Organizers of the Great Alaska Craft Beer and Homebrew Festival say they’ll scratch an electronic ticket system and return to paper tickets following gate delays at this year’s event.

The system allowed ticket-holders to print their tickets at home or to carry their “tickets” on their cell phones.

Southeast Alaska State Fair Executive Director Jessica Edwards said the system used this year was intended to make ticketing more convenient and speed admissions to Saturday’s beer tasting, but that didn’t happen.

Scanning ticket bar codes using a Smart phone was problematic due to issues like wrinkled paper tickets and screens on individual hand-held devices, Edwards said.

The fair could get around the problem by purchasing a commercial scanner, but “the ease of use for the consumer isn’t that much greater that it would justify purchase of the scanner for this event,” Edwards said.

The fair board will decide this fall whether the festival will sell more tickets than this year’s 1,500, up 100 from 1,400 in 2014. “As manager, I’m happy with that number,” Edwards said. “We’re at the edge of capacity for that space (in Dalton City). With this number of visitors in town – considering hotel rooms and camping spots – we’re (at capacity) with that as well.”

Edwards said she’d like to hear from the public and fair members about the question.

Edwards said cooperation with the Haines Borough, including meetings that started in March with tourism officials, helped ease issues with the event, including trash. Changes this year included a mobile recycling station set up at Tlingit Park and trash cans placed along Old Haines Highway.

“Public works was a great partner this year. Besides the trash cans, they helped out with extra cleaning of (public) bathrooms,” Edwards said.

Edwards said an expanded Dalton City area for Saturday’s tasting, including spreading out beer stations, eased crowding. Ten brewers were located in Dalton City and nine were spread out along the community garden border.

This year’s event included a record 19 breweries or distributors, up from 15 last year with addition of four from the Railbelt, and seven food vendors, up from four in 2014. “It helps to have a lot of different food offerings. I think people really appreciated that.”

Music was provided on two stages during the four-hour event.

Edwards said the festival Friday dinner with 259 participants this year also has reached capacity. “The dinner sold out in 16 days. There were potentially a lot of people who wanted to attend who weren’t able to. We’re looking at ways of accommodating more people who might attend something like this.”

The fair’s next big event is the community salmon barbecue, a free dinner June 20 at Dalton City provided by local canneries and fishermen. About 1,500 pounds of king salmon have been donated, Edwards said. That’s an increase of about 300 pounds from last year.

The fair might see more diners this year as the Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay has discontinued the meal that formerly was included in the race fee.

Recent improvements to the fair include a new fence and gate at the community garden and construction of two new food booths.