In this edition of Publicanista!:
I. PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: WE WELCOME WI-FI.
II. LUPULIN LAND HARVEST HOP FESTIVAL 2006 CONTINUES TO SPREAD BITTER CHEER THROUGHOUT OUR BUILDING.
III. NABC BREWING NEWS: EXPERIMENTS IN COLORING SMOKE BLACK, AND A RETURNING ENGLISH FAVORITE.
IV. RECENT NEWS AND ARTICLES AT THE POTABLE CURMUDGEON’S BEER BLOG.
V. DRAFT BEERS: OUR LIQUID, DAILY BREAD, ON TAP AT RICH O’S AND SPORTSTIME.
VI. BOTTLED BEER NEWS: FOUR EXCELLENT MICROBREWS FROM BARLEY ISLAND, BOULDER, NORTH COAST AND STONE.
VII. EVENTS, HOURS AND RELATED FACTS.
I. PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: WE WELCOME WI-FI.
There have been times in the past when I've refused to use a computer or a mobile phone ... and times sure do change. As proof, recently our good friend and customer John Doyle kicked around the office suite for a few hours, and when the dust settled, we were enabled for wireless Internet access. Both dining areas are now hotspots. Please observe proper etiquette when using our WI-FI service, and do not disturb or offend others with the Anheuser-Busch web site or other examples of web-borne smut.
II. LUPULIN LAND HARVEST HOP FESTIVAL 2006 CONTINUES TO SPREAD BITTER CHEER THROUGHOUT OUR BUILDING.
Lupulin Land 2006 continues the Public House and Pizzeria. Here's the current draft lineup, an updated schedule, and the current status of keg orders.
On tap now:
- Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
- Great Divide Fresh Hop Pale Ale
- Hitachino Nest Japanese Classic Ale
- Houblon Chouffe
- Poperings Hommel Bier
- NABC Hoptimus
- Rogue I2PA
- Rogue Morimoto Imperial Pilsner
- Shmaltz Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A.
- Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale
Our usual suspects (hoppy ales always on tap):
- Alpha King
- Arrogant Bastard
- Bell’s Two Hearted Ale
- NABC Croupier IPA
- NABC Elector
- Pilsner Urquell
- Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Coming Friday, October 27:
Randall the Enamel Animal returns to modify BBC (Main & Clay) Alt.
Order and availability status:
Great Divide Hercules Double IPA is in stock and ready to tap when a spot comes open.
Probably here by Tuesday, October 31: Cask-conditioned BBC Beer Company (Main & Clay) American Pale Ale. To allow for conditioning, the firkin will not be tapped before November 6.
Coming in early November: Bell’s Hop Slam Imperial IPA.
Already gone:
- Avery Maharaja Imperial India Pale Ale
- Bluegrass Brewing Company (St. Matthews) Ultra/aka Homewrecker (cask-conditioned)
- Harpoon IPA
- Jever Pilsener
- NABC Oaktimus
- Rogue JLS Integrity IPA (2006 Redux)
- Rogue Juniper Pale Ale
- St. Georgenbrau Keller Bier
- Stone Ruination IPA
- Two Brothers Heavy Handed
III. NABC BREWING NEWS: EXPERIMENTS IN COLORING SMOKE BLACK, AND A RETURNING ENGLISH FAVORITE.
Using the California Common yeast that fermented Mt. Lee (now depleted) and the Homecoming Common (now on tap at NABC and Bistro New Albany after an exclusive run during bNA's Harvest Homecoming beer garden), Jesse and Jared have brewed a unique Schwarz Rauch Bier that will be ready for consumption later in November. This black-colored smoker was brewed with Weyermann smoked malt from Bamberg, and is without precedent in classical style guidelines.
A new batch of St. Radegund -- in essence, a recalibrated Beak's Best -- also has been brewed, and we'll be seeing firkins of it on the hand pump now that the weather has cooled and cask ale season has returned. Owing to an alcohol content in the mid-5's, St. Radegund probably is best regarded as a Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale).
IV. RECENT NEWS AND ARTICLES AT THE POTABLE CURMUDGEON’S BEER BLOG.
Here are recently posted articles:
Stone 10th Anniversary India Pale Ale.
Imposing lineups, on and off the field.
Part 2: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ).
Part 1: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ).
Preliminary keg orders for Gravity Head 2007.
Preliminary keg orders for Saturnalia MMVI.
Rich O's medals in Rate Beer's "Best Beer Bars in the United States."
Rich O's Public House cracks the Top 20 in Beer Advocate rankings.
V. DRAFT BEERS: OUR LIQUID, DAILY BREAD, ON TAP AT RICH O’S AND SPORTSTIME.
Our NABC beers (on tap during Lupulin Land 2006).
Brewed in New Albany by NABC’s Jesse Williams, with assistance from Jared Williamson.
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?
Homecoming Common ... Stylistically indeterminate, session "steam beer" variant, amber in color, and with less hop bite than most NABC beers. An autumn pounder.
Hoptimus ... Brewed with Simpson's Golden Promise malt; Northern Brewer, Fuggles and Cascades hops; and fermented with the house London ale yeast. It is dry-hopped in the kegs with Fuggles and Cascades. The OG is 1.094, and IBU's are somewhere around 100.
Guests from near and far (on tap during Lupulin Land 2006).
Market pricing.
Staples:
Sprecher Root Beer (non-alcoholic)
Rotating (limited engagement -- most will be off tap at the beginning of Lupulin Land 2006).
Regenboog t’Smisje Blond (spiced with Linden/lime blooms)
See above for the complete Lupulin Land lineup.
In the bullpen.
BBC Jefferson’s Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout
VI. BOTTLED BEER NEWS: FOUR EXCELLENT MICROBREWS FROM BARLEY ISLAND, BOULDER, NORTH COAST AND STONE.
New in stock this week ...Barley Island Black Majic Java Stout (12 oz) ... Indiana's sole Great American Beer Festival 2006 medal winner brought home a silver in the coffee-flavored beer category. Read more here.
Boulder Beer: "The GABF 25th Year Beer" (22 oz) ... the brewery and the festival have grown side by side, and with a quarter-century gone, there's a celebratory English-style ESB to remember the good times.
North Coast Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale (750 ml) ... brewed under the reasonable premise that America has a Monk of its own -- jazz legend Thelonious -- and could use an abbey ale inspired by the same. It's a fine one, and my pal Graham and I encountered it earlier this year while in California.
Stone 10th Anniversary India Pale Ale (22 oz) ... read the Curmudgeon's comments here. There is a very limited supply of these (18 bottles), and then no more.
Remaining stocks of previously listed bottles:
BBC Professor Gesser's Mind Numbing Ale
Founders Bad Habit Belgian Quad
Don't forget 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.
VII. 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.
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.
2006/2007 events: 
Weekly on Thursday evening @ 7:00 p.m.
Drinking Liberally (New Albany & Southern Indiana) meets in the Red Room each Thursday. Contact organizer Lacy Davis for details.
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Tuesday, November 7
Election/Elector Day
Sportstime Pizza will be open as usual for a very dry lunch owing to laws that prohibit the sale of alcohol while the polls are open, under the dubious wisdom that those afflicted with sobriety vote more intelligently than others who profess intoxication.
Rich O's Public House opens at 6:00 p.m., and because the mid-term elections hold the promise of high entertainment value, we'll be breaking with policy and plugging in a television set or two. Also, beginning at 6:00 p.m., the first 50 customers (that's right - one per state in the Union) buying a pint of NABC beer at the regular price will have it served in a signature glass, and get to keep the glass afterwards (you rinse).
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Friday, December 15
Saturnalia MMVI
NABC, Rich O’s Public House and Sportstime Pizza pay tribute to the ancient pagan origins of Christmas with Saturnalia, a draft beer festival showcasing seasonal specialties and festive ales.
Preliminary keg orders for Saturnalia MMVI.
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Friday, March 9, 2007
Gravity Head 2007
The ninth edition of our annual festival celebrating the brewing world’s biggest and best will kick off from its customary March starting time.
Preliminary keg orders for Gravity Head 2007.
Credits:
Thanks to Jim Bell for his photographic prowess, which we share with you from time to time.
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.
THE END.
