Mug Shots: The Year in Beer.

In case you missed my year-ending column in the Louisville Eccentric Observer (LEO), here it is.

Mug Shots: The Year in Beer

During my most recent Year in Beer, there were things I didn’t do.

I forgot to try Miller Chill, neglected to spend money at any plasticized “chain” pub, eschewed watching the mountains turn blue on a Coors Light can and did not set foot inside Wal-Mart.

Idiocy avoided and purity intact, I had a wonderful year with beer around here.

Top 5 Style Components: Black (oily, roasted, bitter-chocolate-tinged Imperial Stouts); Sour (infected with noble intent, tart, renewing of palate); Archaic (funk, spontaneously fermented Belgian lambics are history in bottles); Smoked (carnivorous smoked amber lager screams out for pork dishes, Bavarian-style); and Bitter (“extreme” craft beers notwithstanding, you simply can’t cram enough hops into an American double IPA).

Top Beer Dinners and/or Food Pairings: Extreme Belgian at the late, lamented Bistro New Albany, and Culinary Costume of American Artisan Ales, a catered event at NABC’s Prost banquet room. Other memorable themed evenings were enjoyed at Caffe Classico, Stratto’s, L&N Bistro and Wine Bar, and Connor’s Place.

Local Brewery of the Year: Browning’s. Brewer Brian Reymiller’s She-Devil IPA and Bourbon Barrel Stout have Metro Louisville beer geeks gossiping. But remember this: All five of Louisville’s breweries are top-rate.

American Brewery of the Year: Jolly Pumpkin (Dexter, Mich.) — Belgo-French styles, sour and wood-aged, with Hawaiian label imagery, and not a pumpkin in sight. What’s not to love?

Best Beer Festival: Great Taste of the Midwest in Madison, Wisconsin. It’s a consumer- and brewer-friendly one-day bacchanalia held in the progressive capital city of a blue state. Sir, I’ll have another.

In Memoriam: The world of beer lost its greatest writer and foremost advocate when British journalist Michael Jackson passed away in August. Raise a glass to his memory; truly, he was the father of us all.

"Drive on old Bock."

Thanks to my NA Confidential blogging partner Jeff for this snippet of "old" New Albanian brewing history:

The New Albany Ledger-Standard
(Floyd Co. New Albany, IN ... April 29, 1881)

"Mr. Paul Reising, West End brewer, will issue his second edition of "Bock Beer" tomorrow. His customers will be supplied with the beverage in a prompt manner, as Mr. Reissing is a prompt and reliable business man. Some people drink sassafras tea in the spring of the year; others use sage catnip and "sich," and others sassaparilla. That is their privilege. Another class prefer Bock Beer and it is their privilege to do so. This is a free country. Drive on old Bock."

Reising's brewery was New Albany's largest and most renowned during pre-Prohibition times. It occupied the whole block where the Holiday Inn Express now stands.

Wouldn't you like to know what Reising's Bock Beer tasted like?

Chilling again: A Saturnalia Winter Solstice draft fest update.

Short version: The walk-in's been repaired, all has returned to a tolerable level of chaos, and as of opening hour on Friday, December 28, the following Saturnalia beers are on tap at NABC/Rich O's/Sportstime.

16 currently tapped ...

BELGIUM
Biere de Miel (Dupont)
De Dolle Stille Nacht
Kasteel Rouge

JAPAN
Hitachino Nest XH (aged in Shochu distilled sake casks)

UNITED STATES
Barley Island Bourbon Barrel-Aged Oatmeal Stout
Boulder Never Summer Ale
Breckenridge Christmas Ale
Dark Horse Tres Blueberry Stout
Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout
Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza (kegged normally)
NABC Bonfire of the Valkyries
NABC Naughty Claus
Pyramid Snow Cap
Rogue Chocolate Stout
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
Three Floyds Alpha Klaus Xmas Porter

Still to come:

BELGIUM
De Glazen Toren Canaster Winter Scotch (delayed; late January)
De Glazen Toren Cuvee Angelique (delayed; late January)

DENMARK
WinterCoat Yule Ale (probably a scratch at this point)
WinterCoat Vildmose (delayed; late January)

GERMANY
Uerige Sticke (gravity pour keg) (delayed; late January)

ITALY
Moretti Birra La Rossa

UNITED STATES
Bell’s Java Stout
Harpoon Winter Warmer
Oaken Barrel Epiphany
Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence Stout
Rogue JLS Santa’s Private Reserve
Samuel Adams Winter Lager
Schlafly Christmas Ale
Upland Winter Warmer

Depleted ... but some of these will be reappearing later:

BELGIUM
De Ranke Pere Noel
Delirium Noel
Dupont Avec les Bons Voeux
Gouden Carolus Noel
La Rulles Cuvee Meilleurs Voeux
N ’Ice Chouffe

ENGLAND
Young's Winter Warmer (vintage 2006)

GERMANY
Aventinus Weizen Doppelbock
Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen

JAPAN
Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout

UNITED STATES
Anchor Christmas Ale (“Merry Christmas & Happy New Year”)
BBC Hell for Certain
Bell’s Winter White
Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout
Clipper City “Heavy Seas” Hang Ten Weizen Doppelbock
Clipper City “Heavy Seas” Winter Storm
Great Divide Hibernation Ale
Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza (cask-conditioned firkin)
Rogue HazelNut Brown Nectar
Schlafly Pumpkin Ale

Grrr ... part two.

The repairman arrived during early afternoon on Wednesday, examined the patient, and pronounced the Rich O’s walk-in compressor as dead as Generalissimo Francisco Franco. Both Franco and the compressor remain dead today, but while the former is gone forever, the latter will be replaced this morning, and with luck, the walk-in will be cool again this evening.

I posted the following last night:

----

Notice, 12/26/07

R.I.P. — Rich O’s walk-in compressor (1999-2007)

The compressor that powers the Rich O’s walk-in sadly expired over the Christmas break. It cannot be repaired until the morning of Thursday, December 27.

Consequently, most of the bottled beers we stock are cool, not cold, as are twelve of the taps, which are indicated by a post-it note * on the blackboards.

For some of you, temperature isn’t so much of an issue, but for the remainder, please be advised of the options. This issue does not affect NABC house beers and a few others. We trust that all will return to normal by Thursday afternoon.

Whatever “normal” is.

----

Truly, for some it didn’t matter; the kegs were at cellar temperature or perhaps a shade warmer. The fact remains that in recent years, for whatever reason, a majority of customers – geek and tourist alike -- continue to demand ever colder beer. It’s simply more expedient to the greatest number to let the cold beer get warm than the other way around.

Although disabling a whole walk-in still strikes me as extreme.

Grrrrr ...

I came in today ready to work after three days off, grabbed the clipboard, and headed straight for the pub walk-in to inventory kegs and bottles for the order tomorrow, only to find the temperature inside higher than the room temp in the bar.

In short: Walk-in DOWN.

Good news for all those favoring warmer beer, but for the remainder, the number of functioning taps plummets by 12 (all Saturnalia selections, by the way, and I doubt there'll be damage to the beers), at least until repair is facilitated. I hope that's today.

If not, your choices may be limited this evening.

Don't scoff; it really does work that way.

At the Spezial Keller, Bamberg.

Turn the other cheek ... that's what I always say (choke).

Long before the advent of blogging, I would make an annual effort to compose something profound in recognition of the Christmas holiday. Invariably, this effort ended in failure, as it will today. As a humanist and an atheist, I’ve very little profound to say about the season, although I suppose at some level it is in my self-interest to have a holiday that encourages the worst excesses of capitalist materialism. After all, a few of those dollars find their way to us.

I appreciate it, and I’m thankful for your patronage irrespective of your motivations beyond the simplest imperative of an atmosphere conducive to eating, drinking and merriment. Given our raison d’etre with regard to beer, I suppose a certain ideological unity of purpose between drinking customers and me is necessary. If you don't agree with the tenets of good beer, you may not wish to stop by. It's unavoidable.

Otherwise, it’s never much mattered to me what someone believes politically or religiously in the sense that if it doesn’t come up in conversation, it hardly matters anyway, and if it does come up, I’d like to think we could discuss the topics intelligently while enjoying a few ounces of what really matters to me the most.

At the same time, I know that being opinionated has its drawbacks for one vending wares in the occasionally free market. Just recently, a colleague in the service industry told me that one of his customers refuses to patronize my business because of my political and religious beliefs, presumably expressed in forums like this one.

It’s my guess that such a statement would horrify much of my brethren in the business, but it’s reaffirming to me, both from a personal and a professional perspective. For one, I regularly deploy similar reasoning when considering how I’ll spend discretionary income; kindly note that I’ve not spent a dime in Wal-Mart for a decade or more. I’ll pay a higher price to keep money out of the hands of those bastards … any day.

From the standpoint of running a niche beer business, you must go into it knowing that you’ll not be trying to please everyone. In fact, that’s the entire point of it. Wal-Mart seeks to tilt the marketplace and deny choice to gain a high percentage of customers. We seek to finesse the marketplace to find those customers who know what they want and will reward those establishments who can provide it.

In the end, one lives by the sword and dies by the sword; truly, that’s all right with me. It wouldn’t be very interesting otherwise. At least it’s honest money, and I can look into the mirror without retching.

I’m told that the person who boycotts us on political and religious grounds regularly prays for my soul. Don’t ask me what I think about that.

I wouldn’t want to offend you ...

Despite it all, have a tolerable and happy holiday. For whatever reason.

No matter - we were walking.

It's Bamberg, but a bit pale for a smoked beer ...

Saturnalia Winter Solstice draft update: On tap now.

As I expected, there was much movement on Thursday, so as of 1:00 p.m. Friday, December 21, the following Saturnalia beers are on tap.

16 currently tapped ...

BELGIUM
Biere de Miel (Dupont)
Delirium Noel
Dupont Avec les Bons Voeux
Kasteel Rouge
N ’Ice Chouffe

GERMANY
Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen

JAPAN
Hitachino Nest XH (aged in Shochu distilled sake casks)

UNITED STATES
Anchor Christmas Ale (“Merry Christmas & Happy New Year”)
Boulder Never Summer Ale
Breckenridge Christmas Ale
Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout
NABC Bonfire of the Valkyries
NABC Naughty Claus
Rogue Chocolate Stout
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
Three Floyds Alpha Klaus Xmas Porter

Still to come:

BELGIUM
De Dolle Stille Nacht
De Glazen Toren Canaster Winter Scotch
De Glazen Toren Cuvee Angelique

DENMARK
WinterCoat Yule Ale
WinterCoat Vildmose

GERMANY
Uerige Sticke (gravity pour keg)

ITALY
Moretti Birra La Rossa

UNITED STATES
Barley Island Bourbon Barrel-Aged Oatmeal Stout
Bell’s Java Stout
Bell’s Winter White
Dark Horse Tres Blueberry Stout
Harpoon Winter Warmer
Oaken Barrel Epiphany
Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence Stout
Pyramid Snow Cap
Rogue JLS Santa’s Private Reserve
Samuel Adams Winter Lager
Schlafly Christmas Ale
Upland Winter Warmer

Depleted ... but some of these will be reappearing later:

BELGIUM
De Ranke Pere Noel
Gouden Carolus Noel
La Rulles Cuvee Meilleurs Voeux

ENGLAND
Young's Winter Warmer (vintage 2006)

GERMANY
Aventinus Weizen Doppelbock

JAPAN
Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout

UNITED STATES
BBC Hell for Certain
Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout
Clipper City “Heavy Seas” Hang Ten Weizen Doppelbock
Clipper City “Heavy Seas” Winter Storm
Great Divide Hibernation Ale
Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza (cask-conditioned firkin)
Rogue HazelNut Brown Nectar
Schlafly Pumpkin Ale

Gravity Head 2008 preview: No incredible lightness of being in this bunch.

We’re a small company compared to many, and the NABC brewery crew has responsibilities that range a bit outside the normal job descriptions in the brewhouse. I suspect that this is the case in similar sized establishments, where everyone pitches in to do what’s necessary.

In essence, Jesse, Jared and Tony often take time out to help me with the organizational responsibilities entailed by our huge list of outside “guest” draft beers, for which we’re widely noted, and that require much in the way of effort to store and prepare for pouring. Lines need to be cleaned, tavern heads replaced, markers affixed, and chalkboards updated. I used to do much of it myself, but those days are gone.

On Wednesday they gathered to ask whether all the Gravity Head beers for 2008 were already purchased and in storage in Cellar 3. It seems that having purchased the new walk-in only a few short months ago, it’s already stacked to the ceiling with future fest beers. Until recently many were Saturnalia kegs, but these are beginning to deplete slightly as December unfolds.

Most of the remainder await Gravity Head.

It’s time then to take stock, queue the taxicabs and offer a preview. On February 29, 2008, we kick off Gravity Head 2008. It’s the tenth anniversary Gravity Head, and it’s a Leap Year starting date. If there’s a full moon rising on that date, I’m not certain our liability insurance will remain in force, so let's hope not.

To the best of my knowledge, all the following kegs are confirmed, with most already in-house, and a scant few resting at one or another wholesaler. I’ll periodically update and republish the list as we get closer to the show.

We don’t have a slogan yet. Your thoughts are appreciated.

BELGIUM
De Dolle Dulle Teve (“Mad Bitch” 10% abv
*Dupont Moinette Brune 8.5% abv
*Dupont Moinette Blonde 8.5% abv
Regenboog Guido 8% abv
*Podge Belgian Imperial Stout 10.5% abv

GERMANY
EKU 28 11% abv
Ettaler Curator Doppelbock 9% abv

ITALY
*Birra Integrale La Birra di Natale 8.5% abv

UNITED KINGDOM
Gales Prize Old Ale (1998) 9% abv
JW Lees Vintage Harvest Ale (barrel aged; TBA) 11.5% abv

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Avery “The Czar” 11.73% abv
*Avery Fourteen 9.46% abv
*Avery “The Kaiser” 9.37% abv
BBC (Main & Clay) Bearded Pat's Barley Wine 2006 circa 10% abv
Bell's Batch 6000 10.5% abv
Bell's Expedition Stout 2006 11.5% abv
Clipper City Below Decks Barleywine 11% abv
*Dark Horse Scotty Karate Scotch Ale 9.75% abv
*Dogfish Head Fort 18% abv
Founders Imperial Stout 10% abv
Great Divide Old Ruffian Barley Wine 10.2% abv
Left Hand Imperial Stout 10.4% abv
NABC (more than one; specific selections TBA)
New Holland Dragon’s Milk 9% abv
New Holland Pilgrim's Dole 10% abv
Rogue XS Old Crustacean Barley Wine Vintage TBA 11.3% abv
Rogue John’s Locker Stock Imperial Porter ‘007 7.77% abv
Rogue XS Imperial Stout 11% abv
*Schlafly Imperial Stout
*Shmaltz He’Brew Jewbelation Eleven 11% abv
Shmaltz He’Brew Genesis 10:10 2006 10% abv
Shmaltz He’Brew Bittersweet Lenny's RIPA 10% abv
Stone Double Bastard 2005 10% abv
Stone Imperial Russian Stout 10.8% abv
Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine 2006 11.2% abv
*Stone XI – 11th Anniversary Ale 8.7% abv
*Three Floyds Fantabulous Resplendence X Anniversary 10.5% abv

Upcoming Events at Connors Place in New Albany.

Straight from Dave Himmel's command center, here are a few of the upcoming events at Connor's Place in downtown New Albany, where NABC's Elector and Community Dark are on tap.

Dec 21st 8:00 p.m. - 12:00 Midnight
The River City Blues Band returns!

Dec 28th 8:00 p.m. - 12:00 Midnight
The Premier of "The Funky Suedes."

Dec 31st
The New Years Eve Bash (reservation only; phone 812.944.0207), featuring the music of the Travelin Mo Jo's. Tickets are on sale now. The doors open at 7:00 p.m., and the band starts at 9:00 p.m. The party goes until 1:30 a.m. Tickets are going fast, so call soon.

Finally, a Saturnalia MMVII update

All right; time to get back to work.

Based on an informal poll of the keg weights, I'd say that several of the Saturnalia beers currently tapped are poised to pop soon, so there should be some play by week's end.

Of the ones already gone, some will return later owing to multiple keg allotments.

Official Saturnalia MMVII program here (.pdf)

16 currently tapped ...

BELGIUM
Biere de Miel (Dupont)
De Ranke Pere Noel
Dupont Avec les Bons Voeux
N ’Ice Chouffe

GERMANY
Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen

JAPAN
Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout

UNITED STATES
Anchor Christmas Ale (“Merry Christmas & Happy New Year”)
BBC Hell for Certain
Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout
Clipper City “Heavy Seas” Winter Storm
Great Divide Hibernation Ale
Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout
NABC Bonfire of the Valkyries
NABC Naughty Claus
Schlafly Pumpkin Ale
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

Still to come:

BELGIUM
De Dolle Stille Nacht
De Glazen Toren Canaster Winter Scotch
De Glazen Toren Cuvee Angelique
Delirium Noel
Kasteel Rouge

DENMARK
WinterCoat Yule Ale
WinterCoat Vildmose

GERMANY
Uerige Sticke (gravity pour keg)

ITALY
Moretti Birra La Rossa

JAPAN
Hitachino Nest XH (aged in Shochu distilled sake casks)

UNITED STATES
Barley Island Bourbon Barrel-Aged Oatmeal Stout
Bell’s Java Stout
Bell’s Winter White
Boulder Never Summer Ale
Breckenridge Christmas Ale
Dark Horse Tres Blueberry Stout
Harpoon Winter Warmer
Oaken Barrel Epiphany
Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence Stout
Pyramid Snow Cap
Rogue Chocolate Stout
Rogue JLS Santa’s Private Reserve
Samuel Adams Winter Lager
Schlafly Christmas Ale
Three Floyds Alpha Klaus Xmas Porter
Upland Winter Warmer

Depleted ... but some of these will be reappearing later:

BELGIUM
Gouden Carolus Noel
La Rulles Cuvee Meilleurs Voeux

ENGLAND
Young's Winter Warmer (vintage 2006)

GERMANY
Aventinus Weizen Doppelbock

UNITED STATES
Clipper City “Heavy Seas” Hang Ten Weizen Doppelbock
Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza (cask-conditioned firkin)
Rogue HazelNut Brown Nectar

Love that goat.

Life's good in Bamberg, because in Franconia, this is the time for seasonal bocks. Time was short, but excellent selections were sampled at Spezial (above), Schlenkerla (smoked) and Klosterbrau (Helles).

The less I tell you about Bierhaxe at Klosterbrau the better. You'd just get all envious.

Closer to home, I hope to have the updated Saturnalia lineup here on Wednesday morning. Then there'll be other stories to tell in the coming days.

Take five: Back in a few days.

I'm taking a brief break, and will return to posting on the 18th of December (perhaps a random thought before then, and perhaps not).

A few opening weekend Saturnalia thoughts.

The opening weekend of Saturnalia has revealed that:

People like our Naughty Claus. This year's recipe (which is incorrect in the program) includes vanilla beans, cloves, cinnamon and fresh ginger, significantly differing from last year in the absence of sweet orange peel. It led the sales for the weekend, with one keg drained in a 24-hour period.

La Rulles Cuvee Meilleurs Voeux was the surprise choice of the Belgians. It looks too dark to me to be a Tripel, as described at the web site, and it has a bit of tartness that tastes great even if it's a mistake. I chalk it down to the funky Orval yeast.

Our cask-conditioned firkin of Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza is predictably brilliant, though not as spicy as I'd imagined. As time goes by, sour beers are vying with smoked beers to be my favorites.

Hectic, crazed, debauched … and now comes the Saturnalia MMVII starting lineup.

The previously published pre-order list for Saturnalia MMVII underwent a few alterations before finality was achieved, but arguably fewer changes than I feared.

Cross your fingers; some are still in transit. A few probably won’t make it until January.

Saturnalia is our all-draft winter solstice bacchanal that kicks off at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, December 7, and will proceed throughout December into January of 2008, and perhaps beyond. With Gravity Head slated for February 29, “permanent festival” might be the best way to describe matters.

Now, back to the list. Scratched were Scaldis Noel, St. Feuillien Cuvee de Noel and Urthel Bock, all Belgians, and Brooklyn Brewery Winter Ale, Flying Dog K-9 Cruiser and North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial Stout.

I chose not to attempt replacing the Belgians, because currently there is a backlog of Belgians in the pipeline (Ichtegem Grand Cru, Moinette, Moinette Bruin and Saison Dupont among them), and these will simply be plugged in when the time comes.

The chance arose to get Moretti, an old favorite in bottles but one that we’ve never had on draft, so it was added to the list.

Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout, Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence Stout and Samuel Adams Winter Lager were added to the ledger from the States. I’m disappointed that Old Rasputin didn’t make it. We’ll keep trying.

Official Saturnalia MMVII program here (.pdf)

17 starters ...

BELGIUM
De Ranke Pere Noel
Gouden Carolus Noel
La Rulles Cuvee Meilleurs Voeux

ENGLAND
Young's Winter Warmer (vintage 2006)

GERMANY
Aventinus Weizen Doppelbock
Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen

JAPAN
Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout

UNITED STATES
BBC Hell for Certain
Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout
Clipper City “Heavy Seas” Hang Ten Weizen Doppelbock
Great Divide Hibernation Ale
Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza (cask-conditioned firkin)
NABC Bonfire of the Valkyries
NABC Naughty Claus
Rogue HazelNut Brown Nectar
Schlafly Pumpkin Ale
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

Still to come:

BELGIUM
Biere de Miel (Dupont)
De Dolle Stille Nacht
De Glazen Toren Canaster Winter Scotch
De Glazen Toren Cuvee Angelique
Delirium Noel
Dupont Avec les Bons Voeux
Kasteel Rouge
N ’Ice Chouffe

DENMARK
WinterCoat Yule Ale
WinterCoat Vildmose

GERMANY
Uerige Sticke (gravity pour keg)

ITALY
Moretti Birra La Rossa

JAPAN
Hitachino Nest XH (aged in Shochu distilled sake casks)

UNITED STATES
Anchor Christmas Ale (“Merry Christmas & Happy New Year”)
Barley Island Bourbon Barrel-Aged Oatmeal Stout
Bell’s Java Stout
Bell’s Winter White
Boulder Never Summer Ale
Breckenridge Christmas Ale
Clipper City “Heavy Seas” Winter Storm
Dark Horse Tres Blueberry Stout
Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout
Harpoon Winter Warmer
Oaken Barrel Epiphany
Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence Stout
Pyramid Snow Cap
Rogue Chocolate Stout
Rogue JLS Santa’s Private Reserve
Samuel Adams Winter Lager
Schlafly Christmas Ale
Three Floyds Alpha Klaus Xmas Porter
Upland Winter Warmer

Saturnalia MMVII official program and new bottled beer list both available.

Two helpful .pdf files have been posted at NABC's web site.

First is the official program for Saturnalia MMVII, which kicks off Friday, December 7, and will run through December. The starting 16 has not been determined; that's what Thursdays are for, but the majority of beers have arrived or are scheduled to be delivered next week. The starting lineup will be posted here on Thursday night.

Official Saturnalia MMVII program here (.pdf)

Also, the new bottled beer list will be effective on Thursday, December 6. The vintage collection has been folded into the listings by country, and separate listings have been added for Belgian Lambics and French Bieres de Garde. This will be the last update in the current format. In early February, I hope to inaugurate a new bottled beer list with far more information than the current listing.

NABC's bottled beer menu .pdf

New production facility for Cumberland Brews (Louisville, KY).

Barista credentials helpful, too.

John Campbell is the Publican's and NABC's new Project Coordinator.

John's job description includes picking up all the balls I routinely drop, subsisting on low pay, pulling desk duty in the NABC propaganda ministry, and most importantly, organizing our brewery expansion plans.

"If Your Mother Says She Loves You, Check It Out."

Among other positions, John has worked for both BBC (Main & Clay) and Schlafly (St. Louis), and previously built the wine program at Red Geranium in New Harmony, Indiana.

Private beer tastings the subject of C-J article.

Free lancer Marty Rosen, who is a regular contributor to the Louisville Courier-Journal and writes about many topics, among them food and drink, was the guest of longtime Public House regular Terry Cummins during a private beer tasting in early November.

Terry had purchased the beer tasting at a silent auction. It has long been my custom to donate such private tastings, usually for a party of eight, in lieu of cash, ordinary gift certificates or other items (t-shirts, etc.) It costs my business the same in terms of beer samples and my time, but it generates more money for the charity or service club if it’s auctioned. Everyone wins.

I’m happy that Marty enjoyed it, because he followed up with this article in Saturday’s newspaper: Tastings brew beer fans' curiosity.

Give the beer-lover in your life a 12 pack of exotic brews, and he or she will drink happily for a few days (more or less).

Give that same beer-lover an informative beer tasting and he or she will remember it for years to come.

Concurrent with the tasting that Marty attended, I was in the process of deciding to make a limited number of such private beer tastings available for purchase as gifts during the holiday season. Coincidentally, Marty asked me if I ever did such a thing, and with the answer being tentatively affirmative, the offer made it into the article. Consequently, we've made the transition from tentative to actual.

Obviously, with the single biggest component being my time, and the second most important factor being availability of space to conduct the tasting, I need two weeks advance notice, and recommend that tastings occur Monday through Thursday at the Public House. Weekends simply are too busy. The idea as always is to begin with a sample of familiar beer (read: golden), then riff on seven or eight variations, accompanied by what I hope is entertaining and educational commentary.

As of today, I’ve fielded three inquiries. We’ll see how the experiment works out.

"Moss the Boss": Self portrait, circa '96.

Back in April, I noted the return of Moss the Boss, otherwise known as Alain Mossiat, former proprietor of the seminal 1990's Namur cafe, Eblouissant.

Brewmaster David Pierce sent this photo to me a few months ago. Here is Dave's play by play:

I was cleaning out some old file drawers this weekend and came upon my old Tim Webb Good Beer Guide to Belgium. Matt Gould and Rick Buckman had borrowed it for their leg of the tour, 1996. The pic was a present for my 40th birthday.

A blast from the past, for sure. Here's to Moss the Boss ... again.