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.
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NOTE: We'll be closed today (Thursday, November 23) for the Thanksgiving holiday. Regular hours will be observed tomorrow & Saturday.
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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:
Sprecher Root Beer (non-alcoholic)
Rotating (limited engagement).
BBC Jefferson’s Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout
Bell’s Hop Slam Imperial IPA (2006 Lupulin Land listed selection)
Great Divide Hercules Double IPA (2006 Lupulin Land listed selection)
Mojo IPA (Boulder Brewing Co.)
N'Ice Chouffe (only 5 gallons!)
Rogue Festive Ale (Saison w/Belgian yeast)
Rogue "John's Locker Stock" Hop Heaven
Spaten Oktoberfest
In the bullpen.
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
Boulder Beer: "The GABF 25th Year Beer"
Founders Bad Habit Belgian Quad
North Coast Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey 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.
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Thursday, November 30
Schlafly Beer Tasting in Prost
See article above for details.
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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.
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August, 2007
Sandkerwa NA
Coming in August, 2007: Sandkerwa NA. Here's the scoop.
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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.
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