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.

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

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

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

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

Revisions for Saturnalia MMVII.

No promises ... no guarantees ... but here's the pre-order list for Saturnalia MMXII, which kicks off on Friday, December 7, and will proceed throughout December into January of 2008.

Note two unfortunate scratches among the Belgians: St. Feuillien Cuvee de Noel and Urthel Bock.

Note also one addition to the USA roster: Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza.

There'll be more of both.

BELGIUM
Biere de Miel (Dupont)
De Dolle Stille Nacht
De Glazen Toren Canaster Winter Scotch
De Glazen Toren Cuvee Angelique
De Ranke Pere Noel
Delirium Noel
Dupont Avec les Bons Voeux
Gouden Carolus Noel
Kasteel Rouge
La Rulles Cuvee Meilleurs Voeux
N’Ice Chouffe
Scaldis Noel

DENMARK
WinterCoat Yule Ale
WinterCoat Vildmose

ENGLAND
Young's Winter Warmer

GERMANY
Aventinus Weizen Doppelbock
Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen
Uerige Sticke (gravity keg)

JAPAN
Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout
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
BBC Hell for Certain
Bell’s Java Stout
Bell’s Winter White
Boulder Never Summer Ale
Breckenridge Christmas Ale
Brooklyn Brewery Winter Ale
Clipper City “Heavy Seas” Hang Ten Weizen Doppelbock
Clipper City “Heavy Seas” Winter Storm
Dark Horse Tres Blueberry Stout
Flying Dog K-9 Cruiser
Great Divide Hibernation Ale
Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout
Harpoon Winter Warmer
NEW Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza
NABC Bonfire of the Valkyries
NABC Naughty Claus
New Holland Dragon’s Milk
North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial Stout
Oaken Barrel Epiphany
Pyramid Snow Cap
Rogue Chocolate Stout
Rogue HazelNut Brown Nectar
Rogue JLS Santa’s Private Reserve
Schlafly Christmas Ale
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
Three Floyds Alpha Klaus Xmas Porter
Upland Winter Warmer

Complete (well, sort of) Saturnalia MMXII draft pre-orders.

No promises ... no guarantees ... but here's the pre-order list for Saturnalia MMXII, which kicks off on Friday, December 7, and will proceed throughout December into January of 2008.

Recall that Saturnalia isn't just about seasonal and themed Christmas beers, but also a chance to indulge in festive concepts ranging from the WinterCoat Vildmose through Clipper City “Heavy Seas” Hang Ten Weizen Doppelbock.

Note also that NABC's own Naughty Claus is scheduled for a return date this year, and since ConeSmoker's currently in the fermenter, either that or a new batch of Bonfire of the Valkyries should be on tap during Saturnalia, too.

Next on the to-do list: Gravity Head 2008, a leap year tenth anniversary event that blasts off on February 29.

BELGIUM
Biere de Miel (Dupont)
De Dolle Stille Nacht
De Glazen Toren Canaster Winter Scotch
De Glazen Toren Cuvee Angelique
De Ranke Pere Noel
Delirium Noel
Dupont Avec les Bons Voeux
Gouden Carolus Noel
Kasteel Rouge
La Rulles Cuvee Meilleurs Voeux
N’Ice Chouffe
Scaldis Noel
St. Feuillien Cuvee de Noel
Urthel Bock

DENMARK
WinterCoat Yule Ale
WinterCoat Vildmose

ENGLAND
Young's Winter Warmer

GERMANY
Aventinus Weizen Doppelbock
Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen
Uerige Sticke (gravity keg)

JAPAN
Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout
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
BBC Hell for Certain
Bell’s Java Stout
Bell’s Winter White
Boulder Never Summer Ale
Breckenridge Christmas Ale
Brooklyn Brewery Winter Ale
Clipper City “Heavy Seas” Hang Ten Weizen Doppelbock
Clipper City “Heavy Seas” Winter Storm
Dark Horse Tres Blueberry Stout
Flying Dog K-9 Cruiser
Great Divide Hibernation Ale
Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout
Harpoon Winter Warmer
NABC Bonfire of the Valkyries
NABC Naughty Claus
New Holland Dragon’s Milk
North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial Stout
Oaken Barrel Epiphany
Pyramid Snow Cap
Rogue Chocolate Stout
Rogue HazelNut Brown Nectar
Rogue JLS Santa’s Private Reserve
Schlafly Christmas Ale
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
Three Floyds Alpha Klaus Xmas Porter
Upland Winter Warmer

Saturnalia MMVII pre-orders: Belgians.

NABC's annual Saturnalia draft festival, which kicks off this year on Friday, December 7, is a winter solstice celebration designed to run most of December and into February. In the fashion of our other draft fests, I seek to acquire numerous kegs which are tapped, drained and replaced roughly 15 at a time until all are depleted.

For me, Saturnalia is the most fun of all, and not just because I get to publicly espouse paganism during Christmas.

During Saturnalia, I look for as many holiday-themed and winter seasonal beers as possible, but there's also room for fun things that don't always fit at other times. Spiced and fruit-flavored beers are not resisted as they would be at other times of the year. Hoppy beers are recognized in October (Lupulin Land; ongoing), and big beers in late winter/early spring (Gravity Head; February 29), but at Saturnalia, "festive" beers of all stripes have a place.

I'm particularly fond of Belgian holiday ales, and so far, shopping for these has gone exceedingly well. A record list is shaping up, and here are the pre-orders; no guarantees of success in procurement, but fingers crossed. In the coming days, I'll publish the pre-orders for other imports and American microbrews, the latter just now falling into place.

Biere de Miel (Dupont)
De Dolle Stille Nacht
De Glazen Toren Canaster Winter Scotch
De Glazen Toren Cuvee Angelique
De Ranke Pere Noel
Delirium Noel
Dupont Avec les Bons Voeux
Gouden Carolus Noel
Kasteel Rouge
La Rulles Cuvee Meilleurs Voeux
N’Ice Chouffe
Scaldis Noel
St. Feuillien Cuvee de Noel
Urthel Bock

Lupulin Land Harvest Hopcoming begins Friday, October 19.

I can tell you this: Finally, it's done. Now I'm working on the starting lineup.

Here's the final list for Lupulin Land Harvest Hopcoming, which begins this Friday (October 19) at Rich O's and Sportstime.

It's also the weekend for the latest incarnation of the New Albanian Art Show, which will be held in the Prost special events wing.

I'm already working on Saturnalia Winter Solstice (December 7), which leaves November as a somewhat calm month between storms. Maybe.

Those marked * are first-time drafts.

Louisville area cask-conditioned ales:
Bluegrass Brewing Company (Main & Clay) IPA
*Bluegrass Brewing Company (St. Matthews) Daisycutter Organic IPA
Browning's Brewery She-Devil India Pale Ale
Cumberland Brews Matt’s Red (opener on Oct. 19)

Imports:
*Brooklyner-Schneider Hopfen-Weisse
Coniston Bluebird Bitter
*Gaspar
*Geants Saison Voisin
Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted
Houblon Chouffe
Poperings Hommel
Urthel Hop-It
*Wintercoat Double Hop

Microbrews
*Boulder Cold Hop
Clipper City Loose Cannon Hop 3
Founders Reds Rye
Founders Centennial IPA
Great Divide Fresh Hop
Great Divide Hercules Double IPA
*Mad Anthony IPA
NABC Elsa von Horizon Imperial Pilsner (poured on Randall)
NABC Oaktimus
Rogue JLS Glen 2007
*Schlafly Dry-Hopped APA (firkin; Oct. 24: Schlafly reps in attendance)
*Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale
Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale (wet hop)
Stone 10th Anniversary Ale
Stone Ruination IPA
Two Brothers Cane & Ebel
Two Brothers Heavy Handed India Pale Ale (wet hop)
Two Brothers Hop Juice (two different batches)
Upland Dragonfly IPA (special dry-hopped version)

Everyday Hop Accents
Alpha King
Arrogant Bastard
Bell’s Two Hearted Ale
NABC Hoptimus
Pilsner Urquell
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Previously released text:

For the sixth time, we’ll be exceeding OSHA’s legal mandated limits on permissible IBU’s per square foot of floor space when Lupulin Land Harvest Hopcoming 2007 begins on Friday, October 19.

As during previous celebrations of the “magic cone,” Lupulin Land 2007 will offer a fine opportunity for Kentuckiana’s hopheads to unite over a pint or two of America’s hoppiest beer.

As an added attraction, this year the latest incarnation of the New Albanian Art Show will be taking place in Prost at the same time as Lupulin Land (Oct. 18, 19 & 20). Pop Art, anyone?

By popular demand, Randall the Enamel Animal, the continuous dry-hopping machine invented by those twisted people at Dogfish Head, will be brought back for a third appearance at Lupulin Land.

Roughly 14-16 of the preceding following will be on tap when the fest opens, in addition to the everyday beers. Louisville area breweries will be represented by cask-conditioned ales on our hand pump, which will run continuously until depleted. Look for more information on these firkins as we get closer to the starting date.

Random beer-related Harvest Homecoming views.

The first three photos were taken at Connor's Place.

Congressman Baron Hill visited the Bistro New Albany patio Friday and was greeted by his fan club.

Tony's Lupulin Land Harvest Hopcoming 2007 graphics.

A very busy October lies ahead.

Silly me. I keep thinking that there’ll be a “quiet” time this year, but the calendar just keeps filling up. There are more than a few beer events, beer and food pairings and all-purpose merriment planned for coming weeks, and here’s the schedule as it appears now.

First up on Monday, October 1, is the Ayinger Oktober-Fest Beer Dinner at Bistro New Albany. Chef Clancy and the Publican will be combining Bavarian cuisine with some of the finest exported examples of Bavarian beer.

After that appropriate autumn kick-off, New Albany’s annual Harvest Homecoming festival will be dominating downtown from the October 6 parade day through October 13. NABC beers will be available downtown at our three primary accounts during booth days (October 11, 12 and 13), and we’re planning on releasing a few bits of NABC’s reserve stock for special promotions at Bistro New Albany, Connor’s Place and Speakeasy Jazz during these three days. Stay tuned for information on what, when and where.

During the same weekend, several Louisville area brewers and brewery owners will be in Denver, Colorado, for the Great American Beer Festival. Bring back some medals, guys.

Lupulin Land Harvest Hopcoming and the next New Albanian Art Show converge on Friday, October 19 (the art show begins a day earlier), and on the 20th, there’s a possibility that I may be working with Tommie Mudd at Caffe Classico on a “stouts of fall” appetizer and ale pairing. That same day, Mike Stephens at Youngstown Cigar Shop & Island Café (Jeffersonville) is holding a “Stogies and Stouts” party from noon to 5:00 p.m. Mike's shop is located behind Mai's Thai in the Youngstown Shopping Center on 10th Street.

Tired yet?

Finally, to close the month with a jolt before Halloween, there’ll be our first ever beer dinner at Prost, NABC’s banquet and special events wing: Culinary Costume of American Artisan Ales, to be held on Monday, October 29. It’s a cooperative venture between NABC and two aspiring young culinary artists, Andy and Josh, although it should be noted that they’re doing most of the heavy lifting. Pricing and details have yet to be determined.

Write ‘em down. My liver’s on full alert.

Lupulin Land 2007 preview: We're less than a month away.

(Work has been wreaking havoc with my normal writing schedule. I'm thrwing this out now, and will come back to correct the various bad links later when there's time. Your patience is appreciated; sometimes, one must take care of salaried business first ... RAB)

For the sixth time, we’ll be exceeding OSHA’s legal mandated limits on permissible IBU’s per square foot of floor space when Lupulin Land Harvest Hopcoming 2007 begins on Friday, October 19.

As during previous celebrations of the “magic cone,” Lupulin Land 2007 will offer a fine opportunity for Kentuckiana’s hopheads to unite over a pint or two of America’s hoppiest beer.

As an added attraction, this year the latest incarnation of the New Albanian Art Show will be taking place in Prost at the same time as Lupulin Land (Oct. 18, 19 & 20). op Art, anyone?

Furthermore, Lupulin Land begins a week later than usual in 2007 so as not to interfere with “Booth Days” at New Albany’s annual downtown festival, Harvest Homecoming (October 11 through 14). Originally, it was the express aim to run the harvest hopcoming alongside the civic homecoming as an hopternative to the lack of beer choice downtown, but the presence of three NABC draft accounts within the historic business district has changed the variable.

By popular demand, Randall the Enamel Animal, the continuous dry-hopping machine invented by those twisted people at Dogfish Head, will be brought back for a third appearance at Lupulin Land. We haven’t decided what beers Randall will be modifying.

Roughly 14-16 of the following will be on tap when the fest opens, in addition to the everyday beers. Louisville area breweries will be represented by cask-conditioned ales on our hand pump, which will run continuously until depleted. Look for more information on these firkins as we get closer to the starting date.

Those marked * are first-time drafts.

Louisville area cask-conditioned ales:
Bluegrass Brewing Company (Main & Clay) TBA
Browning's Brewery She-Devil India Pale Ale
Cumberland Brews (TBA)
New Albanian Brewing Company TBA

Imports:
*Brooklyner-Schneider Hopfen-Weisse
Coniston Bluebird Bitter
*Gaspar
*Geants Saison Voisin
Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted
Houblon Chouffe
Poperings Hommel
Urthel Hop-It
*Wintercoat Double Hop

Microbrews
*Boulder Cold Hop
Clipper City Loose Cannon Hop 3
Founders Reds Rye
Founders Centennial IPA
Great Divide Hercules Double IPA
*Mad Anthony IPA
NABC Elsa von Horizon Imperial Pilsner
Rogue JLS Hop Heaven 2007
Rogue JLS Glen 2007
Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale
Stone 10th Anniversary Ale
Stone Ruination IPA
Two Brothers Cane & Ebel
Two Brothers Hop Juice

Everyday Hops
Alpha King
Arrogant Bastard
Bell’s Two Hearted Ale
NABC Croupier IPA
NABC Elector
NABC Hoptimus
Pilsner Urquell
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Calendar change: Saturnalia will begin on Friday, December 7.

Just for the record, I'm providing advance notice that Saturnalia, NABC's annual winter solstice draft festival of Christmas and seasonal beers, will begin a week earlier than previously announced. The first wave will be tapped on Friday, December 7, and pouring will continue through December into the first days of January.

More information will follow, but for now, please correct your calendars.

Grieving the Beer Hunter's passing: Michael Jackson, the Red Room and Louisville.

Michael Jackson unexpectedly visited Rich O’s Public House in November, 1994, a tad more than two years after it first opened, and if I hadn’t been drinking much of the same day as an obviously weary Beer Hunter made pre-arranged appearances at Bluegrass Brewing Company and the now defunct Silo, I surely would have been too nervous to properly function in the role of host.

I’ll never know why he consented to accompany twenty-plus awed, fledgling and inebriated beer enthusiasts on yet another beer journey, this one at 9:00 p.m. after a long day’s work, from Louisville, Kentucky, across the Ohio River, to an embarrassingly unfinished space in a strip mall that, at the time, could offer only three beers on tap.

Moreover, knowing that most of our regular pub customers would be with us that day following Jackson around Louisville, we’d closed the pub tight, and with the motorcade from the Silo approaching, came dashing inside to turn on the lights, sweep up and make the barroom look somewhat presentable. Once seated, and following hours of one-ounce samples and a furious scribbling of notes, Jackson ordered a full 20-oz Imperial pint of Sierra Nevada Porter, and when he left an hour and a half later, wryly observed, “"I've been to many pubs in America, and I've never seen one quite like this."

It took a while, but eventually I understood what he meant.

----

It is impossible to overstate the influence that Michael Jackson had on thousands upon thousands of beer drinkers, who found in his elegant and precise prose a purposeful rationale for their pursuit of the perfect pint.

I'm prime among them.

Analogies with other cultural pursuits are difficult and fleeting, but they're most apt when made in literature, with the temptation being to describe Jackson as comparable to William Shakespeare in terms of reach and pervasiveness.

To me, far more flattering is the positing of Jackson as the beer world’s successor to the 18th-century English essayist Samuel Johnson. After all, Johnson established an expository norm for non-fiction and wrote a dictionary of the English language, and a century and a half later, Jackson synthesized Johnson’s style and words to write the language and vocabulary of beer.

We’ll be speaking and writing the fruits of Johnson’s and Jackson’s life work for quite some time to come.

As Lew Bryson perceptively notes in an appreciation elsewhere, it is Jackson's association of beer with place that survives as the finest representation of the beer writer's particular genius. 20th-century industrial complexes may have stolen beer from its traditional point of localized orientation, but Jackson stole it back, first a little, and then a lot.

He generally refrained from writing about technical brewing details, possessing instead a superhuman ability to filter hyperbole of the sort favored by marketers, and viscerally connect beer to its own "terroir" in terms of physical geography, human culture and social conditions. Jackson did so factually, wittily, often majestically, and always with supreme lyricism.

He was a damned fine writer, and the father of us all.

----

Five years after the nocturnal November visit, I found myself at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, a few samples under my belt, standing somewhere on the mezzanine, leaning against a vacant table and chatting with the beer writer and editor Stan Hieronymus. After a few minutes, Stan asked me if I had brought a book to be signed. With my face registering obvious cluelessness, Stan motioned behind me – and there was Michael Jackson, settling in for another afternoon with his reading public.

Surprisingly, I was at the head of a gradually lengthening line of people forming behind me, and entirely without a Michael Jackson book for autographing, but I had a GABF program tucked under my arm, and it was duly presented to Jackson as I reintroduced myself and asked if he remembered the late evening at Rich O’s.

Jackson smiled and said yes, and then added that the FOSSILS newsletters we had since been mailing to him in London were entertaining. “You’re quite the polemicist,” said Jackson.

You’d better believe I was blushing, but before there was much time to consider a coherent response, Jackson pushed away the program and said, “Have I told you why your Red Room made such an impression on me?”

No, he had not, and this remark seemed odd at the time it was offered. In 1994, the Red Room had only just come into being. Then, as now, it is a small seating area at the pub, with one wall painted red and a massive three-part Soviet-era poster of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin on the wall, since augmented with other examples of Communist paraphernalia.

It surprised me that Jackson even noticed the Red Room during his brief visit, and of course there had been no other times when he might have explained what it meant to him, so I answered as directly as I could.

“No.”

Jackson promptly put down his pen and began telling the story.

It began in 1945 with his earliest childhood memory at the age of three: The long delayed, post-war British election campaign that ended in sweeping victory for Labor and the fall of Winston Churchill. Jackson’s father, whom he referred to as the family’s political agitator, was working one important day, so his mother – normally apolitical – took young Michael to a gala rally for their constituency’s Labor candidate, who in fact was red-letter Socialist (unfortunately, I’ve forgotten the politician’s his name).

Jackson said that he never forgot the rally’s numerous red buntings and campaign banners, and a week later, the Socialist/Labor candidate handily won the seat and began a long and distinguished career in Parliament, so long in fact that after the adult Jackson graduated from university and embarked upon his own career in journalism in the mid-1960s, the very same politician was still holding the seat won in 1945. Jackson was assigned by his newspaper to interview the aging MP.

During the interview, Jackson learned that the politician had actually lived in American prior to the second war, and had worked for …

“The leftist Louisville newspaper,” Jackson said, “what is the name of your leftist Louisville newspaper?”

By now I was kneeling, and starting to become uncomfortably cognizant of perhaps 75 people queued behind me, and what’s more, I was unable to think of any newspaper in Louisville that would fit the description offered by Jackson, who tried his best to joggle my memory.

“The newspaper’s owners were wealthy liberals,” he said, “and they’ve since sold the paper to a media company.”

I blurted, “The Binghams? The Courier-Journal?” and Jackson almost came up out of his chair.

“Yes! The Courier-Journal, and the Binghams – that’s it. That’s where he worked.”

As it transpired, the member of parliament – the man whose campaign rally had been burned into Jackson’s memory by virtue of the color red, who had worked for the Louisville Courier-Journal, and who had spoken of Louisville when interviewed by Jackson so many years before – was the cognitive impetus for Jackson’s reaction when he walked into our pub in 1994.

Finally, it all made sense: Red Room, geography, colors, politics and beer, all combining to make more than a few other beer lovers impatiently wait their turn while the dots were meticulously connected for me by the world’s greatest beer writer. It is something that I’ll remember until the day that I join Jackson at the celestial tap room's bar, when I’ll ask him the one question that most needs answering:

What was the journalist/politician’s name?

I briefly spoke with Jackson a third time at another GABF, and then a fourth at a British ale tasting in Indianapolis in 2001, and that was all. Now he’s dead, and the return visit to Rich O’s that I always thought would be made some day isn’t to be.

To remember Michael Jackson, I can do no better than appropriate Edwin Stanton’s words at the passing of Abraham Lincoln: Now he belongs to the ages.

He was, indeed, the father of us all.

I’m batting somewhere under .250 as Sandkerwa NA approaches on Friday, August 31.

Let’s have fun mixing baseball and German beer metaphors, okay? First, a reminder: Sandkerwa NA, an homage to Bamberg’s beers, begins Friday, August 31.

Next, the box score:

Base hit: Most of the beers from Bamberg and environs are in stock.

Strikeout: I’ve not been able to get the glassware I wanted.

Groundout: I didn’t allow enough time to get the food I wanted.

Pop-up: Three of the beers originally ordered didn’t make the trip, though in fairness I knew this some time back.

Compounding the annoyance in terms of logistics are the many (ten) leftover kegs from the Greg Koch/Stone visit (don’t worry; they’ll keep for a while) and yet another dozen kegs that are the result of my ordering too much beer when business finally began to slow down during the past week. These are clogging the walk-ins, making set-up for Sandkerwa into a more difficult jigsaw puzzle than even most Gravity Heads.

After careful consideration, my verdict is to simplify.

I’ve calculated the pricing across the board rather than by individual brand, so nine of the fourteen imported German beers slated for Sandkerwa will be sold in our usual Imperial pint glasses, but at the ½ liter price (a savings of about 10%) – and the price will be the same for all nine. The four wheat ales will be a bit less expensive and will be served when possible in wheat ale glasses. The Kulmbacher Eisbock will be priced by the 10 ounce pour.

There’ll be a simple one-page, two-sided program. No frills ... this year.

Just wait 'til next year.

Here are the beers:

20-oz Imperial; $5.75
Aecht Schlenkerla Helles (Bamberg)
Aecht Schlenkerla Marzen (Bamberg)
Aecht Schlenkerla Urbock (Bamberg)
Bayerischer Bahnhof Heizer Schwarzbier (Leipzig)
Klosterbrauerei Ettal Dunkel (Ettal)
Mahr's Hell (Bamberg)
Mahr's Pilsner (Bamberg)
Mahr's der Weisse Bock (Bamberg)
Spezial Rauchbier (Bamberg)

½ liter; $5.00
Aecht Schlenkerla Weizen (Bamberg)
Bayerischer Bahnhof Gose (Leipzig)
Kapuziner Weissbier (Kulmbach)
Schneider Wiesen Edel Weiss (Kelheim)

10-oz; $3.00
Kulmbacher Eisbock (Kulmbach)

Mahr's Ungespundet, Mahr's Weisse Lager (both from Bamberg) and St. Georgenbrau Kellerbier (Buttenheim) were unavailable.

As always, two other permanent guests of German extraction will be pouring in the usual manner during Sandkerwa NA: Pilsner Urquell (Plzen, Czech Republic) and Spaten Premium Lager (Munich).

Finally, we'll also be debuting a New Albanian Brewing Company beer in honor of the occasion: Happy Helmut, named for a merry trinket salesman with whom I once drank numerous half-liters of Spezial in Bamberg. There's a percentage of smoked malt from Bamberg's Weyermann malting house, and some rye in the grist. California Common yeast is used, and Tony's working on the artwork. Diring tastings last week, Happy Helmut was (happily) revealed to be soft and suitably Franconian, with the smokiness and rye qualities both muted, and a noble hop firmness. At less than 5% abv, it's a fine quaffer.

Brew at the Zoo wrap-up for 2007: Inclement weather early, sticky beer drinking late.

The 4th annual Brew at the (Louisville) Zoo was yesterday, and while the overall event went smoothly, it wasn’t without an element of adventure.

I was standing in the conventionally anchored beer and food tent, i.e., not the main one that rests atop a concrete slab, at about 4:10 p.m. when the anticipated thunderstorm stuck and a wind gust reminded me of the Keg Liquors festival earlier this year.

During that occasion, many people were hanging onto Todd’s small tents to keep them from doing an Oz, and yesterday, for a brief moment, I thought it was happening again. The tent started to rise, and the support poles were askew, but there was no liftoff even if the cups, plates, buns and signage flying through the air was vaguely reminiscent of Dorothy’s dream sequence.

Unfortunately, the storm brought precious little relief from the heat, and an hour later, we’d returned to full bake mode. Despite the weather, most of the paying customers I met seemed pleased with the beer and food choices on offer.

As for me, sated with preliminary sampling and the unexpected gift of a Havana cigar, things were increasingly mellow as the event progressed. Mrs. Curmudgeon arrived on the scene a little after 7:30 p.m., and we motored to Maido Essential Japanese for a civilized late dinner, which for me included seaweed salad, kimchee pork and “hedonism,” the latter a signature sushi.

BBC (Main & Clay) APA accompanied the Maido feast, and while I’m on the topic, be on the lookout for BBC’s next seasonal, an Oktoberfest that brewmaster David Pierce notes is his first lager in “a long time.” It’s brewed with a Bavarian bock yeast, and while malty, is not overly sweet. For those planning to attend the Curmudgeon’s annual Harvest Homecoming parade party on October 6, plan on seeing the new BBC Oktoberfest on tap alongside Poperings Hommel and Rodenbach Classic.

UPDATE: Peak Summit beer choices will include BBC.

BBC's John Campbell provides a welcomed update for yesterday's Good news, musicians: Peak Summit is this weekend at New Albany's Rustic Frog, and you get to have NABC.

In addition to the A-B stable of light alcohol soda pops and possible Bud Island and Budhook, there will be BBC available! APA and Dark Star Porter on tap and Nut Brown and Altbier in bottles. Look past the A-B neons and find the BBC banner and taps back by the stage.

The non-swilled music fans can now breathe more easily.

Brew at the Zoo is Saturday -- here are the facts.

Here are the vitals for Saturday's fourth annual Brew at the Zoo, most of them provided by the organizers,a nd with the beer list courtesy of BBC's David Pierce.

I wrote about Brew at the Zoo yesterday in the Louisville Eccentric Observer (LEO): Gulp with the gators, slurp with the sloths.

As a side note to Matt, and as it pertains to our discussion last evening, the titles of my submissions aren't customarily mine to select, although at times I manage to be clever.

As always with the Curmudgeon, it's all about the beer, and there'll be some good ones pouring on Saturday, but at the same time I'll issue a disclaimer: Notions like "Parrot Dice Casino" are herewith disavowed as tacky. You'll find me with the beverages, and I hope to see many of you there.

Date:
August 25, 2007

Time:
4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Location:
The Louisville Zoo Oasis band shell, tent and field.

Attendance:
The event, which has grown each year, brought more than 2,000 guests to the Zoo this past year. For 2007, we are projecting an attendance of 2,500 patrons.

Admission:
Tickets will be available beginning July 1st.

Advance ticket purchase online at www.louisvillezoo.org
Individual $38.00
Designated Driver $28.00

Advance ticket purchase at the Zoo box office
Individual $45.00
Designated Driver $35.00

Day of the Event
Individual $50.00
Designated Driver $40.00

Price includes admission to the Zoo, live music, Official Brew at the Zoo
4 oz. tasting glass and brew and food sampling from participants.
(Food service 4 :00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m., Beer/wine tasting until 8:30 p.m.)

Event Overview:
There will be different beers for tasting from 20 local & regional breweries. A selection of non-alcoholic products and water will be provided along with a variety of food tasting and wine tasting donated from over 30 local restaurants and vendors.

Breweries/Beers:
Alltech's Lexington Brewing Company
BBC Beer Co. (Clay Street Live Branch)
BBC St. Matthews
Barley Island Brewing Company (Noblesville, IN - new this year)
Bell's Brewery
Browning's Restaurant & Brewery
Brugge Brasserie (Indianapolis - new this year)
Cumberland Brews
Main Street Brewing/Turoni's (Evansville - new this year)
New Albanian Brewing Company
Schlafly Brewing Company
Upland Brewing Company

And a selection of beers poured by the distributor, including Rogue Dead Guy, New Holland Red Tulip, Arcadia IPA, Ommegang Witte, Unibroue Chambly Noire, Avery White Rascal, Boulder Mojo IPA .

Live Music:
Two local talents, Stompbox and Two Guys Having Fun, will perform live at the Event. Bring your lawn chairs and picnic blankets to lounge on the lawn and enjoy the tunes.

Parrot Dice Casino and Raffles Baskets:
Do you feel lucky? Cold beer and hot dice are new for this year’s Brew. Gamble with your friends for the benefit of the Zoo. In addition, The Friends of the Zoo will be selling chances to win one of several fantasy raffle packages offered. Each participating brewery/restaurant/vendor contributes items or gift certificates for the raffle basket .