Publicanista! ... November 30, 2006.

In this edition of Publicanista!:

I. PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: DOUBLE HEADER THURSDAY TONIGHT, WITH THE SCHLAFLY BREW CREW COMING TO VISIT THE PUB, AND A SPECIAL HOLIDAY BEER TASTING AT KEG LIQUORS IN CLARSKVILLE.

II. THURSDAY IS ST. ANDREWS DAY.

III. FROM THE HAND PULL: SLOW AGED NABC ST. RADEGUND POURS TOMORROW (FRIDAY, DEC. 1).

IV. NABC BREWING NEWS: BONFIRE OF THE VALKYRIES RECIPE PROVIDED, AND NAUGHTY CLAUS WINTER WARMER KEGGED FOR SATURNALIA.

V. RECENT NEWS AND ARTICLES AT THE POTABLE CURMUDGEON’S BEER BLOG.

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

VII. BOTTLED BEER NEWS: N'ICE CHOUFFE RETURNS AND FARSONS LACTO MILK STOUT DEBUTS.

VIII. EVENTS, HOURS AND RELATED FACTS.

----

I. PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: DOUBLE HEADER THURSDAY TONIGHT, WITH THE SCHLAFLY BREW CREW COMING TO VISIT THE PUB, AND A SPECIAL HOLIDAY BEER TASTING AT KEG LIQUORS IN CLARSKVILLE.

We're putting together a Schlafly beer tasting for this Thursday, November 30, and everyone's invited. Arrangements are still being made, but my guess would be a starting time circa 6:00 p.m. We'll be in the Prost special events room, the door to which is to the right as you enter the Public House.

Schlafly is a microbrewery of long standing located in St. Louis, and recently it has broadened distribution to Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. A friend, John Campbell, is now my Schlafly sales rep, and Mitch Turner, who many will remember from his days at Pipkin Brewing in Louisville, is John's boss.

They'll be bringing brewers and other company employees to sample the brewery's everyday beers and a few special releases. I'm told to expect a cask-conditioned offering, and there just may be a door prize or two.

Also on Thursday is a holiday beer tasting from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Keg Liquors in Clarksville.

Next spring, in conjunction with Gravity Head 2007, we hope to host a book signing by Tom Schlafly, the microbrewery's founder and namesake, and the author of "A New Religion in Mecca: Memoir of a Renegade Brewer in St. Louis." This event will take place later in March, 2007, so stay tuned for more information.

II. THURSDAY IS ST. ANDREWS DAY.

If two good friends of Scottish descent hadn’t told me this fact, I wouldn’t have known, and so for the remainder of the uninformed, be aware that St. Andrew is the Patron Saint of Scotland.

Read more here: It's all about Scotland, at least for today.

III. FROM THE HAND PULL: SLOW AGED NABC ST. RADEGUND POURS TOMORROW (FRIDAY, DEC. 1).

An aged and fully cask-conditioned firkin of NABC St. Radegund Bitter begins pouring tomorrow. Jesse and Jared also have filled a pin (5 gallons) with the forthcoming black smoked beer, Bonfire of the Valkyries ... and later in the month, there'll be some squirreled-away Strathpeffer Heather on the hand pull. ETA's for both have yet to be determined.

For more information on cask-conditioned ale:

Horse Brass Pub (where our friend Biscuit used to work ... more on that later)
Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA)
Warm, Flat and Boring -- the Truth About Cask Ale, from Rate Beer.

IV. NABC BREWING NEWS: BONFIRE OF THE VALKYRIES RECIPE PROVIDED, AND NAUGHTY CLAUS WINTER WARMER KEGGED FOR SATURNALIA.

Here's the recipe notes for Jesse's and Jared's Bonfire of the Valkyries, a unique black smoked lager:

OG: 1070
Malts: Weyermann smoked 2-row, black, special B, aromatic
Hops: Saaz
Yeast: San Francisco/”California Common” (fermented cool, as a lager)

Taste tests are being regularly conducted, and when it's just right, BotV will be tapped.

Meanwhile, Naughty Claus Winter Warmer has been kegged and will debut at Saturnalia MMXI.

V. RECENT NEWS AND ARTICLES AT THE POTABLE CURMUDGEON’S BEER BLOG.

Here are recently posted articles:

"A bung-starter is a beer-mallet" ... Mencken.

Pants Down Port Drinkers to convene on Thursday, December 28 at the Public House.

Sunday ponderings.

What's the story behind the Hugh E. Bir's Cafe closure?

UPDATED: We've broken 600.

A reader question, and a generational "barley pop" perspective.

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.

VI. 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?

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.

St. Radegund Bitter ... Classic British character in the ESB range.

Guests from near and far.
Market pricing.

Staples:

Alpha King

Arrogant Bastard

Bell’s Two Hearted Ale

Guinness Stout

Lindemans Framboise

Pilsner Urquell

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Smithwick’s Irish Ale

Spaten Premium Lager

Sprecher Root Beer (non-alcoholic)

Upland Wheat

Rotating (limited engagement).

BBC Jefferson’s Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout

Bell's Double Cream Stout

Bell’s Hop Slam Imperial IPA (2006 Lupulin Land listed selection)

Delirium Tremens

Gaffel Kolsch

Great Divide Hercules Double IPA (2006 Lupulin Land listed selection)

Great Divide Titan IPA

Kronenbourg 1664

Rogue JLS Release #16 Imperial Porter

Samuel Adams Winter Lager

Schlafly Christmas Ale

Schlafly Hefeweizen

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

Spaten Oktoberfest

In the bullpen.

Well, nothing at the moment.

VII. BOTTLED BEER NEWS: N'ICE CHOUFFE RETURNS AND FARSONS LACTO MILK STOUT DEBUTS.

N'Ice Chouffe (750 ml) ... from those creative "gnomes" in the Ardennes comes a longtime favorite seasonal winter warmer (10% abv). Dark and deep, but deceptively drinkable.

Farsons Lacto Milk Stout (11.2 oz) ... Our first beer from Malta, and an uncommon one. Unpreviewed as of this writing, but should be smooth, mild and sweet (less than 4% abv) in the British ale tradition.

Hambleton Toleration Ale (gluten-free; 16.9 oz) ... an article from The Press (York, UK) sheds light on why a United States government in pursuit of international terorism always has time to quibble over the use of "gluten-free" on a product label, thus delaying the ale's American debut.

Remaining stocks of previously listed bottles (all running low):

Barley Island Black Majic Java Stout

BBC Professor Gesser's Mind Numbing Ale

Bornem Double

Boulder Beer: "The GABF 25th Year Beer"

Founders Bad Habit Belgian Quad

Le Baladin Wayan

North Coast Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale

Podkovan Dark Lager

Rogue Chipotle Ale

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.

VIII. 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.

Smoking.

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.

Wi-Fi.

Both dining areas are 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.

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.

----

Thursday, November 30

Schlafly Beer Tasting in Prost

See article above for details.

----

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.

----

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.

----

August, 2007

Sandkerwa NA

Coming in August, 2007: Sandkerwa NA. Here's the scoop.

----

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.

Publicanista! ... November 23, 2006.

In this edition of Publicanista!:

I. PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: SATURNALIA PREVIEW BEGINS FRIDAY WITH ACHOUFFE, ROGUE & SIERRA NEVADA. ALSO, GREAT DIVIDE TITAN IPA NOW ON TAP.

II. SCHLAFLY BREW CREW COMING TO VISIT ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30.

III. FROM THE HAND PULL: BBC APA CURRENTLY POURING.

IV. NABC BREWING NEWS: BONFIRE OF THE VALKYRIES RECIPE PROVIDED, AND NAUGHTY CLAUS WINTER WARMER KEGGED FOR SATURNALIA.

V. RECENT NEWS AND ARTICLES AT THE POTABLE CURMUDGEON’S BEER BLOG.

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

VII. BOTTLED BEER NEWS: N'ICE CHOUFFE RETURNS AND FARSONS LACTO MILK STOUT DEBUTS.

VIII. EVENTS, HOURS AND RELATED FACTS.

----

NOTE: We'll be closed today (Thursday, November 23) for the Thanksgiving holiday. Regular hours will be observed tomorrow & Saturday.

----

I. PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: SATURNALIA PREVIEW BEGINS FRIDAY WITH ACHOUFFE, ROGUE & SIERRA NEVADA. ALSO, GREAT DIVIDE TITAN IPA NOW ON TAP.

There'll be a keg's worth of Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale and Rogue Chocolate Stout, a mere 5 gallons of this year's N'Ice Chouffe, and maybe a few pours of Corsendonk Christmas Ale beginning Friday, November 24 at 11:00 a.m. when Sportstime Pizza opens for lunch. Because of an ordering snafu, the Corsendonk likely will be gone quickly (we've already been working on that keg earlier this week), but if inspired, I'll likely tap the first of two Schlafly Christmas Ale kegs purchased for Saturnalia ... when all the preceding will return.

Also, both kegs of tasty Great Divide Titan IPA finally have arrived, and currently it is flowing (and delicious).

II. SCHLAFLY BREW CREW COMING TO VISIT ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30.

We're putting together a Schlafly beer tasting for the Thursday after Thanksgiving. Schlafly is a microbrewery of long standing located in St. Louis, and recently it has broadened distribution to Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. A friend, John Campbell, is now my Schlafly sales rep, and Mitch Turner, who many will remember from his days at Pipkin Brewing in Louisville, is John's boss. They'll be bringing brewers and other company employees to our Prost special events room to sample the brewery's everyday beers and a few special releases. I'm told to expect a cask-conditioned offering, and there just may be a door prize or two.

Next spring, in conjunction with Gravity Head 2007, we hope to host a book signing by Tom Schlafly, the microbrewery's founder and namesake, and the author of "A New Religion in Mecca: Memoir of a Renegade Brewer in St. Louis." This event will take place later in March, 2007, so stay tuned for more information.

III. FROM THE HAND PULL: BBC APA CURRENTLY POURING.

Last Friday the long-anticipated firkin (10 gallons) of cask-conditioned BBC Beer Company (Main & Clay) American Pale Ale was tapped. It was been well worth the wait, and was still yielding spot-on dry-hopped pints as of Wednesday evening. CAMRA disagrees, but cask breathers simply make sense for us. After the APA, the brew crew has a surprise: An aged and fully cask-conditioned firkin of NABC St. Radegund Bitter. Jesse and Jared also have filled a pin (5 gallons) with the forthcoming black smoked beer, Bonfire of the Valkyries. ETA's for both have yet to be determined.

For more information on cask-conditioned ale:

Horse Brass Pub (where our friend Biscuit used to work ... more on that later)
Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA)
Warm, Flat and Boring -- the Truth About Cask Ale, from Rate Beer.

IV. NABC BREWING NEWS: BONFIRE OF THE VALKYRIES RECIPE PROVIDED, AND NAUGHTY CLAUS WINTER WARMER KEGGED FOR SATURNALIA.

Here's the recipe notes for Jesse's and Jared's Bonfire of the Valkyries, a unique black smoked lager:

OG: 1070
Malts: Weyermann smoked 2-row, black, special B, aromatic
Hops: Saaz
Yeast: San Francisco/”California Common” (fermented cool, as a lager)

Taste tests are being regularly conducted, and when it's just right, BotV will be tapped.

Meanwhile, Naughty Claus Winter Warmer has been kegged and will debut at Saturnalia MMXI.

V. RECENT NEWS AND ARTICLES AT THE POTABLE CURMUDGEON’S BEER BLOG.

Here are recently posted articles:

NABC Naughty Claus to debut at Saturnalia MMXI.

REWIND: Beer to go with your Thanksgiving meal.

Bad news about our Oaked Arrogant Bastard keg.

A "Great Gulp" time machine: 31, going on 100 years ago.

Eileen Martin's birthday party will be at the BBC Tap Room on Saturday night.

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.

VI. 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.

St. Radegund Bitter ... Classic British character in the ESB range.

Guests from near and far (on tap during Lupulin Land 2006).
Market pricing.

Staples:

Alpha King

Arrogant Bastard

Bell’s Two Hearted Ale

Guinness Stout

Lindemans Framboise

Pilsner Urquell

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Smithwick’s Irish Ale

Spaten Premium Lager

Sprecher Root Beer (non-alcoholic)

Upland Wheat

Rotating (limited engagement).

BBC Jefferson’s Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout

Bell’s Hop Slam Imperial IPA (2006 Lupulin Land listed selection)

Corsendonk Christmas Ale

Founders Dirty Bastard

Great Divide Hercules Double IPA (2006 Lupulin Land listed selection)

Great Divide Titan IPA

Gulden Draak

Mojo IPA (Boulder Brewing Co.)

N'Ice Chouffe (only 5 gallons!)

Rogue Chocolate Stout

Rogue Festive Ale (Saison w/Belgian yeast)

Rogue "John's Locker Stock" Hop Heaven

Samuel Adams Winter Lager

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

Spaten Oktoberfest

In the bullpen.

Gaffel Kolsch

VII. BOTTLED BEER NEWS: N'ICE CHOUFFE RETURNS AND FARSONS LACTO MILK STOUT DEBUTS.

N'Ice Chouffe (750 ml) ... from those creative "gnomes" in the Ardennes comes a longtime favorite seasonal winter warmer (10% abv). Dark and deep, but deceptively drinkable.

Farsons Lacto Milk Stout (11.2 oz) ... Our first beer from Malta, and an uncommon one. Unpreviewed as of this writing, but should be smooth, mild and sweet (less than 4% abv) in the British ale tradition.

Hambleton Toleration Ale (gluten-free; 16.9 oz) ... an article from The Press (York, UK) sheds light on why a United States government in pursuit of international terorism always has time to quibble over the use of "gluten-free" on a product label, thus delaying the ale's American debut.

Remaining stocks of previously listed bottles (all running low):

Barley Island Black Majic Java Stout

BBC Professor Gesser's Mind Numbing Ale

Bornem Double

Boulder Beer: "The GABF 25th Year Beer"

Founders Bad Habit Belgian Quad

Le Baladin Wayan

North Coast Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale

Podkovan Dark Lager

Rogue Chipotle Ale

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.

VIII. 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.

Smoking.

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.

Wi-Fi.

Both dining areas are 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.

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.

----

Thursday, November 30

Schlafly Beer Tasting in Prost

See article above for details.

----

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.

----

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.

----

August, 2007

Sandkerwa NA

Coming in August, 2007: Sandkerwa NA. Here's the scoop.

----

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.

Publicanista! ... November 16, 2006.

In this edition of Publicanista!:

I. PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: SANDKERWA, OR A NEW DRAFT BEER FESTIVAL UP MY SLEEVE.

II. FROM THE HAND PULL: WE'LL TRY AGAIN FOR BBC APA TOMORROW, WITH NABC SPECIALS IN THE QUEUE.

III. NABC BREWING NEWS: ST. RADEGUND IS BACK, AND BONFIRE OF THE VALKYRIES SOON TO FOLLOW.

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: HAMBLETON TOLERATION ALE, A "GLUTEN-FREE" IMPORTED CHOICE.

VII. EVENTS, HOURS AND RELATED FACTS.

----

NOTE: We'll be closed next Thursday, November 23, for the Thanksgiving holiday. Regular hours will return next Friday & Saturday.

----

I. PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: SANDKERWA, OR A NEW DRAFT BEER FESTIVAL UP MY SLEEVE.

This past August, our biking group began its Central European program of roadwork with three “training” days in Bamberg, a city that most of you know remains my favorite in all of Europe, and is the thriving epicenter of the remarkably prolific craft brewing region of Franconia. We enjoyed fortunate timing, as the city’s annual Sandkerwa was winding down.

The weekend festival, which dates back at least half a century and originated as a modest neighborhood parlor fete, now takes place throughout the venerable, narrow streets and flower-festooned petite squares in the UNESCO-listed old town, just below the stunning hilltop cathedral and ecclesiastical area and near the famous island-built town hall that splits the Regnitz ...

Read the rest here: Coming in August, 2007: Sandkerwa NA. Here's the scoop.

II. FROM THE HAND PULL: WE'LL TRY AGAIN FOR BBC APA TOMORROW, WITH NABC SPECIALS IN THE QUEUE.

Last week I wrote that, "Cooler weather has returned, and cask ale is back in season," but it was too warm last Friday to tap the long-anticipated firkin (10 gallons) of cask-conditioned BBC Beer Company (Main & Clay) American Pale Ale. We're aiming again for tomorrow (Friday, November 17).

After the APA, the brew crew has a surprise: An aged and fully cask-conditioned firkin of NABC St. Radegund Bitter. Jesse and Jared also have filled a pin (5 gallons) with the forthcoming black smoked beer, Bonfire of the Valkyries.

My first stab at ordering firkins from B. United's list was late (my fault), and Shelton Brothers isn't shipping its casks to Indiana because of transportation issues. Consequently, it's a coin flip as to when Britich cask ales will begin arriving.

For more information on cask-conditioned ale:

Horse Brass Pub (where our friend Biscuit works when not skipping town)
Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA)
Warm, Flat and Boring -- the Truth About Cask Ale, from Rate Beer.

III. NABC BREWING NEWS: ST. RADEGUND IS BACK, AND BONFIRE OF THE VALKYRIES SOON TO FOLLOW.

A new batch of St. Radegund -- in essence, a recalibrated Beak's Best -- also has been brewed and is back on tap now. 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).

Jesse and Jared have brewed a unique black-colored smoked lager (California Common yeast) with Weyermann smoked malt from Bamberg and Noble hops. It will be called Bonfire of the Valkyries, and is without precedent in classical style guidelines.

A higher-gravity "Winter Warmer" has been put to bed. Look for details soon.

IV. RECENT NEWS AND ARTICLES AT THE POTABLE CURMUDGEON’S BEER BLOG.

Here are recently posted articles:

Be skeptical of tradition.

Sometimes the show can't -- and shouldn't -- go on.

NABC mourns the loss of Andrew Johnson, an employee and friend.

Attention MSNBC: I got your top ten cities for beer lovers.

Coming in August, 2007: Sandkerwa NA. Here's the scoop.

UPDATED: BARD is underway and my eyes are killing me.

Jealousy rages as Big Kim conquers Bamberg - again.

Read the November newsletter of the Brewers of Indiana Guild.

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.

St. Radegund Bitter ... Classic British character in the ESB range.

Guests from near and far (on tap during Lupulin Land 2006).
Market pricing.

Staples:

Alpha King

Bell’s Two Hearted Ale

Guinness Stout

Lindemans Framboise

Pilsner Urquell

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Smithwick’s Irish Ale

Spaten Premium Lager

Sprecher Root Beer (non-alcoholic)

Upland Wheat

Rotating (limited engagement).

BBC Jefferson’s Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout

Bell’s Hop Slam Imperial IPA (2006 Lupulin Land listed selection)

Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA (2006 Lupulin Land listed selection)

Founders Dirty Bastard

Great Divide Hercules Double IPA (2006 Lupulin Land listed selection)

Gulden Draak

Left Hand Milk Stout

Rogue Festive Ale (Saison w/Belgian yeast)

Rogue "John's Locker Stock" Hop Heaven

Rogue Mocha Porter

Schlafly Hefeweizen

Shmaltz Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. (2006 Lupulin Land listed selection)

Spaten Oktoberfest

In the bullpen.

Mojo IPA (Boulder Brewing Co.)

Samuel Adams Winter Lager

VI. BOTTLED BEER NEWS: HAMBLETON TOLERATION ALE, A "GLUTEN-FREE" IMPORTED CHOICE.

It's been a long time coming, but finally Hambleton Toleration Ale is on the shelf. An article from The Press (York, UK) sheds light on why it took so long, and why a United States government is pusruit of international terorism always has time to quibble over the use of "gluten-free" on a product label:

Nick Stafford, who with his wife, Sally, started the (Hambleton) brewery in 1991, said: "In the absence of an agreed definition of gluten free' approved by the US Food And Drug Administration, the brewery had to re-brand the beer and focused on communicating drinker benefits by calling it Toleration'.

"We were allowed to describe the process, but not use the word free' - for instance we could explain that it was made from sugar and not from barley sugar or rye.'

Hambleton's importer is B. United, which offers further information on the ale.

Owing to the relatively high wholesale price, I have Toleration Ale at $6.75 for a half-liter bottle, with only a dollar off for carry-out.

Now also in stock ...

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.

Remaining stocks of previously listed bottles:

BBC Professor Gesser's Mind Numbing Ale

Bornem Double

Founders Bad Habit Belgian Quad

Le Baladin Wayan

Podkovan Dark Lager

Rogue Chipotle Ale

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.

Smoking.

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.

Wi-Fi.

Both dining areas are 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.

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.

----

Thursday, November 30

We're putting together a Schlafly beer tasting for the Thursday after Thanksgiving. Schlafly is a microbrewery of long standing located in St. Louis, and recently it has broadened distribution to Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. A friend, John Campbell, is now my Schlafly sales rep, and Mitch Turner, who many will remember from his days at Pipkin Brewing in Louisville, is John's boss. They'll be bringing brewers and other company employees to our Prost special events room to sample the brewery's everyday beers and a few special releases. Details to follow.

Next spring, in conjunction with Gravity Head 2007, we hope to host a book signing by Tom Schlafly, the microbrewery's founder and namesake, and the author of "A New Religion in Mecca: Memoir of a Renegade Brewer in St. Louis." This event will take place later in March, 2007, so stay tuned for more information.

----

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.

----

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.

Publicanista! ... November 9, 2006.

In this edition of Publicanista!:

I. PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: ROGUE HOP HEAVEN ON TAP, AND BELL'S HOP SLAM NEXT.

II. FROM THE HAND PULL: BBC APA TOMORROW, NABC SPECIALS IN THE QUEUE.

III. NABC BREWING NEWS: ST. RADEGUND IS BACK, AND BONFIRE OF THE VALKYRIES SOON TO FOLLOW.

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: HAMBLETON TOLERATION ALE, A "GLUTEN-FREE" IMPORTED CHOICE.

VII. EVENTS, HOURS AND RELATED FACTS.

----

Note: That's Lacy Davis, Drinking Liberally chapter leader, in the photo above. She's demonstrating proper pouring technique to visiting congressional candidate Baron Hill, who won the election. Lacy finished the beer.

----

I. PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: ROGUE HOP HEAVEN ON TAP, AND BELL'S HOP SLAM NEXT.

It wasn't listed for Lupulin Land because the arrival date was uncertain, but Hop Heaven, Rogue's latest "John's Locker Stock" selection is now on tap. Of the "fresh/wet" hop ales tasted to date, including offerings from Sierra Nevada, Great Divide and Two Brothers, it's my favorite. Appropriately, Hop Heaven boasts loads of flavor and aroma hop, and it has a lingering, mellow bitterness. The malty body is vintage Rogue. We received two kegs, so pace yourselves.

Meanwhile, the Lupulin-listed Bell’s Hop Slam Imperial IPA keg is ready and waiting for a tap to open, and happily, when it goes on line there'll be a second Hop Slam keg to follow.

II. FROM THE HAND PULL: BBC APA TOMORROW, NABC SPECIALS IN THE QUEUE.

Cooler weather has returned, and cask ale is back in season.

The long-anticipated firkin (10 gallons) of cask-conditioned BBC Beer Company (Main & Clay) American Pale Ale will be tapped on Friday, November 10.

After the APA, the brew crew has a surprise: An aged and fully cask-conditioned firkin of NABC St. Radegund Bitter. Jesse and Jared also have filled a pin (5 gallons) with the forthcoming black smoked beer, Bonfire of the Valkyries.

My first stab at ordering firkins from B. United's list was late (my fault), and Shelton Brothers isn't shipping its casks to Indiana because of transportation issues. Consequently, it's a coin flip as to when Britich cask ales will begin arriving.

For more information on cask-conditioned ale:

Horse Brass Pub (where our friend Biscuit works when not skipping town)
Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA)
Warm, Flat and Boring -- the Truth About Cask Ale, from Rate Beer.

III. NABC BREWING NEWS: ST. RADEGUND IS BACK, AND BONFIRE OF THE VALKYRIES SOON TO FOLLOW.

A new batch of St. Radegund -- in essence, a recalibrated Beak's Best -- also has been brewed and is back on tap now. 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).

Jesse and Jared have brewed a unique black-colored smoked lager (California Common yeast) with Weyermann smoked malt from Bamberg and Noble hops. It will be called Bonfire of the Valkyries, and is without precedent in classical style guidelines.

A higher-gravity "Winter Warmer" has been put to bed. Look for details next week.

IV. RECENT NEWS AND ARTICLES AT THE POTABLE CURMUDGEON’S BEER BLOG.

Here are recently posted articles:

Revenge of the Highlanders.

(S)election results show: Elector wins again.

REWIND: Another NA (non-alcoholic) election day.

Groundbreaking beer, and a new day dawning in downtown NA.

Porter, Lewis & Clark, and powerful thirsts.

Attention homebrewers: For a limited time, you too can brew with Rogue’s Pacman yeast.

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.

St. Radegund Bitter ... Classic British character in the ESB range.

Guests from near and far (on tap during Lupulin Land 2006).
Market pricing.

Staples:

Alpha King

Bell’s Two Hearted Ale

Guinness Stout

Lindemans Framboise

Pilsner Urquell

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Smithwick’s Irish Ale

Spaten Premium Lager

Sprecher Root Beer (non-alcoholic)

Upland Wheat

Rotating (limited engagement).

Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA (2006 Lupulin Land listed selection)

Founders Centennial IPA

Founders Dirty Bastard

Great Divide Hercules Double IPA (2006 Lupulin Land listed selection)

Gulden Draak

Houblon Chouffe (2006 Lupulin Land listed selection)

Poperings Hommel Bier (2006 Lupulin Land listed selection)

Rogue Festive Ale (Saison w/Belgian yeast)

Rogue "John's Locker Stock" Hop Heaven

Rogue Morimoto Soba

Schlafly Coffee Stout

Schlafly Hefeweizen

Shmaltz Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. (2006 Lupulin Land listed selection)

Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale (2006 Lupulin Land listed selection)

Spaten Oktoberfest

In the bullpen.

Bell’s Hop Slam Imperial IPA (2006 Lupulin Land listed selection)

BBC Jefferson’s Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout

Left Hand Milk Stout

Mojo IPA (Boulder Brewing Co.)

VI. BOTTLED BEER NEWS: HAMBLETON TOLERATION ALE, A "GLUTEN-FREE" IMPORTED CHOICE.

It's been a long time coming, but finally Hambleton Toleration Ale is on the shelf. An article from The Press (York, UK) sheds light on why it took so long, and why a United States government is pusruit of international terorism always has time to quibble over the use of "gluten-free" on a product label:

Nick Stafford, who with his wife, Sally, started the (Hambleton) brewery in 1991, said: "In the absence of an agreed definition of gluten free' approved by the US Food And Drug Administration, the brewery had to re-brand the beer and focused on communicating drinker benefits by calling it Toleration'.

"We were allowed to describe the process, but not use the word free' - for instance we could explain that it was made from sugar and not from barley sugar or rye.'

Hambleton's importer is B. United, which offers further information on the ale.

Owing to the relatively high wholesale price, I have Toleration Ale at $6.75 for a half-liter bottle, with only a dollar off for carry-out.

Now also in stock ...

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.

Remaining stocks of previously listed bottles:

BBC Professor Gesser's Mind Numbing Ale

Bornem Double

Founders Bad Habit Belgian Quad

Le Baladin Wayan

Podkovan Dark Lager

Rogue Chipotle Ale

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.

Smoking.

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.

Wi-Fi.

Both dining areas are 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.

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.

----

Thursday, November 30

We're putting together a Schlafly beer tasting for the Thursday after Thanksgiving. Schlafly is a microbrewery of long standing located in St. Louis, and recently it has broadened distribution to Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. A friend, John Campbell, is now my Schlafly sales rep, and Mitch Turner, who many will remember from his days at Pipkin Brewing in Louisville, is John's boss. They'll be bringing brewers and other company employees to our Prost special events room to sample the brewery's everyday beers and a few special releases. Details to follow.

Next spring, in conjunction with Gravity Head 2007, we hope to host a book signing by Tom Schlafly, the microbrewery's founder and namesake, and the author of "A New Religion in Mecca: Memoir of a Renegade Brewer in St. Louis." This event will take place later in March, 2007, so stay tuned for more information.

----

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.

----

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.

Publicanista! ... November 2, 2006.

In this edition of Publicanista!:

I. PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: COMING NEXT TUESDAY, ANOTHER NA (NON-ALCOHOLIC) ELECTION DAY, AND ANOTHER NABC ELECTOR NIGHT.

II. SPEAKING OF CANDIDATES ... BARON HILL TO DROP IN ON DRINKING LIBERALLY.

III. LUPULIN LAND HARVEST HOP FESTIVAL 2006 FINAL UPDATE.

IV. NABC BREWING NEWS: EXPERIMENTS IN COLORING SMOKE BLACK, AND A RETURNING ENGLISH FAVORITE.

V. SCHLAFLY BREWING COMPANY TASTING IN PROST ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30.

VI. RECENT NEWS AND ARTICLES AT THE POTABLE CURMUDGEON’S BEER BLOG.

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

VIII. BOTTLED BEER NEWS: FOUR EXCELLENT MICROBREWS FROM BARLEY ISLAND, BOULDER, NORTH COAST AND STONE.

IX. EVENTS, HOURS AND RELATED FACTS.

----

I. PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: COMING NEXT TUESDAY, ANOTHER NA (NON-ALCOHOLIC) ELECTION DAY, AND ANOTHER NABC ELECTOR NIGHT.

Another election day arrives on Tuesday, November 7, and with it eleven hours of state-mandated prohibition against the sale of demon rum.

Presumably, this unwelcome vestige of an otherwise discredited social policy serves as a bulwark against the horrific possibility that unscrupulous politicos or their conniving agents might swap half-pints of Kessler (or a similarly valued slopping spree at Hugh E. Bir’s) in exchange for a poor wretch’s vote.

As there exists no commensurate prohibition against the sale of strong black coffee, chocolate-covered Krispy Kremes and hickory-smoked bacon, apparently the veiled but very real threat of breakfast-induced bribery is not worthy of the same scrutiny as that posed by the insidious grape and the grain.

If you’re hopelessly intoxicated after ingesting that half-pint of Kessler, are you really any more destructive to democracy than the perfectly sober voter who is following instructions provided by a fundamentalist preacher who has promised not temporal inebriation, but a favorable reference when the time comes to take up residence in heaven?

Next Tuesday, Sportstime Pizza will be open as usual at 11:00 a.m. for a very dry lunch.

Rich O's Public House opens at 6:00 p.m., and because these 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 Elector at the regular price will have it served in a signature glass, and get to keep the glass afterwards (we pour, you rinse).

II. SPEAKING OF CANDIDATES ... BARON HILL TO DROP IN ON DRINKING LIBERALLY.

Earlier this week, I learned that Democratic congressional hopeful Baron Hill will make an appearance during the weekly meeting of Drinking Liberally (New Albany & Southern Indiana) this Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. at Rich O’s Public House.

Baron Hill to visit this Thursday’s meeting of Drinking Liberally at the Public House.

III. LUPULIN LAND HARVEST HOP FESTIVAL 2006 FINAL UPDATE.

Lupulin Land 2006 is winding down, and bearing in mind that there have been multiple kegs of many listed selections, it's fair to say that thousands of IBUs have been consumed since the October 13 starting gun sounded.

Here's the current draft lineup and the current status of keg orders.

Don't forget that we have Lupulin Land 2006 t-shirts in stock, at $15 each.

On tap now:

• Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
• Great Divide Hercules Double IPA
• Hitachino Nest Japanese Classic Ale
• Houblon Chouffe
• Poperings Hommel Bier
• NABC Hoptimus
• 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

Order and availability status:

Bell’s Hop Slam Imperial IPA probably will be here by Thursday, November 2 (today).

To allow for conditioning, the firkin of cask-conditioned BBC Beer Company (Main & Clay) American Pale Ale will not be tapped before November 6.

Already gone:

• Avery Maharaja Imperial India Pale Ale
• Bluegrass Brewing Company (St. Matthews) Ultra/aka Homewrecker (cask-conditioned)
• Great Divide Fresh Hop Pale Ale
• Harpoon IPA
• Jever Pilsener
• NABC Oaktimus
• Rogue I2PA
• Rogue JLS Integrity IPA (2006 Redux)
• Rogue Juniper Pale Ale
• Rogue Morimoto Imperial Pilsner
• St. Georgenbrau Keller Bier
• Stone Ruination IPA
• Two Brothers Heavy Handed

IV. 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).

V. SCHLAFLY BREWING COMPANY TASTING IN PROST ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30.

We're putting together a Schlafly beer tasting for the Thursday after Thanksgiving. Schlafly is a microbrewery of long standing located in St. Louis, and recently it has broadened distribution to Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. A friend, John Campbell, is now my Schlafly sales rep, and Mitch Turner, who many will remember from his days at Pipkin Brewing in Louisville, is John's boss. They'll be bringing brewers and other company employees to our Prost special events room to sample the brewery's everyday beers and a few special releases. Details to follow.

Next spring, in conjunction with Gravity Head 2007, we hope to host a book signing by Tom Schlafly, the microbrewery's founder and namesake, and the author of "A New Religion in Mecca: Memoir of a Renegade Brewer in St. Louis." This event will take place later in March, 2007, so stay tuned for more information.

VI. RECENT NEWS AND ARTICLES AT THE POTABLE CURMUDGEON’S BEER BLOG.

Here are recently posted articles:

Flashback: Letting the pints speak ... in 1994.

Baron Hill to visit this Thursday’s meeting of Drinking Liberally at the Public House.

A must-read: "The Perils of Globeerization," from Foreign Policy in Focus.

Moths gravitate to the Lite ... beer aficionados prefer the beer in the glass.

It's all in the name.

What makes a draft list impressive?

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.

VII. 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:

Alpha King

Bell’s Two Hearted Ale

Guinness Stout

Lindemans Framboise

Pilsner Urquell

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Smithwick’s Irish Ale

Spaten Premium Lager

Sprecher Root Beer (non-alcoholic)

Upland Wheat

Rotating (limited engagement -- most will be off tap at the beginning of Lupulin Land 2006).

BBC (Main & Clay) Alt (non-Randall)

BBC Jefferson’s Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout

Founders Centennial IPA

Founders Dirty Bastard

Rogue Morimoto Soba

Schlafly Hefeweizen

Spaten Oktoberfest

Stone Smoked Porter

See above for the complete Lupulin Land lineup.

In the bullpen.

Gulden Draak

Rogue Festive Ale (Saison w/Belgian yeast)

Schlafly Coffee Stout

VIII. BOTTLED BEER NEWS: FOUR EXCELLENT MICROBREWS FROM BARLEY ISLAND, BOULDER, NORTH COAST AND STONE.

Now in stock ...

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

Bornem Double

Dogfish Head Chateau Jiahu

Founders Bad Habit Belgian Quad

Le Baladin Wayan

Podkovan Dark Lager

Rogue Chipotle Ale

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.

IX. 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.

Smoking.

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.

Wi-Fi.

Both dining areas are 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.

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.

----

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 these 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 Elector at the regular price will have it served in a signature glass, and get to keep the glass afterwards (we pour, you rinse).

----

Thursday, November 30

Schlafly Brewing Company Tasting in Prost

We're putting together a Schlafly beer tasting for the Thursday after Thanksgiving. See article above.

----

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.

----

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.