Thursday, July 05, 2007

Publicanista! ... July 5, 2007.


In this edition of Publicanista!:

I. PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: RELATIVE CALM BEFORE THE DELUGE ... GOOD OR BAD?

II. NABC BREWERY NEWS: OUR OWN BEER.

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

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

V. CALENDAR OF EVENTS, HOURS AND RELATED FACTS.

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I. PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: RELATIVE CALM BEFORE THE DELUGE ... GOOD OR BAD?

For me, the coming weekend currently is open, and that’s good, because eight out of the following nine are booked with one activity or another, most revolving around beer, beer festivals and beer advocacy ...

... the period that begins today and ends on August 6 is one of uncertainty for NABC and any other Southern Indiana business that relies in any degree on traffic from Louisville, because for the next month the waterfront stretch of I-64 is closed entirely for repairs ...

... (on) Saturday, July 14, we’ll be celebrating the 20th anniversary of Sportstime Pizza with a party in Prost ...

... if you’ve ever wanted to attend the annual Brewers of Indiana Guild festival at Broad Ripple (Saturday, July 21) but didn’t feel like driving to Indianapolis and back, rejoice, because Professor Gesser is on your side.

Now read the whole article here.

II. NABC BREWERY NEWS: OUR OWN BEER.

I've finished the Beta version of an in-house NABC beer and brewery information card. You can view it here: http://www.newalbanian.com/nabcBREWERYbeerlist.pdf

It sometimes strikes me as odd that we've been brewing for five years, and there remain regulars who don't seem to be aware that there are house-brewed choices. My plan to educate the public about NABC starts at Rich O's and Sportstime with these information cards. Next, the blackboard at the Public House will be extended to take up the entire wall, which will provide more room to list drafts and display our choices more clearly. Finally, brewers Jesse Williams and Jared Williamson have completed an upgrade to the serving tank system, and this will make it easier for our servers to pour NABC pints and growlers.

What makes us truly unique is having the world's finest beers and also our own New Albanian traditions in the making. If you always order Arrogant Bastard or Alpha King, try an Elector or Croupier instead. Sierra Pale? Sample a Mt. Lee. And ... please give me feedback from these and other considerations.

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

Here are recently posted articles:

Beer and wine at Charlestown Pizza Company.

Bluegrass Brewing Company reviewed in Saturday's C-J.

Rick and Jeff Tours: Buses to the Indiana Microbrewers Festival and Cubs vs. Reds in Cincy.

2nd annual Bastille Day Biere de Garde Dinner at Bistro New Albany on Sunday, July 15.

Here's the lineup for Lambic by the Glass 2007, tomorrow at the Public House.

Time warp: Pizza, beer and Glasnost?

IV. DRAFT BEERS: OUR LIQUID, DAILY BREAD, ON TAP AT RICH O’S AND SPORTSTIME. Our NABC beers.

NABC began brewing in 2002, and we’re proud to be New Albany’s first active brewery since 1935. From very deep within the confines of NABC’s garage brewery, Jesse Williams and Jared Williamson conjure 8-barrel batches of regulars, old favorites and new formulations.

Always check the blackboards to see what’s on tap. For more information about NABC beers, go here.

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.

Elector ... Making Democracy pointless since 2002; English malt, American hops. 7.2% abv. Double Red?

Elsa Von Horizon Imperial Pilsner ... second in the Brewer's Best Friend series; all German ingredients and an 8% abv.

Croupier ... IPA dedicated to the workers at the Caesars Indiana riverboat casino in nearby Harrison County.

Hoptimus ... Massive and assertive. Stern. Double IPA. Silver medal winner at the 2007 St. Louis Microfest.

Mt. Lee ... California Common ("Steam"), named for the Hollywood mountainside with the famous sign. First brewed in 2006. It has been lightened in gravity and a.b.v. by roughly 10% for the current first summer of 2007 batch.

Phoenix Kentucky Komon ... Retro style indigenous to Louisville; dark with sourness.

Guests from near and far (market pricing).

ON TAP NOW: Everyday staples.

(Alpha King will now often be rotating with Bell’s Two Hearted Ale . Why? Go here)

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).

Avery Thirteen (Weizen Doppelbock)

Ayinger Oktober Fest-Marzen

BarrelHouse RedLegg Ale

BBC Jefferson's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout

Brooklyn Brewery East India Pale Ale

Browning's Brewery She-Devil India Pale Ale

Cantillon Gueuze

Cantillon Bruocsella Grand Cru

Dogfish Head Festina Peche

Jolly Pumpkin Madrugada Obscura (Dark Dawn) Stout

Paulaner Hefe-Weizen

Rogue Chipotle Ale

Rogue "John's Locker Stock" #25 Dad's Little Helper

Sierra Nevada Summerfest

Upland Winter Warmer

Weihenstephaner Hefe

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

Barley Island Dirty Helen Brown

Chimay Triple

Goliath Tripel

Ridgeway Santa’s Butt

Rodenbach Classic

Schlafly Kolsch

Upland Maibock

Wostyntje

V. 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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Saturday, July 14

Sportstime Celebrates 20 Years

It will surprise some readers and patrons to learn that Sportstime Pizza came first. Before Rich O's Public House (1990), before I became a part of the business (1992) and before the New Albanian Brewing Company (incorporated in 1994, and brewing 2002), there was Sportstime, occupying the space that previously had been a Noble Roman pizza franchise.

Read more here: Sportstime Pizza will be 20 years old on July 14, and we're having a party.

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Sunday, July 15

Bastille Day Biere de Garde Dinner at Bistro New Albany

On Sunday, July 15, Bistro New Albany & NABC are co-sponsoring a 2nd annual Bastille Day Biere de Garde dinner, to be held at Bistro New Albany on the patio (6:00 p.m.; we'll move inside if there's rain or undue heat). Chef Clancy's five-course French menu will include hors- d ‘oeuvres, soup, salad, and entree and dessert, and will be paired with beers selected by the Publican (that's me) from Brasserie Thiriez, Brasserie Duyck (Jenlain) and Brasserie Artisanale La Choulette. As a bonus, we'll have draft vintage French cider from Normandy: Cidre Bouche Brut E. Dupont 2002. The price is $65 per person, and reservations can be made by calling Bistro New Albany at 812-949-5227. You may view the event poster here.

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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

Great Taste of the Midwest

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

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Saturday, August 25

Brew at the (Louisville) Zoo

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.

1 comment:

L said...

Congrats on your ratebeer.com honor! Our family loves the Public House, and I really wish there were more places like it in our community. Not just good beer and excellent pizza, but an awesome place to hang out and be around like-minded adults.

Leslea
hcx2.com