Office Hours without me tonight? Weigh in, please.

I'll begin by reiterating that the general public always is welcome to attend our Monday evening Office Hours tastings. This said, there's a core group of 10-12 in attendance on most Mondays at 6:30 p.m.

I'm addressing this post to you, the regulars. Can you taste without me tonight?

During the fall term, we've been inching forward, through the Beer Judge Certification Program style guidelines, with an eye toward tasting examples of as many styles as possible now (and forward into next Spring).

Tonight, after one postponement already owing to last week's seating conflict, we're to consider Russian Imperial Stout.

Overall Impression:
An intensely flavored, big, dark ale. Roasty, fruity, and bittersweet, with a noticeable alcohol presence. Dark fruit flavors meld with roasty, burnt, or almost tar-like sensations. Like a black barleywine with every dimension of flavor coming into play.

Here's the problem ... or the opportunity.

As most of you know, I've been putting a disproportionate amount of time into the anti-bridge-tolls insurgency, and today is the final "public input" meeting with the group that we've come to address (not lovingly) as the Tolling Authority. It's from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. this afternoon, in downtown Louisville at the Muhammad Ali Center.

Also, as most of you know, I write a regular Thursday column for the New Albany Tribune. The deadline is Tuesday morning at 10:00 a.m.

There's also a NA-FC School Board meeting tonight, and another in a series of contestable measures being floated by the commander in chief. There's no way I can attend both meetings, but there'll be blogging to coordinate afterward.

In short, my community activism needs to take precedence tonight; given the slowless with which I write, making that deadline tomorrow morning after beginning at 9:00 p.m. would be challenging. Obviously, I feel badly about skipping out on Office Hours tonight, or else I wouldn't bother explaining.

BUT ... there's really no reason why "Office Hours Without the Publican," and tonight's Russian Imperial Stout tasting, cannot go on as originally planned. Ben and Eric can set it up just like they always do, and Rick might easily lead the discussion.

Unless the group feels differently, I suggest you carry on tonight without me, and I'll listen to the audio afterward. Thoughts?

Imperial Stout: Starring tonight at Office Hours.

Two weeks ago, we concluded an exploration of most Stout stylistic territory.

Tonight, the onslaught of icy cold weather jibes perfectly with an overview of Imperial Stout, always my personal favorite "gravity" category.

As always, sampling and commentary costs $5 and runs from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Public House. Let's see what we can round up for this one.

***Category 13 — Stout

13F Imperial Stout
Overall Impression: An intensely flavored, big, dark ale. Roasty, fruity, and bittersweet, with a noticeable alcohol presence. Dark fruit flavors meld with roasty, burnt, or almost tar-like sensations. Like a black barleywine with every dimension of flavor coming into play.

Calendar check: Monday, February 25 Schlafly meet ‘n’ greet with stouts and munchies.

Scott, our area rep for Schlafly, stopped in today to suggest a pre-Gravity head stouts and munchies reception in the Prost wing of NABC, and a chance to taste two vintages of Schlafly Imperial Stout ('06 and '07 bottles) alongside a new draft release, Schlafly Irish Export Stout (8% abv).

Better yet, company president Dan Kopman and head brewer Stephen Hale will be present, too. They’ll be in Louisville to confer with a prominent Kentucky distilling company over the use of bourbon barrels to make beers like these even better.

Yummers. We’ll have some munchies to help ease the stress as you begin limbering your livers for Gravity head, which roars out of the gate on Friday, February 29.

Stay tuned for further details.