BURLINGTON, Vt. -
The Vermont Brewer's Festival sold out earlier than ever this year, so many people took to web sites to find what leftover tickets they could. Some people, however, are willing to take advantage of that.
It was on "craigslist" that one beer fan bought tickets to the sold out festival but it soon became clear to festival director Laura Streets that those tickets were fake.
They gave me the name and numbers," Streets explained.
"Neither of which were even close to what we produce."
It must have been a sinking feeling for that buyer. About as flat as stale beer. It's something that Streets is now warning potential online buyers about.
"We just hope that people won't buy these tickets," Streets said.
"You know the tickets are $30. Anything over that and they shouldn't be paying it and they should be very suspect that it might be a scam."
There are numerous tickets on "craigslist" for the brewer's festival. Not all of them may be fake but Streets says that a resold ticket is no longer one they can guarantee.
"It really is up to the consumer to not support these folks."
It's common to see people come with real tickets, printed off from email, that also don't work. It's because a ticket only scans once. All other copies are made void at the gate after that.
There are other options for big beer fans however. Some of the pubs and bars around town will be holding special events and tasting sessions that week. But as for the actual festival not so much.
It may be hard to swallow for beer fans who decided to wait to buy a ticket. But instead of going online it might be best to wait some more. Until next year.
