Read my essay about the new http://LouisvilleBeer.com, launching on August 1.

My friend John Campbell, whose local career in good beer has included stints at Falls City, NABC, BBC and Schlafly, has teamed up with John Wurth, principal at Hatch Creative LLC, to launch LouisvilleBeer.com on August 1, 2011.

Currently, there’s a place-setter page featuring the testimonial I happily wrote for them, which should explain everything about what they seek to do. Since postcards were being handed out during LIBA’s Louisville Brewfest, I trust there’s nothing wrong with me repeating the essay here. I intend to reintroduce my former LEO column at this new location, although Mug Shots as a title is retired along with the position.

Can anyone think of something else?

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Some time around 1996, Rich O’s Public House was on sufficiently firm ground after four years of ceaseless nurturing that I finally could afford the luxury of a weekly day off.

Surrounded on a daily basis by beer, beer and even more beer – back then, most of it imported, but with what eventually would be termed “craft” beers gradually seeping in from the coasts, Colorado and Michigan – one might be forgiven for seeking work-free recreation in some completely different field, perhaps fishing or bicycling, maybe doing odd jobs around the house.

Not me. What I wanted most of all was to find some other establishment in the metro Louisville area that also served good beer, to go there, relax, and enjoy a busman’s holiday.

Where to go? For a brief time, I made an effort to collate the available information and to provide an Internet listing of the like-minded for viewing at the FOSSILS homebrew club web site. With a degree of grandiosity in retrospect, I called it, “The Good Beer Guide to Louisville,” after the Campaign for Real Ale’s listings of pubs in the UK serving real ale.

The local brewery choices were limited. The forerunning Silo Brewpub was around for a while, and BBC was a keeper. Oldenberg Grille and Hops! were short-lived, as was Pipkin Brewing. Certain other pubs, beer bars and free houses on my weekly rotation survived, and thrive to this very day: Baxter Station, Rocky’s, O’Sheas’s and Irish Rover spring immediately to mind. I patronized them whenever possible then, and still do now.

A bit further along, breweries began making up ground. By 2000, Cumberland Brews had arrived, and shortly thereafter, Browning’s, located in Louisville Slugger Field. BBC split into two, NABC began brewing, and in shortly thereafter in America there was a shot heard around the world: Craft beer, an inspiring, non-violent velvet revolution of sorts, and just the sort of innovative phenomenon that we all can be patriotic about and celebrate on a 4th of July weekend.

But my well-intentioned efforts to maintain a “Good Beer Guide” ended long before the surge. There wasn’t enough time for someone drinking beer professionally and growing his own business to keep up, and while I judged this fact a fine problem to have, indeed, it did little to quench my thirst for information.

In 2011, there are many more of us than before, and now more than ever, we need such a comprehensive source, especially with new metro area breweries on the horizon.

In 1995, when it came to finding good beer in metro Louisville, the number of primary options was restricted to the fingers of one hand. In 2011, ten digits won’t get you past the epicenter of Baxter Avenue.

In 1995, I’d settle for a tattered, mimeographed sheet of paper with penciled-in street directions. In 2011, I need a comprehensive web site, a one-stop shop – a place where updates are timely and information is fresh. Coincidentally, this brings me to LouisvilleBeer.com, which intends to be precisely the kind of joint we need, and a guide to all things craft beer in Louisville.

Features will include news, videos, podcasts and a bi-weekly column by me, Roger A. Baylor. There’ll be maps and reviews of local brewpubs, beer bars, and retail stores. Handy local brewery information, including directions, hours of operation, specials and seasonal releases, are a LouisvilleBeer.com staple, along with a local and regional beer event calendar.

Stay tuned for more. Speaking personally, I’m delighted to have another chance to inflict my beer opinions on the Louisville area drinking public. I’d tell you more, except that somewhere, it’s already happy hour.

Passing of the sales baton at NABC.

Examples of inspiration in transition include Season Four of M*A*S*H, AC-DC's Back in Black, and Rick Sutcliffe's 16-1 record down the stretch for the Cubs in 1984.

The 4077th welcomed both a new doctor and camp commander, and the series lasted three times longer than the real-life war. The rock group honored Bon Scott's passing with a classic album, and had a hit album just last year.

And, Chicago made the playoffs, even though they lost to San Diego. It is my intention to leave goat-laden curses out of this one.

Our new NABC sales rep for Louisville and Southern Indiana is Josh Hill, who has worked with us for several years, and recently has been selling NABC beers to accounts on the Indiana side of the Ohio.

We wish the best to John Campbell as he departs on a new course. John's loyalty and hard work have been instrumental in bringing us to this place. I'd make an analogy with Che leaving for Bolivia, except that he failed, and I know John won't. But if it feels like just such a chapter closing, I know that when our paths cross in the future, there'll be beers and cigars all around.

I'm confident that Josh will pick up where John left off. Overall, we at NABC are blessed to have passionate beer loving people to fight against the scourge of swill. Parting may be sweet sorrow, but partying isn't ... and the battle rages on.

NABC beers on tap in Louisville ... now.

John Campbell, NABC's brand manager, spent the day visiting our first four on-premise accounts. Read John's report at Facebook:

New Albanian Brewing Co. in Louisville

"Sunday Bloody Sunday" at Bank Street Brewhouse, noon to 3:00 p.m. tomorrow (August 2).

Verily, man does not live by craft beer alone -- even if I've tried for years to prove otherwise.

By virtue of its three-way license, NABC's gastronomical brewpub project is inclusive of spirits, and from the beginning we've elected to eschew the majority of mixed drinks in favor of selected distilled products served neat or on the rocks.

There'll be an exception or two, and Sunday Bloody Sunday is the first. It is the brainchild of John Campbell, whose explanation is below. Once we've done the necessary tasting, SBS will remain a Sunday staple, with an everyday Bloody Mary recipe available during other times.

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Sunday Bloody Sunday - A Soft Opening of the New Albanian Bank Street Brewhouse's Bloody Mary Bar

Tomorrow (August 2) from noon to 3:00 p.m. -- hosted by NABC Brand Manager John Campbell.

This was originally set to be an unannounced practice run for the introduction of our "official" Sunday Bloody Mary Bar beginning on Sunday, August 16, but what's a trial session without a fair amount of test subjects? So, here's a last minute invite to pop in for pint (of sorts).

Please join us tomorrow, August 2, for an inaugural run of our premium Build-Your-Own Bloody Mary Bar and construct a cocktail tailored to your personal sense of culinary adventure.

Select the spices and ingredients that you'd like to add, watch as it'sprepared and served over ice in a 20 ounce pint glass rimmed with your choice of Celery Salt or Smoked Sea Salt, and finish it off with a skewer of garnishes chosen from a wide variety of unique olives, pickled and fresh vegetables, and more!

Main ingredients include such items as Whole French Tarragon, Eqyptian Basil Leaves, Fresh Minced Garlic, Horseradish, and a variety of spices from Chef Josh Lehman's kitchen.

Sauces include Tabasco, Worcestershire, Pickapeppa, and Sontava Habanero, for starters.

Garnishes include Pickled Asparagus, Pickled Beans, Thick-sliced Barrel Pickles, Cocktail Onions, Traditional Onions (pickled in vinegar and barley malt extract), Prosciutto and Mozzarella Stuffed Olives, Anchovy Stuffed Olives, Blue Cheese Stuffed Olives, Fresh Vegetables, and more.

$7 per pint. Made with Hangar One Vodka. Hangar One is a pot-distilled viognier wine vodka blended with a column still wheat vodka at an independently-owned, American Craft Distillery. www.hangarone.com

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.