Publicanista! ... September 21, 2006.

PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: LET'S EASE BACK INTO THIS, OKAY?

Another beercycling adventure has come to an end, and the Publican has returned to the fold to resume work.

As you might imagine, any holiday that requires immediate alcohol rehab upon its conclusion poses certain challenges to the resumption of gainful activity. Consequently, today’s “comeback” newsletter is going to be short. By September 28, things should be back to normal.

Also, look for important tidings about NABC beers and Bistro New Albany during the forthcoming Harvest Homecoming celebration in downtown New Albany. I hope to be able to tell you more next week.

Sad news.
Catherine Vitt (Amy and Kate’s grandmother; Sharon O’Connell’s mom) died earlier in the week at the age of 84, and NABC’s thoughts are with the gals. You can read the C-J’s obituary here.

The spinach saga.
As many of you already know, our customary mix of greens currently isn’t available to us owing to the great spinach scare of 2006. Mark Fraley Produce is providing a different salad mix to us. The spinach we use on pizzas and in Greek lasagna is precooked even before being baked at 600 degrees, and will continue to be available. As for the fresh … we’re all waiting to see what happens next.

Our NABC beer.
In my absence, the brew crew released a batch of California Common named Mt. Lee, for the hill where the Hollywood sign stands. At first I thought it was “Mr. Lee,” and wondered why we were naming a beer after the chain of Chinese carry-out joints spotted in Vienna.

NABC beers currently on draft.

The list of guest drafts will return next week. House beers are brewed in New Albany by NABC’s Jesse Williams, with assistance from Jared Williamson.

Artemsia Ale ... Brown ale brewed with 80% Simpson's Golden Promise two-row and molasses, and flavored with mugwort (the "dream herb," related to sagebrush and a cousin of wormwood), sweet orange peel and chamomile. 4.5% abv.

Bob's Old 15-B ... We're calling it a robust, brown Porter precisely because style definitions were meant to be bent.

Community Dark ... Based on English Mild, and our light-bodied dark quaffer. 5% abv.

Croupier IPA ... Jesse's homage to our casino employee clientele is modeled on the English interpretation, with a few American flourishes.

Elector ... Making Democracy pointless since 2002; English malt, American hops. 7.2% abv. Double Red?

Hoptimus ... Brewed with Simpson's Golden Promise malt; Northern Brewer, Fuggles and Cascades hops; and the house London yeast. Dry hopping with Fuggles and Cascades. 9% abv.

Mt. Lee ... California Common, in the style of the famous brand which trademarked the name "steam." Get my drift?

Lupulin Land Harvest Hop festival.
Our annual homage to the magic cone begins on Friday, October 13, and the beginning coincides with “booth days” at New Albany’s yearly Harvest Homecoming celebration. There’ll be a surprise or two, and many past favorites, and Randall the Enamel Animal is expected to appear for a second year to dry-hop a yet-to-be-named choice. More definitive information should be available next week. Meanwhile: UPDATED: Previews: Lupulin Land & Saturnalia (2006) and Gravity Head (2007).

Bistro New Albany’s great review in LEO.
LEO's Eat 'N' Blog With Louisville Hot Bytes: Drop your Kentucky prejudice and head to Bistro New Albany

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.

Rich O's: The front dining rooms at Rich O's are designated as non-smoking areas. The bar area and Red Room are open for smoking (cigarettes, cigars, pipes). We strongly discourage clove cigarettes, which are divisive even among smokers.

Sportstime: Smoking is permitted in the entirety of Sportstime Pizza.

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 Association and Brewers of Indiana Guild.

Questions or comments about editorial content should be directed to Roger A. Baylor, who also writes The Potable Curmudgeon and NA Confidential blogs.

FINIS.