In this edition of Publicanista!:
I. PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: IN WHICH BISCUIT PROVIDES A REPORT FROM THE EUROPEAN BEER PARADISE.
II. COME UNLEASH YOUR INNER PAGAN AS WE CONTINUE “SATURNALIA MMVI,” A WINTER SOLSTICE DRAFT BEER FESTIVAL.
III. FROM THE HAND PULL: NABC ARTEMSIA POURING, NABC STRATHPEFFER NEXT IN THE QUEUE.
IV. NABC BREWERY NOTES: HOPTIMUS READY TO RETURN; KAISER 2ND REISING PRE-PROHIBITION PILSNER CURRENTLY AGING.
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: RARE ITEMS FROM DE DOLLE, THREE FLOYDS AND STONE NOW ON THE BOARD.
VIII. EVENTS, HOURS AND RELATED FACTS.
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I. PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: IN WHICH BISCUIT PROVIDES A REPORT FROM THE EUROPEAN BEER PARADISE.
Phil “Biscuit” Timperman phoned this morning from Brugge, Belgium, where he and his girlfriend are a week into their three-week European holiday excursion.
He conveys Christmas greetings to all his friends here in the Louisville metro area, which he departed six or more years ago to put down roots in Portland, Oregon. Recently Phil quit his job at Portland’s famed Horse Brass Pub, and intends to open his own establishment. We wish him luck.
Next stop for the couple in their jaunt across the pond is Brussels, and then a trek by train to Bamberg is planned. Smoked beer for Christmas? Don’t mind if I do. By Friday, a keg of Spezial should be tapped at the Public House … and diets, be damned.
Happy holidaze ... Bona Saturnalia!
II. COME UNLEASH YOUR INNER PAGAN AS WE CONTINUE “SATURNALIA MMVI,” A WINTER SOLSTICE DRAFT BEER FESTIVAL.
In pre-Christian Rome, Saturnalia was the annual winter solstice celebration that originally coincided with the feast days for Saturn (god of sowing and the harvest), Consus (god of the storage bin) and Opa (goddess of plenty).
Many of our contemporary winter holiday traditions derive from Saturnalia’s pagan roots, including the hanging of wreaths and garlands, donations to the needy, prayers for peace on earth, time away from work to be enjoyed with family, and of course eating, drinking and merriment.
Rich O’s Public House and Sportstime Pizza pays tribute to these ancient pagan origins with the Saturnalia, a draft beer festival which began on December 15 and is scheduled to last past Christmas and New Year’s into January of 2007.
Sacrificial Saturnalia selections for MMVI are steadily being tapped in a requisite, ritualistic manner … and the hedonistic pleasure is ongoing. The remaining kegs are being tapped as needed as the first wave depletes … and so it will proceed past New Year’s into January, 2007.
During the festival’s run, information and updates will appear on these web sites:
NABC (under reconstruction)
The first weekend of Saturnalia MMVI has concluded.
**SATURNALIA MMVI - ON TAP NOW**
BELGIUM
N'Ice Chouffe (second 1/6 keg)
GERMANY
Mahr’s Christmas Bock
JAPAN
Kiuchi Hitachino Nest Red Rice
UNITED KINGDOM
Harviestoun Old Engine Oil
Ridgeway Seriously Bad Elf
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
BBC Hell for Certain
NABC Artemsia (cask conditioned, on the hand pump)
*NABC Bonfire of the Valkyries (third keg)
*NABC Naughty Claus (third keg)
Rogue Chocolate Stout (second keg)
*Shmaltz Monumental Jewbelation 5766 (second 1/6 keg)
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale (third keg)
Three Floyds Alpha Klaus Xmas Porter
**SELECTIONS STILL TO COME**
BELGIUM
- Corsendonk Christmas Ale
- De Dolle Stille Nacht
- Gouden Carolus Noel
- *Petrus Winter Ale
- St. Feuillien Cuvee de Noel
- Regenboog Wostyntje Mustard Ale
FRANCE
GERMANY
JAPAN
UNITED KINGDOM
- Hambleton Nightmare Yorkshire Porter
- Ridgeway Lump of Coal
- Ridgeway Seriously Bad Elf
- Ridgeway Santa’s Butt
- Young's Winter Warmer
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
- Anchor Christmas Ale (“Merry Christmas & Happy New Year”)
- *Bell’s Hell Hath No Fury
- *Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout
- Dark Horse Tres Blueberry Stout
- Flying Dog K-9 Cruiser
- NABC Strathpeffer (heather/gruit ale; cask-conditioned; date TBA)
- New Holland Blue Goat Doppelbock
- New Holland Dragon’s Milk
- Oaken Barrel Epiphany
- *Schlafly Christmas Ale
- Stone Double Bastard
**SACRIFICED TO THE SOLSTICE**
III. FROM THE HAND PULL: NABC ARTEMSIA POURING, NABC STRATHPEFFER NEXT IN THE QUEUE.
As part of the forthcoming Saturnalia festivities, there'll be cask-conditioned NABC Artemsia (mugwort/gruit ale) and NABC Strathpeffer (heather/gruit ale).
NABC Artemsia is first up, beginning on the 15th.
There also are two cask-conditioned English ales on order from B. United International, but I'm learning from the past and will wait to preview them until the firkins are in my grubby little hands.
For more information on cask-conditioned ale:
Horse Brass Pub (where our friend Biscuit used to work ... SEE ABOVE)
Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA)
Warm, Flat and Boring -- the Truth About Cask Ale, from Rate Beer.
IV. NABC BREWERY NOTES: HOPTIMUS READY TO RETURN; KAISER 2ND REISING PRE-PROHIBITION PILSNER CURRENTLY AGING.
The next batch of Hoptimus is slated to return as soon as a tap opens, and a batch of Kaiser 2nd Reising has begun its aging process and is still a few weeks away from being finished.
Response to Bonfire of the Valkyries and Naughty Claus has been gratifying, and they've been the fastest movers during Saturnalia MMVI. See Tony's cover art here: NABC graphics: Bonfire of the Valkyries and Naughty Claus.
V. RECENT NEWS AND ARTICLES AT THE POTABLE CURMUDGEON’S BEER BLOG.
Here are recently posted articles:
Velocity on beer: It's like Jerry Falwell on morality.
FLASH: Bistro New Albany will be open on New Year's Eve.
Craft this, craft that -- and no fundamental difference between the two.
Times change, and so does A-B.
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.
Bonfire of the Valkyries ... Black lager meets smoked lager, and the Publican is happy.
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?
Naughty Claus ... Winter warmer with orange peel and cinnamon.
St. Radegund Bitter ... Classic British character in the ESB range.
Guests from near and far.
Market pricing.
Staples:
Sprecher Root Beer (non-alcoholic)
(See Saturnalia beers listed above)
In the bullpen.
Bunches o' Saturnalia beers, of course. Also, these ...
Browning's Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout
VII. BOTTLED BEER NEWS: RARE ITEMS FROM DE DOLLE, THREE FLOYDS AND STONE NOW ON THE BOARD.
Limited supplies of a handful of very special beers meant to help provide some small measure of holiday cheer are currently available.
Aventinus Eisbock 2005 (11.2 oz)
Three Floyds Behemoth Barley Wine (22 oz)
Three Floyds Dreadnaught IPA (22 oz)
De Dolle Extra Special Export Stout (11.2 oz)
De Dolle Stille Nacht Special Reserva 2005 (11.2 oz)
Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard (12 oz)
Stone Double Bastard (22 oz)
Spezial Rauchbier (16.9 oz)
Remaining stocks of previously listed bottles (all running very low):
N'Ice Chouffe (750 ml)
Farsons Lacto Milk Stout (11.2 oz)
Hambleton Toleration Ale (gluten-free; 16.9 oz)
BBC Professor Gesser's Mind Numbing Ale (750 ml)
Le Baladin Wayan (750 ml)
North Coast Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale (750 ml)
Podkovan Dark Lager (16.9 oz)
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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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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