Gravity Head 2009 "The Liver Olympics" contestants lining up.

The 11th edition of Gravity Head begins on February 27th, and amid all the other demands of unleashing the Bank Street Brewhouse on an unsuspecting city, it's time for my nose to be placed to the grindstone and held there until the GH prep work is done.

Mike Bauman, NABC Beer Manager, is doing much of this work, but it's still left to the Publican to organize and quantify. I thought it might be interesting for readers to glimpse the Gravity Head "work in progress." It's sketchy and incomplete, although better than yesterday.

By no means is the information below to be considered other than a snapshot of the way our big beer fest is looking today. I still need to ask around the local breweries for selections (Dave, have any of the single barrel BB Stout? If not, Queen's Knickers will do nicely). The secret is to pretend that we kick off two weeks before the actual date, which is the only way for procrastinators like me to function.

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For the 11th edition of Gravity Head, we have inaugurated the practice of grouping the selections by style category, not national origin.

Vintage dates will be noted only if the kegs are more than one year old by February 27, 2009.

* never before poured at the Public House

INS – in stock at the Public House
ATC – in stock at Cavalier (wholesaler)
OBU – ordered from B United importer (via Cavalier)
OCV – preordered from Cavalier
OWC – pre ordered from World Class Beverage (wholesaler)

WINTER SEASONAL
OBU Borgo 25 Dodici
OBU Ducato Krampus 8%
OBU De Dolle Stille Nacht

BARLEY WINE
??? Bell’s Third Coast Old Ale
INS Dogfish Head Olde School Barleywine 15.04% abv
INS Great Divide Old Ruffian Barley Wine
INS Mad River JBC (John Barleycorn)
INS Rogue Old Crustacean Barley Wine 6530, 7704
INS Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barley Wine 2008
INS Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine 12-13-07
INS Three Floyds Behemoth Barley Wine
INS Two Brothers Bare Tree 2007
??? Victory Old Horizontal Barley Wine

IMPERIAL/DOUBLE IPA
INS Bell’s HopSlam 10%
OCV Boulder Mojo Risin’ Double IPA 10.5%
INS Founders Double Trouble IPA 9.4%
INS Stone Double Bastard 10-19-2006

SCOTCH/WEE HEAVY
OWC Moylan Double Kilt Lifter 11%
INS Founders Backwoods Bastard 9.2%

IMPERIAL STOUT
INS Alvinne Podge Imperial Stout
INS Avery The Czar
INS Bell's Expedition Stout 10-23-06
??? Dogfish Head World Wide Stout
OBU *Ducato Verdi Imperial Stout 8.2%
INS Founders Breakfast Stout 10-01-07
INS Left Hand Imperial Stout
OCV Left Hand Oaked Aged Imperial Stout
OBU St. Petersburg Imperial Stout (firkin)
INS Stone Russian Imperial Stout 2/6/08
INS *Stone Twelfth Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout 9.2%
ATC *Struise Black Albert Belgian Royal Stout

OLD ALE
OBU Burton Bridge Thomas Sykes Old Ale (firkin)
OBU JW Lees Vintage Harvest Ale 2008

STRONG LAGER
??? Avery “The Kaiser” Imperial Oktoberfest
OBU *Hofstetten Granit Bock (stone lager)
INS Samichlaus Bier
INS *Samichlaus Bier Helles
INS *Sierra Nevada Double Debockel (double bock) 9.4 %

BARREL AGED
INS Allagash Curieux
OWC Bell's Bourbon Barrel Aged Expedition/Double Cream Blend
ATC Harviestoun Ola Dubh Highland Park 18-year (firkin)
ATC Harviestoun Ola Dubh Highland Park 40-year (firkin)
INS JW Lees Vintage Harvest Ale ( ) ( )
OBU *L'Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien 15.5%
INS New Holland Dragon’s Milk
OBU Regenboog 't Smisje Calva Reserva (calvados-barrel)
OBU Regenboog 't Smisje Grand Reserva (whiskey-barrel)

BELGIAN-SYLE DIVERSE STRONG ALE
OBU *Baladin Al-Iksir 10% DEMI SEC
ATC *Strubbe Keyte Dobbelen Tripel 9.2%
INS *Het Anker Cuvee Van de Keizer 11%
OBU De Dolle Dulle Teve

IMPERIAL/BALTIC PORTER
ATC Left Hand Smoke Jumper Smoked Imperial Porter 9.2%
INS Rogue JLS Imperial Porter
OBU *Thisted Brewery Limfjords Porter 7.9%
??? *Victory Baltic Thunder 8.5%
INS NABC Solidarity Porter

UNCLASSIFIABLE
??? Avery The Beast Grand Cru 14.9%
INS Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA
??? Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron 12%
??? Dogfish Head Theobroma 9%
ATC Stone Eleventh Anniversary Ale 8.7%

QUADRUPEL
INS Browning’s Quadrupel
ATC Koningshoeven Quadrupel
ATC Regenboog ‘t Smisje BBBourgondier 12%
??? *Victory V-Twelve 12%