whether we brew a batch of beer that we will bottle and make completely free to all attendees that had issues today. We’re completely sorry for all issues that happened today. It really sucked. We completely understand how much it sucked and hate how much it sucked. We don’t want it to suck ever again. We will do what we can to make it right.
Following that, Cigar City made an attempt to apologize by helping those who did not get to try a lot of the beer at Hunahpu Day by allowing them access to taps the day AFTER Hunahpu Day:
As we figure out how to make up for the nightmare that happened today, we’d line to start with this mea culpa: all draft beer in the tasting room tomorrow will be FREE. We will not charge a dime for any beers served in the tasting room tomorrow. We are going to try and tap all of the remaining kegs leftover from today, too.
However we will still be hyper vigilant about over serving people who are intoxicated.
Finally, the most recent statement said:
Regarding Hunahpu’s Day:
If you purchased a ticket to Hunahpu’s Day directly through Eventbrite.com, you will automatically be refunded your money. We will begin these refunds starting tomorrow.
If you paid for your ticket with cash or credit card in person, please email refund@cigarcitybrewing.com and we will directly communicate with you to determine the best way to get your money back.
While Cigar City worked very hard to make the day a success, when the day did not go as planned they seem to be putting their customers first by issuing refunds and trying to find a way to compensate folks for bottles. While many people take to social media to vent their frustrations about Hunahpu Day, Cigar City is sweating, apologizing, and probably losing sleep in order to make the situation as right as they can as soon as they can.
More information as it becomes available.