Publicanista!: February 2007

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Publicanista! ... February 15, 2007.

In this edition of Publicanista!:

I. PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: WE CUT TO THE CHASE AND DISPENSE THE VITALS.

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

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

IV. CALENDAR OF EVENTS, HOURS AND RELATED FACTS.

----

I. PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: WE CUT TO THE CHASE AND DISPENSE THE VITALS.

Just the bare facts this week.

There’ll be no Publicanista! next Thursday (February 22). As reported previously, I’ll be in Belgium and the Netherlands next week to celebrate my friend Boris’s 50th birthday with a grand event at his local pub, Haarlem’s fine Café Briljant. Prior to the fete, Kevin Richards and I will be taking a brief Belgian pub crawl by train. If possible, reports will be posted to The Potable Curmudgeon. If not, I’ll catch up later.

The Extreme Belgian Beer Dinner will be held on Monday, March 5 at Bistro New Albany. Menus and details will be posted at The Potable Curmudgeon on Sunday, February 18, and forwarded to those readers who e-mailed me earlier to be placed on the list. Since I’ll not be here for a week, please contact the Bistro directly to make reservations.

Gravity Head begins on Friday, March 9. Here is the link to the best and most current information available, of which I suspect roughly 95% to be accurate: January progress toward preliminary keg orders for Gravity Head 2007. If you’ve attended previous, you know what to do and when to do it. FOSSILS and LAGERS club members enjoy preferred seating at Prost on Friday, and the Ohio contingent will be visiting again on Saturday.

NABC’s Hoptimus should be back on tap by weekend. ‘Nuff said.

Finally, congratulations to Steve Hall, who triumphed over stiff competition to gain the nod as honoree of this year’s “SteveFest 2007,” our “your name here” draft beer festival beginning June 1. Thanks to everyone who participated, and to the judges for helping me decide. Read more: Steve Hall is the winner ... and Steve Hall's winning "SteveFest 2007" essay.

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

Here are recently posted articles:

The Velocity beer reviewer strikes again.

Steve Hall's winning "SteveFest 2007" essay.

Steve Hall is the winner ... and SteveFest 2007 begins June 1.

Recap: Belgian beers and appetizers at Classico.

Just a few musings.

Gravity Head update.

Beer lineup for Extreme Belgian 2007.

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.

III. DRAFT BEERS: OUR LIQUID, DAILY BREAD, ON TAP AT RICH O’S AND SPORTSTIME. Our NABC beers.
Brewed in New Albany by NABC’s Jesse Williams, with much 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?

Hoosier Daddy ... revised hopping, somewhere in the range of Imperial Red. Circa 7% abv.

Kaiser 2nd Reising ... revisit Old New Albany with our pre-Prohibition pilsner, complete with 6-row, adjuncts and German hops.

Old Lightning Rod ... For Ben Franklin's 301st birthday, the return of a popular Colonial era formulation that the Founders might recognize.

St. Radegund ... Successor to Beak's Best; all-English, ESB territory, circa 5.5% abv.

Guests from near and far (market pricing).

ON TAP NOW: Everyday 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

ON TAP NOW: Rotating selections (limited engagement).

Anchor Christmas Ale (“Merry Christmas & Happy New Year”)

Browning's Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout

De Ranke XX Bitter

Kiuchi Hitachino Nest New Year Celebration Ale 2006

Regenboog Wostyntje Mustard Ale

Reissdorf Kolsch

Ridgeway Santa’s Butt

Rogue Brutal Bitter

Rogue (John's Locker Stock) Charlie '07

Rogue (John's Locker Stock) Santa's Private Reserve 2006

Schlafly Coffee Stout

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barley Wine

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

Spaten Optimator

In the bullpen (ready for duty when called upon to serve).

Anchor Steam

Kiuchi Hitachino Nest Red Rice

Rogue Shakespeare Stout

IV. CALENDAR OF 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.

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.

----

Monday, March 5

Extreme Belgian @ Bistro New Albany

Beer lineup for Extreme Belgian 2007.

Six courses, eight top beers - all influenced by traditional Belgian cuisine and brewing, with twists offered by Chef Dave Clancy and the Publican. Stay tuned for further details.

----

Friday, March 9

Gravity Head 2007 begins

The ninth edition of our annual festival celebrating the brewing world’s biggest and best will kick off from its customary March starting time. This year's theme is Gravity Madness, celebrating the fact that at NABC, March isn't just about basketball any more.

January progress toward preliminary keg orders for Gravity Head 2007.

Preliminary keg orders for Gravity Head 2007.

----

Friday & Saturday, May 18 & 19

2nd Annual Ohio River Valley Folk Festival

Along the Ohio River in Madison, Indiana. NABC poured beer in 2006, and will be doing so again along with friends from Upland and possibly Ram (Indianapolis).

----

Friday, June 1

(Your name here)Fest begins

It's SteveFest 2007. Read more: Steve Hall is the winner ... and Steve Hall's winning "SteveFest 2007" essay.

To prep for 2008, read the rules for entering: Here are the contest rules for (Your name here)Fest in May, 2007.

----

Saturday, June 2

2nd Annual Keg Liquors Fest of Ale

From Todd Antz at Keg Liquors: "It's back! We are just starting our early planning stages, but our successful Craft Beer Festival will be held on June 2nd this year. Already signed up for this year's festival are: New Albanian Brewing, Bluegrass Brewing Company, Upland Brewing Company, World Class Beverages, Cavalier Distributing, and many more to come. Stay tuned for more information on this event."

----

Saturday (TBA), June (TBA)

Lambic by the Glass

A one-day sampling of Belgian lambic, with the Publican as host.

----

Saturday, July 21 (changed from the 28th)

Indiana Microbrewers' Festival

Annual funfest in Indianapolis, and a required stop on the NABC summer brewery fest tour.

----

Saturday, August 11

Great Taste of the Midwest

Awe inspiring, annual one-day brewery fete in Madison, Wisconsin.

----

Saturday, August 25 (tentative)

Brew at the (Louisville) Zoo

With Hoptimus, you really can "talk to the animals."

----

Friday, August 31

Sandkerwa NA begins

Our first all-German draft festival, inspired by an annual street party in Bamberg, Germany.

----

Friday, October 19

Lupulin Land Harvest Hopcoming begins

Love and hoppiness, in all their myriad forms, as dispensed from all available taps.

----

Friday, December 14

Saturnalia MMVII begins

Our fourth celebration of the winter solstice, with seasonal and holiday drafts.

Credits:

Thanks to Jim Bell for his photographic prowess, which we share with you from time to time, and which features prominently at the NABC web site.

Readers who aren’t as familiar with our business should go to http://www.newalbanian.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.

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Publicanista! ... February 8, 2007.

In this edition of Publicanista!:

I. PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: BUSY DAZE ...

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

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

IV. BOTTLED BEER NEWS: LIMITED SUPPLIES OF BOTTLED BEERS FOR COLD WEATHER .

V. CALENDAR OF EVENTS, HOURS AND RELATED FACTS.

----

I. PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: BUSY DAZE ...

When I sat down this morning to do the weekly newsletter update, it finally dawned on me how insanely busy the last few days have been.

Beginning last Thursday night with NABC’s appearance at the Jeffersonville Main Street fundraiser, followed by two days of very successful art and music in Prost, then the Super Bowl on Sunday … and for me, a marathon New Albany city council meeting on Monday night, a blog meet ‘n’ greet on Tuesday and a sprinkling of personal civic commitments on Wednesday … all have combined into one continuous, unbroken blur accented by occasional dosages of medicine – otherwise known as beer.

The medicine's necessary because I have a bum left shoulder that needs to be repaired, and will do so, as soon as Gravity Head gets pushed away from the dock on March 9. It's a torn rotator cuff that was not injured while throwing nasty curves, but probably cumulatively deteriorated following years of bicycling and keg lifting.

I mention the city council meeting because it was the occasion for the introduction of a smoking ordinance for the city of New Albany. The ordinance was tabled pending a committee review of what currently is an unwieldy, elephantine document that would be impossible to enforce given New Albany’s historic inability to observe its own laws. However, it will be coming back, as it is personal goal of the current council president to see some form of the ordinance passed this year.

I’ll have more to say on this matter in the coming weeks, and some of it may surprise some of you. Here’s the short version: I regard some variety of smoking ban as inevitable, and I’ll not be fighting the notion of indoor smoking regulation based on a scientific methodology that has determined second-hand smoke to be hazardous to workplace safety.

However, I’m intent on seeing the end result be consistent, with the pain to be borne by all, and not some. Either second-hand smoke is harmful or it isn’t, and if it is, there can’t be exceptions.

It’s going to be a long, drawn-out process, and I’ll keep you posted. Here's the second of two art show views (the one above is a piece by local gadfly Dave Thrasher).

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

Here are recently posted articles:

Small Brewers Caucus in the US House.

As requested, Chef Tony's 15-B Pot Roast recipe.

A beer's not as good as a wine -- to a blind legislator.

Cash Bar Talkin' Swill Blues: Depressing, but no fault of the organizers.

Preview: Killer Belgian ale & appetizer evening at Caffe Classico.