TAMPA -- Arrive early. Cash only. No more than three bottles per person.
Those are the rules if you want to get your hands on Hunahpu's Imperial Stout, one of the most limited and highly rated beers in the world.
It's only for sale one day each year – Hunahpu's Day – when Cigar City Brewery in Tampa throws a daylong party it officially describes as "a lot of people drinking, eating and having an awesome time."
Last year the event drew close to 5,000 people. The fourth annual Hunahpu's Day, which brings in beer lovers from around the country, returns Saturday.
"It was an epic party, unlike any other beer release I've ever been to," said Daniel Gomez, a chemist and self-described "beer nerd" who made the 11-hour drive from Durham, N.C., to Tampa last year, and plans to return Saturday. "The selection (of beers) is basically better than any beer fest you could ever go to. It's stuff every beer geek wants to try."
The party's namesake beer is aged on cacao nibs, Madagascar vanilla beans, ancho chili peppers, pasilla chili peppers and cinnamon.
"It's a very intense beer for us to make, so we keep it to once per year," said Justin Clark, vice president of Cigar City. "Plus, when you have thousands of people lining up to buy a beer for $20 a bottle, you have to make sure they get their money's worth. You have to get it right."
The end result is a beer that's surprisingly reminiscent of a Mexican mole sauce – a testament to head brewer Wayne Wambles' culinary approach to beer, Clark said.
Hunahpu's is currently rated in the top 10 beers in the world by Ratebeer.com.
Special wristbands will determine how many bottles guests will be limited to buying, based on arrival time. Gates open at the brewery at 7:50 a.m., but crowds are expected to start lining up earlier.
A variety of food trucks will be selling food all day, beginning with breakfast at 8 a.m. In addition to the Hunahpu's, the brewery will have more than 100 craft beers on tap from Cigar City and other breweries.
Live bands will provide music throughout the event, scheduled to run until midnight at Cigar City, 3924 W. Spruce St.
Clark said Hunahpu's Day's popularity has exploded in the past two years.
"This might be the last year of Hunahpu's Day in its current form," he said. "It has basically grown as big as it can possibly get at the brewery, but we're exploring every option. We might have to spread it over a couple days."