Don't forget: BBC (Main & Clay) beer tasting at The Keg on Thursday, January 25.

Regular reader and frequent commentator Todd Antz is the owner of The Keg Liquors in Clarksville. Those of you who are a wee bit more venerable (read: long in the tooth) and who’ve lived locally for any length of time probably are familiar with the place, and you may be wondering what all the fuss is about.

I’m a fossil in more ways than one, and I know what you’re thinking.

Keg Liquors – isn’t that the place alongside Highway 131 (now Lewis and Clark Parkway)? Just like all the other package stores around town. Sells ice cold Budweiser, Mad Dog and half pints of Kessler. Why go there?

Of course, many of you already know the answer to this rhetorical question. Todd took over the business from his father a few years back, and he’s been working ever since to reinvent it for a changing demographic by carving out a sizeable niche in the local good beer retail market.

And, he is succeeding. It may not be the first time that a Southern Indiana off-premise store has recognized the potential of maintaining a selection of craft-brewed and fine import beers, and likewise it assuredly isn’t the first time that such an establishment has had a beer lover on the inside, making the important decisions and backing them up with knowledge and passion … but it my well be the first time that all of these factors have come together, all at once, locally, and during a time of relative abundance in terms of availability, resources and knowledge.

Todd is onto something special, and his persistence and zeal have had many welcome side effects in my world, among them relieving the pressure that I’ve always felt to be the go-to guy for bottled product, which is a less efficient use of my resources than draft, even before we had a brewery on site.

As indicated here previously, Todd’s presence in the market is prompting a complete strategic rethink on my side of the street – but not from a position of weakness for me. Rather, there are dual strengths, with Todd’s selection ideally complementing my own, allowing me to concentrate on more esoteric bottled beers while keeping the crucial draft lines flowing.

I began this blog entry intending to tout one of Todd’s periodic Keg Liquors beer tastings, and here it is as gleaned from the press release.

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January 25th - Beer Tasting with Bluegrass Brewing Company - 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Join us for a very special beer tasting as we host David Pierce, brewmaster for Bluegrass Brewing Company (Main and Clay location) and a lineup of their excellent brews on January 25th from 5 - 8 PM.

Here is what we’ll taste:

American Pale Ale
Hell For Certain Belgian-style Ale
Nut Brown Ale
Dark Star Porter
Bearded Pat's Barley Wine
Jefferson Reserve Bourbon-Barrel Stout

There is also a chance that BBC will be bringing their newest creation, an American-style India Pale Ale called Dank IPA.