It's on! Meet Greg Koch at Stone Brewing Night: Monday, August 20, at the Public House.

As previously announced, Greg Koch – CEO & co-founder of Stone Brewing Company – will be the guest of honor for a meet ‘n’ greet at Rich O’s Public House on August 20. The approximate timing of the event will be 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., but the Prost special events wing will be open from 5:00 p.m.

There will be drawings for several door prizes, including a gift certificate to BadaBoomz Ale House & Grill in Indianapolis and a selection of vintage Stone beers pulled from the Public House vault.

There’ll also be gratis glimpses (with detailed commentary, no doubt) of my old friend and former Rich O’s bartender Buddy Sandbach’s Arrogant Bastard tattoo, which is a conversation starter if ever there was one.

Separated at birth? You be the judge.

As for beer, are you ready for 11 different Stone beers on tap all at once? Currently there are kegs stacked to the ceiling in our cold storage areas, but we believe that when the contents are extracted, the following Stone beers will be pouring … all at the same time, and all of them available in specially priced 10-ounce portions, all night long.

07/07/07 Vertical Epic Ale
Arrogant Bastard Ale
Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale
Double Bastard Ale 2005
Double Bastard Ale 2006
Imperial Russian Stout
India Pale Ale
Old Guardian Barley Wine
Ruination IPA
Smoked Porter
Stone 10th Anniversary Ale IPA

Ironically, as we were discussing the beers available for the event, it was agreed that something on the milder side was needed, but in the end, Stone Pale Ale was unavailable in draft. There’ll be some bottles of it for completists. In the end, Smoked Porter might turn out to be the lightest beer in the bunch.

If you’re looking for reasons why to appreciate Greg Koch’s place in the wonderful world of craft brewing, look no further than this paragraph, which is reprinted from the RateBeer interview linked below:

I run into many people who use the "It’s what I grew up with, that’s why I drink XYZ brand of fizzy yellow beer" excuse. Bullshit. It’s because you got used to a generic taste and have decided not to move on. That’s OK, but the fizzy yellow beer drinker should at least be able to acknowledge their own reality. They don’t want to expand their horizons. There’s a reason why better things in life are referred to as "acquired tastes." you may have to work at developing your palate, but when you get there its nirvana!

That’s a man after the Publican’s own heart. Thanks to Greg Koch, Aaron Tyrell (Stone Brewing’s Midwestern regional rep), Cavalier Distributing (Indianapolis) and the NABC brew crew & Reva for making this happen.

Here are a few informative links:

Stone Brewing Company

Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens

Interview with Greg Koch at RateBeer

Photo credit: http://www.stoneworldbistro.com