Publicanista! … October 13, 2005.

In this edition of Publicanista!:

Lupulin Land locally brewed firkins to begin pouring next week.

Love and hoppiness: Lupulin Land Harvest Hop celebration rolls on.

NABC and House of Bread combine to beat the swill blues during Harvest Homecoming in New Albany.

Current draft beer lineup.

Bottle board news: BBC Hell for Certain, Shipyard Pumpkinhead, Saison d'Erpe Mere and Oaken Barrel Saison.

Events and miscellany - note Gravity Head date change for 2006.

I. RESHUFFLING LUPULIN LAND HARVEST HOP FEST LOCALLY BREWED FIRKINS -- CASK CONDITIONED BELL'S TWO HEARTED TO BE TAPPED FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14.

Let's make this short and sweet: First I garbled the transmission of the NABC cask for opening night of Lupulin Land (Elector, not Hoptimus), then I didn't get all the pieces put together to get the cask breather up and running, and finally, I didn't get around to collecting the locally brewed cask ale that was supposed to have been running this past week.

Let's regroup.

Tomorrow, October 14, Bell’s Two Hearted Ale (not BBC Professor Gesser) will appear on the hand pump. By next Tuesday, we expect to have the breather working, and will be serving the locally brewed firkins (including one from Matt Gould at Cumberland Brews, which wasn't previously announced) on a more or less daily basis for as long as they last.

BBC Beer Company American Pale Ale (APA)
Bluegrass Brewing Company (St. Matthews) Professor Gesser’s Mind Numbing Ale
Browning’s Brewery (single varietal) ESB
Cumberland Brews (TBA)

Next week, there'll be a list of other imported English and Scottish firkins expected to arrive during the next two months.

For more information on cask-conditioned ale:
Horse Brass Pub (where our friend Biscuit works)
Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA)
Warm, Flat and Boring -- the Truth About Cask Ale, from www.RateBeer.com.

II. LUPULIN LAND HARVEST HOP FEST ROLLS ON.

Our fourth celebration of bitterness in all its wonderous glory got underway last Friday (October 7) and will continue until all the kegs are gone.

NABC's brewer Jesse Williams and assistant Jared Williamson are ecstatic at the reception accorded NABC Hoptimus, which was poured through the Randall dry-hopping-to-the-glass hopback on Monday and Tuesday of this week, and has sold four kegs since going on tap on the 7th.

Founders Devil Dancer arrived in two 5-gallon kegs, the first of which is gone, and the second slated for aging until Gravity Head 2006.

As noted previously, next week looks to be the showcase week for the locally brewed firkins. Stay tuned for further details.

III. NABC BREWERY NEWS: HARVEST HOMECOMING AT THE HOUSE OF BREAD WAS A KICK.

The House of Bread restaurant (corner of Bank and Market in downtown New Albany) featured NABC Elector and NABC Community Dark during its courtyard party during New Albany's annual Harvest Homecoming celebration, which concluded on October 9.

In three days, two Elector kegs and one Community were dispensed, proving that an alternative to swill during Harvest Homecoming is a marketable proposition.

IV. DRAFT BEERS: OUR LIQUID, DAILY BREAD, ON TAP AT RICH O’S AND SPORTSTIME.

Our NABC beers.
Brewed in New Albany by NABC’s Jesse Williams, with assistance from Jared Williamson.

Beak’s Best … English ESB named for world-famous traveler, scholar and drinks aficionado “Beak” Barry. Standard strength.

Community Dark … A dark-colored, light-bodied English Mild, and the ideal place to begin overcoming unfounded fears of the dark. 4.5% abv.

Elector Ale ... Since 2002, making democracy pointless. 7.2% abv.

Kaiser 2nd Reising ... Based on an old New Albany formula, with 6-row malt and corn (decoction mash); Fuggles, East Kent Golding and Hallertau hops. 5.9% abv.

Guests from near and far.
Market pricing.

Flying Dog Dogtoberfest
Guinness Stout
Lindemans Framboise
Smithwick’s Irish Ale
Spaten Premium Lager
Sprecher Root Beer (non-alcoholic)
Upland Wheat

Lupulin Land 2005 listed beers:
Market pricing.

Year-round offerings:
Alpha King
Arrogant Bastard
Bell’s Two Hearted Ale
Pilsner Urquell
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Micros:
Avery IPA
Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
Dogfish Head ApriHop
Great Divide Hercules Double IPA
NABC Hoptimus Double IPA
Rogue (John’s Locker Stock) Glen
Rogue I2PA 2003
Two Brothers Hop Juice Double IPA

Imports:
Belhaven Twisted Thistle IPA (Nitro) (Scotland)
De Dolle Ara Bier (Belgium)
Jever Pilsener (Germany)
Poperings Hommel Bier (Belgium)

In the bullpen:

Lupulin Land ales yet to appear:
Oaken Barrel Super Fly IPA
Rogue Dry-Hopped St. Rogue Red
Sierra Nevada IPA

Others lining up to be poured:
De Dolle Oerbier (partial)
Grotten Brown (30 liters)
Rogue "John's Locker Stock" Saison (brewed with Fantome yeast) (15.5 gallons)
Rogue "John's Locker Stock" Schwartzbier (black lager; pilsner yeast) (15.5 gallons)
Spezial Rauchbier (partial)
Sprecher Oktoberfest (15.5 gallons)
Stone IPA (partial)
Weihenstephan Hefeweissbier Dunkel (30 liters remaining of our featured summer Hefeweizen)

Also, 12 kegs of Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale are on the way.

V. CHECK THE CHALKBOARD FOR ROTATING BOTTLED SELECTIONS: BBC HELL FOR CERTAIN, SHIPYARD PUMPKINHEAD, SAISON D'ERPE MERE AND OAKEN BARREL SAISON.

Remember to check the chalkboard in the front room at Rich O’s for bottled specials and seasonals. These are the bottled beers not carried on the everyday bottled list, and represent a wide variety of flavors and textures for your tasting enjoyment.

From David Pierce, original BBC brewmaster, and the guys at the Beer Corner of Clay & Main in downtown Louisville comes the latest incarnation of an old favorite, Hell for Certain. As befits its creator, who has a Chouffe gnome tattoo, Hell for Certain in inspired by Wallonian strong ales.

Shipyard Pumpkinhead uses neither pumpkin not gourd, just familiar and wholesome pumpkin pie spices, and is another well-conceived ale from the Shipyard in Portland, Maine, which the Publican had the good fortune to visit last winter (click on the profile at the top of the page and see me smelling Shipyard’s hops).

From Brouwerij Glazen Toren in East Flanders (Belgium) comes Saison d’Erpe Mere, described by the brewery’s founder (a former beer writer) as a “Flemish Saison,” but leaning strongly toward Saison Dupont, which remains out of our grasp in Indiana. Recently I drank Saison d’Erpe Mere with a regular chef's salad (with ham and bacon), and based on this tasty sampling, it might well join the regular bottle menu this winter.

From Ken Price, brewer at Oaken Barrel Brewing Company, comes an excellent bottle-conditioned Saison, which I recently enjoyed on tap at the pub in Greenwood in the company of a smokehouse combo of ribs, pulled pork, baked beans and corn on the cob. Ken’s Belgian-style Saison is clean and subtly fruity and finishes dry, with the requisite peppery notes. It is more complex in the bottle than on draft, with much to tease and tempt the palate, and a better complement to garlic-laced barbecue with a thick, sweet and tangy sauce is difficult for me to imagine … unless, of course, the meal were served in Belgium, not Greenwood. Bottles are $11.00 (carry-out price a few bucks less).

Described previously and still in stock (* = almost gone):

Cassissona – cassis-infused sparkling beer from Italy.
*Rogue Chipotle Ale – mildly peppery, mildly smoky amber ale.
Stone Imperial Stout (2005) - massive is the best word to describe this great personal favorite.
Uerige Doppel Sticke – special strong Alt bier, malty and delicious.

VI. EVENTS, HOURS AND RELATED FACTS.

General business hours:

Sportstime Pizza opens at 11:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday. Rich O’s opens at 3:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and at 1:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. We are not open on Sunday except during special events. The same food and beer is available at all times in both rooms, so you may have lunch and a beer in the Sportstime Pizza dining area during those hours when Rich O’s isn’t open. The brewery is available for a look-see if one of us is around and we’re not busy.

2005/06 events:

Lupulin Land Harvest Hop 2005
Begins Friday, October 7.

Saturnalia! 2005
Begins Friday, December 16.

Gravity Head 2006 (Vol. 8)
Note a date change: Gravity Head 2006 has been moved forward two weeks, and will begin on Friday, February 24. I have every reason to believe this will occur this year only, and in 2007, the festival will revert to the second weekend in March.

Credits:

Readers who aren’t as familiar with our business should go to http://www.newalbanian.com/ and http://www.richos.com/ for more information.

NABC is a member of the Brewers of Indiana Guild: http://www.brewersofindianaguild.com/

Questions or comments about editorial content should be directed to Roger A. Baylor: potable@richos.com.

THE END.