In this edition of Publicanista!:I. PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: IT'S STILL EARLY DURING GRAVITY MADNESS -- AND MARCH ISN'T JUST ABOUT BASKETBALL ANYMORE!
II. YOUR GRAVITY HEAD DOLLARS AT WORK.
III. ALL THIS AND ST. PADDY'S, TOO.
IV. NABC BREWERY UPDATE: BREWER'S BEST FRIEND SERIES UNDER WAY.
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. CALENDAR OF EVENTS, HOURS AND RELATED FACTS.
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I. PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: IT'S STILL EARLY DURING GRAVITY MADNESS -- AND MARCH ISN'T JUST ABOUT BASKETBALL ANYMORE!
It was another fabulous Gravity Head opening weekend, and already a half-dozen starters are down. As always, solid second and even third waves of microbrewed and imported beers will come on tap as the ranks deplete. It’s the deepest Gravity Head ever, with 19 appearing for the first time ever at Rich O’s (just two shy of the 2006 Gravity Head record total).
For the next three or four weeks, I'll be providing a Gravity Head "lineupdate" each Monday at the Potable Curmudgeon blog. Each day for the remainder of the following week, the Monday posting will be updated if possible to reflect the current tap status. Here is the most recent:
Gravity Head update: Monday, March 12 (updated through Thursday morning).
Also, see:
Gravity Madness: March isn't just about basketball anymore.
Gravity Head 2007 #17: And you thought the 2000 Presidential election was close.
See the Gravity Head schedule here.
Download the complete Gravity Form 2007 here (.pdf)
II. YOUR GRAVITY HEAD DOLLARS AT WORK.
In the grand tradition of undercapitalized small businesses, we’ve taken last weekend’s Gravity Madness earnings and ploughed some of them back into infrastructure, meaning that Sportstime patrons now have two new flat-screen televisions for March Madness basketball viewing.
Click here to see what they look like.
III. ALL THIS AND ST. PADDY'S, TOO.
Saturday, March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day, and at NABC, along with Gravity Head (weekend two) and NCAA basketball, it adds up to something we’re not entirely able to predict until it hits. But why quibble? My solution is to have genuinely good beer on hand.
Read the remainder of the commentary here.
The black, red and gold beers coming on tap Saturday, March 17:
Bell's Expedition Stout (cask hand-pull; firkin; 11.5%) ... The oft-repeated adage holds that while the Arabs invented distillation, it took the Irish to perfect it. Don't get it? Think: “From perfume, to whisky.” In much the same fashion, Imperial Stout improves in almost hallucinogenic fashion upon the “dry” Irish model. Drawing it from a cask in the traditional manner is just icing on the cake.
Upland Ard-Ri Imperial Irish-style Red Ale (9%) ... Up the road in Bloomington, Indiana, our compatriots at Upland have produced another version of their annual homage to … well, let’s permit Wikipedia to answer:
- High King of Ireland (Irish:Ard Rí na hÉireann) refers to legendary, pagan kings of Tara. It also refers tolater kings, who were, depending on the period, either the most powerful king oftheir day, or, in later times, exercised authority over most of Ireland.
Rogue Kell’s Irish Lager (circa 5%) ... In essence, a Harp Lager clone, but fuller-bodied, engagingly smooth and crisp, and coming from one of my favorite breweries in the world.
For the best view of St. Patrick's Day from behind the bar, read: ERIN GO BLAH.
IV. NABC BREWERY UPDATE: BREWER'S BEST FRIEND SERIES UNDER WAY.
Jared Williamson offers this report from the NABC garage brewhouse:
I want to bring everyone up to speed on a new project called Brewer’s Best
Friend Series – basically, three beers made in honor of Jesse’s and my canine companions (yes, this idea came from John Maier of Rogue and his dog Brewer).
First up (brewed 2-16-07) is: Jasmine the Mastiff Sweet Stout.
Malt: 2-row, roasted barley, chocolate
Hops: East Kent Goldings and Fuggles (for bittering only)
Spices: Lactose sugar, spiced Mexican chocolate, honey
O.G.: 1073
ABV: Circa 7%
IBUs: 36
The mastiff is the gentle giant of English-bred dogs -- loyal, noble, big and lazy for the most part.
V. RECENT NEWS AND ARTICLES AT THE POTABLE CURMUDGEON’S BEER BLOG.
Here are recently posted articles:
Your Gravity Head dollars at work.
Real beer for St. Patrick’s Day at NABC.
Gravity Head update: Monday, March 12.
"Marcey Wisman for City Clerk" beer tasting fundraiser.
Another amazing Gravity Head opening night.
Gravity Madness: March isn't just about basketball anymore.
Gravity Head 2007 #17: And you thought the 2000 Presidential election was close.
VI. 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.
Hoptimus ... Massive.
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.
Bell’s Two Hearted Ale (temporarily gone owing to wholesaler outage)
Sprecher Root Beer (non-alcoholic)
ON TAP NOW: Rotating selections (limited engagement).
Gravity. See above.
In the bullpen (ready for duty when called upon to serve).
More gravity. For quite some time to come, in fact.
VII. 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.
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March 9 - ???
Gravity Head 2007 rolls on
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.
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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).
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Friday, June 1
(Your name here)Fest begins ... Steve Fest 2007.
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.
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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."
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Saturday (TBA), June (TBA)
Lambic by the Glass
A one-day sampling of Belgian lambic, with the Publican as host.
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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.
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Saturday, August 11
Awe inspiring, annual one-day brewery fete in Madison, Wisconsin.
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Saturday, August 25 (tentative)
With Hoptimus, you really can "talk to the animals."
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Friday, August 31
Sandkerwa NA begins
Our first all-German draft festival, inspired by an annual street party in Bamberg, Germany.
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Friday, October 19
Lupulin Land Harvest Hopcoming begins
Love and hoppiness, in all their myriad forms, as dispensed from all available taps.
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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.
2 comments:
do you offer Goose Island beers? (i have never detected them in your listings, but since you offer so much variety, i may have missed them.)
or do you consider Goose Island junk beers?
i don't have a google account at the moment. i will sign in with my email user name.
I don't consider them junk, and several have appeared periodically on draft. I've found in the past that some beer lines do better than others in my place, and it doesn't always have to do with questions of good, bad or indifferent.
Goose Island draft seems better suited for places with fewer taps, as it runs into too many other similar beers here.
Likewise, bottled GI now is freely available at numerous package stores, and at a better price point. It seems to have become regarded as a take-home beer more than an on-premise.
Now, it's moot. I'd have to buy it from the Bud house in New Albany, and to be honest, I don't have good feelings about the Bud house in New Albany. It effectively precludes GI from the list, at least for now.
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