I. PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: COUNTING THE MINUTES UNTIL SATURNALIA
II. NABC BREWERY UPDATE: WINTER FAVORITES POISED FOR TAPPING.
III. FROM THE HAND PULL: MORE CASKS ARE QUEUED.
IV. ITINERARY FOR PACIFIC NORTHWEST BREWTOUR '08 RELEASED.
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. NEWS FROM THE BOTTLED BEER FRONT.
VIII. CALENDAR OF EVENTS, HOURS AND RELATED FACTS.
----
I. PUBLICAN'S CHOICE: COUNTING THE MINUTES UNTIL SATURNALIA.
Saturnalia begins on December 7. Our annual draft festival of Christmas beers, winter seasonals and choices that strike me as festive will proceed throughout the month of December. It’s a good thing, because roughly one-third of the listed selections are in transit. Some of them will not arrive, and things like that used to upset me, but no longer. There’s plenty of great beer currently in storage, and plenty more coming. It will be fun.
There’ll be a complete list and starting lineup in next week’s edition of the newsletter.
As an advance note, we already have something like 20 Gravity Head kegs here on premise. Giving thanks this holiday season? Don’t forget Cellar 3, where these are being stored.
II. NABC BREWERY UPDATE: WINTER FAVORITES POISED FOR TAPPING.
The dam’s about to burst in NABC’s garage brewhouse. This year’s batches of Naughty Claus and Bonfire of the Valkyries are kegged and ready to pour on or around December 7. Another batch of Kaiser 2nd Reising also is approaching readiness.
NABC’s local connection Logo Designs is busy creating fresh allotments of t-shirts for the holiday season. There’ll be Hoptimus and “These Machines Kill Fascists” tees, and, for the first time, brewery (logo + “I’m for It”) shirts in longsleeve. Finally, another small release of the past summer’s Sportstime 20th anniversary tees (men’s and women’s styles) is coming out. NABC’s t-shirts are okay as stocking stuffers, but work even better when you just wear the damn things.
III. FROM THE HAND PULL: MORE CASKS ARE QUEUED.
Cooler weather means we’re back in cask-conditioned “real ale” season. As I write, NABC’s St. Radegund is being poured from the hand pump. Slated to follow, in approximate order, are these selections:
Thornbridge Hall Jaipur IPA … U.K.; 5.9% abv.
Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza Special Ale … Michigan; Saturnalia listed; 9% abv.
Thornbridge Hall St. Petersburg Imperial Stout … U.K.; 7.7% abv.
Also, this Friday (November 30), we’ll be tapping a spare pin of JW Lees Vintage Harvest Ale (Willoughbys Port barrel aged). The pin was damaged and has leaked a bit, and while we believe the remainder to be worthy of consumption, there’s no telling until the mallet meets the wood. If it's potable, it won't last long.
For more information on cask-conditioned ale:
Warm, Flat and Boring -- the Truth About Cask Ale, from Rate Beer.
IV. ITINERARY FOR PACIFIC NORTHWEST BREWTOUR '08 RELEASED.
The probably daily regimen can be perused here: Pacific Northwest Brew Tour, May 6 – 14, 2008. Next we'll be pricing the journey. If you're interested and haven't yet contacted me, please do so and you'll be placed on the mailing list.
V. RECENT NEWS AND ARTICLES AT THE POTABLE CURMUDGEON’S BEER BLOG.
Starlight Distillery: I told you so … sort of, any...
Holiday Beer Tasting at Keg Liquors on Thursday, November 29.
Pacific Northwest Brew Tour, May 6 – 14, 2008.
Cask ales from Thornbridge are coming to the Public House.
A sip of revived ale and pleasant recollections in Indianapolis.
VI. 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.
ConeSmoker ... Elegant Franconian smoked malt, an above average “noble” German hops presence and warm fermentation -- new twists on an old style.
Croupier ... IPA dedicated to the workers at the Caesars Indiana riverboat casino in nearby Harrison County.
Elector ... Making Democracy pointless since 2002; English malt, American hops. 7.2% abv. Double Red?
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.
St. Radegund ... (cask-conditioned) English-style ESB, brewed as Beak's Best in its original incarnation in 2002, then reformulated as St. Radegund in 2005.
Guests from near and far (market pricing).
ON TAP NOW: Everyday staples. Note that Alpha King will now often be rotating with Bell’s Two Hearted Ale . Why? Go here.
Sprecher Root Beer (non-alcoholic)
ON TAP NOW: Rotating selections (limited engagement).
Browning's Brewery She-Devil India Pale Ale
De Glazen Toren Jan de Lichte (Imperial White)
Great Divide Fresh Hop (wet hop)
In the bullpen (ready for duty when called upon to serve).
Bluegrass Brewing Company (Main & Clay) IPA (in transit)
Browning's Brewery Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout
De Glazen Toren Saison d' Erpe Mere
Rogue "St. Rogue" Dry Hopped Red
VII. NEWS FROM THE BOTTLED BEER FRONT.
You've heard it before, now hear it again: I'm engaged in a great struggle to completely inventory and reset the bottle selection, and update the beer list. There's a high price to be paid to have all my favorites within ready access when the need arises to prove a point ... or to be lulled into numbness. Stay tuned.
VIII. 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.
----
Friday, December 7
Saturnalia MMVII begins
Our fourth celebration of the winter solstice, with seasonal and holiday drafts. Note the date change; it has been moved forward one week.
----
Monday, December 17
NABC, Rich O's and Sportstime will be closed to recover from the annual holiday party!
----
Thursday, December 27
Pants Down Potluck Port Circle
This year's gathering of the Pants Down Potluck Port Circle is Thursday, December 27.
----
Friday, February 29, 2008
Leap Year Gravity Head Number Ten
'Nuff said for now. The tenth anniversary of Gravity Head is slated to begin on the 29th of February, so make designated driver and bunking arrangements now.
----
Credits:
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.
