I've had my usual special-order problems getting enough lambic stocks to properly do Lambic by the Glass, and so will wait until later in the summer. When I'm able to get Lambic by the Glass on the calendar, it will include a Pizzeria & Pub tasting on a Saturday night, and a Bank Street Brewhouse combo lambic/food event on Sunday, utilizing Chef Josh Lehman's fully appropriate cuisine.
Also, the annual French-inspired meal from Chef Lehman is "on" for Bank Street Brewhouse on Wednesday, July 14. Mark your calendars now for this 5-course meal paired with Bieres de Garde from France and America. This year, there'll be one seating only. Complete course and pairing details will be announced quite soon. Reserve your place now by e-mailing Steve.
Showing posts with label Lambic by the Glass. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lambic by the Glass. Show all posts
Friday, June 11, 2010
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Weekend recap, and Bloody Mary Sunday today.
A third consecutive weekend of festivities at Bank Street Brewhouse was far less hective than the preceding two, but it was still fun, with the parking lot decked out in tent-city regalia, live music playing, the aroma of grilled meat in the air, and progressive pints pouring from Rosa L. Stumblebus. The New Albanian Charlie Vettiner Open brought disc golfers to BSB on both nights, and a good time was had by all.
I spent Friday night at the Public House dispensing Lambic by the Glass, and permit me to thank all of those who dropped in to enjoy the funk. My plan is to recast Lambic by the Glass into a Bank Street Brewhouse event, perhaps as soon as January or February of 2010. The reason is simple: Chef Josh's kitchen, where savory lambic-based cuisine can be prepared to complement the sublime liquid.
Kudos to all our employees and helpers the past weekend. Invariably, you rock.
Today from Noon to 3:00 p.m., John will have the Bloody Mary bar up and running at Bank Street. Note that both NABC locations will be closed tomorrow (Labor Day, Monday, September 7), and we'll back on Tuesday. Event to come include the Carnegie Center's fundraiser after-party at Bank Street on Friday, September 11, and Sandkerwa's annual (and this year, belated) kickoff in Prost on Thursday, September 24 -- assuming the shipment arrives, which is what I'll be checking come Tuesday.
Reintroductions and rescheduling: Lambic by the Glass (4 Sept) and Sandkerwa NA (24 Sept).
I spent Friday night at the Public House dispensing Lambic by the Glass, and permit me to thank all of those who dropped in to enjoy the funk. My plan is to recast Lambic by the Glass into a Bank Street Brewhouse event, perhaps as soon as January or February of 2010. The reason is simple: Chef Josh's kitchen, where savory lambic-based cuisine can be prepared to complement the sublime liquid.
Kudos to all our employees and helpers the past weekend. Invariably, you rock.
Today from Noon to 3:00 p.m., John will have the Bloody Mary bar up and running at Bank Street. Note that both NABC locations will be closed tomorrow (Labor Day, Monday, September 7), and we'll back on Tuesday. Event to come include the Carnegie Center's fundraiser after-party at Bank Street on Friday, September 11, and Sandkerwa's annual (and this year, belated) kickoff in Prost on Thursday, September 24 -- assuming the shipment arrives, which is what I'll be checking come Tuesday.
Reintroductions and rescheduling: Lambic by the Glass (4 Sept) and Sandkerwa NA (24 Sept).
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Here's the lineup for this Friday's Lambic by the Glass.
Beer manager Mike Bauman and I have done the inventory, and I've selected the following assembly of Belgian lambics and fellow travelers (12 of them bottled, and three draft) to represent the range of styles in the genre. 4-oz sample pours are $4.00 unless otherwise noted, and if you don't know by now what I'm talking about, familiarize yourself with Lambic by the Glass, Version 5: On as scheduled for this Friday, September 4.
UNBLENDED LAMBIC
Cantillon 1900 Bruocsella Grand Cru
No vintage indicated. Straight, single-batch lambic aged three years before packaging. Minimal carbonation; usually almost still. This is the fundamental lambic flavor.
GUEUZE
Cantillon Organic Gueuze … DRAFT
Non-vintage. The famous Cantillon house blend of one-, two- and three-year old lambics, and a yardstick of sorts. One of three draft exceptions to the "bottled" theme of Lambic by the Glass.
Drie Fonteinen Doesjel
Bottled in ’06. The name means “snoozer,” and refers to yeast gone dormant in this blend of one-, two- and three-year-old lambics. The result generally lacks carbonation, much in the fashion of unblended lambic.
Girardin 1882
Black label; unfiltered – brewed in ’07, bottled in ’09. Girardin has been brewing and blending since 1845, and has been in the hands of the same owning family for more than a century.
St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition
When the Van Honsebrouck family installed a coolship at the top of their Kasteel (Castle) brewery a decade ago and began brewing lambic, they were the first in Belgium to do it outside the Senne Valley.
FRAMBOISE
Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus … DRAFT
Fresh raspberries are added to year-and-a-half old lambic.
St. Louis Premium Framboise ... $2.00
Sweetened version of Framboise (raspberry).
KRIEK
Hanssens Young Kriek … FIRKIN
Another first: Non-vintage Kriek in a firkin. Cherries are the most traditional fruit of choice for steeping in lambic. Hanssens uses black cherry pulp.
St. Louis Premium Kriek ... $2.00
Sweetened version of Kriek (cherry)
MISCELLANEOUS (FLAVORED) LAMBICS and SPECIALTIES
Cantillon Fou’ Foune Apricot ... $7.00
Bottled in ’08. Apricots from Bordeaux are added to a blend of aged lambics.
Cantillon St. Lamvinus ... $7.00
Two-year old lambic (bottled in 2008) fermented with red Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, generally from different vineyards for each year’s batch.
De Ranke Cuvee de Ranke
Not "pure" lambic, and unpreviewed by the Publican, but sounds like hybrid fun. Used as the base for De Ranke's Kriek, but without cherries added, Cuvee de Ranke is 70% ale fermented with a Rodenbach-like yeast strain, and 30% Girardin lambic. It is billed as "somewhat sour, somewhat hoppy." I have only 6 bottles (750 ml).
St. Louis Premium Peche ... $2.00
Sweetened version of Peche (peach).
Two Brothers Project Opus 10 Kriek
From the Chicagoland microbrewer, thid is a “pseudo-lambic” ringer, oak-aged, with cherries added. The last four bottles in our possession have aged an additional two years since the batch was last sampled during the year of release (2007).
Hanssens Mead the Gueuze
Circa 2006 or early 2007. A blend of Hanssens Oude Gueuze and English mead from the Lurgashall meadery. We cellared these bottles, and at my last tasting of an earlier vintage, the result was some oxidization and diminished carbonation, but with a whole different dimension to the character. It's anyone's guess what we'll experience this time.
UNBLENDED LAMBIC
Cantillon 1900 Bruocsella Grand Cru
No vintage indicated. Straight, single-batch lambic aged three years before packaging. Minimal carbonation; usually almost still. This is the fundamental lambic flavor.
GUEUZE
Cantillon Organic Gueuze … DRAFT
Non-vintage. The famous Cantillon house blend of one-, two- and three-year old lambics, and a yardstick of sorts. One of three draft exceptions to the "bottled" theme of Lambic by the Glass.
Drie Fonteinen Doesjel
Bottled in ’06. The name means “snoozer,” and refers to yeast gone dormant in this blend of one-, two- and three-year-old lambics. The result generally lacks carbonation, much in the fashion of unblended lambic.
Girardin 1882
Black label; unfiltered – brewed in ’07, bottled in ’09. Girardin has been brewing and blending since 1845, and has been in the hands of the same owning family for more than a century.
St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition
When the Van Honsebrouck family installed a coolship at the top of their Kasteel (Castle) brewery a decade ago and began brewing lambic, they were the first in Belgium to do it outside the Senne Valley.
FRAMBOISE
Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus … DRAFT
Fresh raspberries are added to year-and-a-half old lambic.
St. Louis Premium Framboise ... $2.00
Sweetened version of Framboise (raspberry).
KRIEK
Hanssens Young Kriek … FIRKIN
Another first: Non-vintage Kriek in a firkin. Cherries are the most traditional fruit of choice for steeping in lambic. Hanssens uses black cherry pulp.
St. Louis Premium Kriek ... $2.00
Sweetened version of Kriek (cherry)
MISCELLANEOUS (FLAVORED) LAMBICS and SPECIALTIES
Cantillon Fou’ Foune Apricot ... $7.00
Bottled in ’08. Apricots from Bordeaux are added to a blend of aged lambics.
Cantillon St. Lamvinus ... $7.00
Two-year old lambic (bottled in 2008) fermented with red Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, generally from different vineyards for each year’s batch.
De Ranke Cuvee de Ranke
Not "pure" lambic, and unpreviewed by the Publican, but sounds like hybrid fun. Used as the base for De Ranke's Kriek, but without cherries added, Cuvee de Ranke is 70% ale fermented with a Rodenbach-like yeast strain, and 30% Girardin lambic. It is billed as "somewhat sour, somewhat hoppy." I have only 6 bottles (750 ml).
St. Louis Premium Peche ... $2.00
Sweetened version of Peche (peach).
Two Brothers Project Opus 10 Kriek
From the Chicagoland microbrewer, thid is a “pseudo-lambic” ringer, oak-aged, with cherries added. The last four bottles in our possession have aged an additional two years since the batch was last sampled during the year of release (2007).
Hanssens Mead the Gueuze
Circa 2006 or early 2007. A blend of Hanssens Oude Gueuze and English mead from the Lurgashall meadery. We cellared these bottles, and at my last tasting of an earlier vintage, the result was some oxidization and diminished carbonation, but with a whole different dimension to the character. It's anyone's guess what we'll experience this time.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Lambic by the Glass, Version 5: On as scheduled for this Friday, September 4.
Lambic by the Glass, Version 5, is this coming Friday in Prost, at the Public House (Rich O's).
The link is to a Facebook event page I threw together this morning. I'll be at the Public House on Tuesday to finalize the list of Lambics to be sampled, so stay tuned for updates.
Apologies for the late notice, but because supplies finally came in, and the event didn't run last year, I felt it crucial to keep the tradition alive, albeit in truncated form. There'll still be some good sampling, and next year we'll step it back up to former levels.
Maybe a lambic dinner at Bank Street Brewhouse, with Chef Josh doing the Belgian thing?
The link is to a Facebook event page I threw together this morning. I'll be at the Public House on Tuesday to finalize the list of Lambics to be sampled, so stay tuned for updates.
Apologies for the late notice, but because supplies finally came in, and the event didn't run last year, I felt it crucial to keep the tradition alive, albeit in truncated form. There'll still be some good sampling, and next year we'll step it back up to former levels.
Maybe a lambic dinner at Bank Street Brewhouse, with Chef Josh doing the Belgian thing?
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Reintroductions and rescheduling: Lambic by the Glass (4 Sept) and Sandkerwa NA (24 Sept).
Reintroductions and reschedulings are in order.
Since 2004, I’ve tried to set aside one day each year to dispense as many types of bottled Belgian Lambic as can be mustered, priced and poured by the glass, the goal being to make it easier and less expensive for customers to sample the olfactory joys of this style of rare, funky and challenging Belgian ale.
Lambic by the Glass takes place at the Public House, usually no later than July, but for reasons that I’m about to explain, it was not staged last year and will be late in coming this year.Sandkerwa NA is a draft beer showcase that dates to 2007, originating as a late summer excuse to devote a Public House festival to fermented specialties from Germany.
With Oktoberfest remaining a worthy concept, but one that has been done to death, I set my sights on a more esoteric tableau: Namely, the three-hour train ride from Munich to Bamberg, my beloved “Bierstadt” in the epicenter of heavily-breweried Franconia, and Bamberg’s annual August civic celebration that features beers from throughout the region.
This year’s Sandkerwa NA, emulating Bamberg’s street festival, was originally scheduled to begin on August 28, but it will be delayed. The reason for this brings me to the second part of this essay.
---
As far as I’m concerned, the past year has been a perfect storm of circumstances and ensuing personal annoyance insofar as the timely acquisition of special order kegs is concerned.
I’m thinking here primarily of imports, the sort of items that we’ve always specialized in showcasing at the Public House. American craft beers seem to have taken care of themselves, but our conduit to the importing companies has periodically been strained, making it more difficult for me to schedule traditional events.
In my view, it all started because of an otherwise good development: Virtually every world beer producer of merit has opened a route for export in recent years, bringing an unprecedented number of high-quality beers to American shores.
The trick has been bringing them to New Albany.
As the number of choices has increased, Indiana wholesalers have found it impossible to stock these many items on a daily basis, leading to the institution of wide-ranging special order systems, in effect grafting the varying availability of special order items, some seasonal and many rare, onto a “just when you need it” ordering regime.
Accordingly, gasoline prices suddenly skyrocketed in early 2008, and shipping costs immediately followed suit, naturally causing wholesalers to be very selective about their ordering habits. When shipping rates go up, the truck needs to be filled with full pallets, and until they are, the pallets don’t ship.
“Just when you need it” works wonderfully when it comes to shipping lightweight replacement parts by air freight. It doesn’t work as efficiently when a wholesaler waits for a pallet of expensive kegs and bottles to fill before receiving it. Because of the rarity of the items involved, the importer tends to ship to those who will take them, first-come, first-served. Wait too long, and you risk losing out … and truth be told, I lost a lot of product options in this manner last year.
No finger-pointing; it’s just the way things worked out. There surely were other factors involved, such as tenuous relationships between wholesaler and importer, and also, there was me and my crazy workload. Being stationed in downtown New Albany for more than a year trying to get the Bank Street Brewhouse up and running took me out of the “nagging” loop. Mike’s done great with my beer dossier, but he doesn’t have my connections, and he doesn’t have the clout, at least yet, to pester people in obeying my will.
The upshot: There was no Lambic by the Glass in 2008, and Sandkerwa NA wasn’t stocked as I’d intended. This year, both are going to take place, but at different times than usual. These dates remain tentative, although I’m generally comfortable with them as we await one last shipment.
---
Lambic by the Glass
Friday, September 4 – one night only
At the Public House, in Prost (rear – the “gallery” area)
In a special twist, perhaps as many as five lambics will be on draft, including a Hanssens “young” Kriek from B. United International, and three Cantillons from Shelton Brothers. These remain on draft until depleted, and on the evening of the 4th, they will be augmented by a representative selection of bottled Lambics from Hanssens, Cantillon, Drie Fonteinen and two we haven’t had before: St. Louis and Girardin. There’ll be cheese and snacks, too, and of course, you can order from the menu.
Sandkerwa NA
Thursday, September 24 until all the kegs are gone
At the Public House, starting in Prost on a Thursday night
Shelton Brothers has brought an incredible, unprecedented shipment of Franconian draft beer into the USA, and selections from it are coming to the Public House, including seldom seen beers from virtually unknown breweries like Fischer (in the town of Greuth), Bayer (Theinheim), Sauer (Rossdorf) and Will (Schederndorf). Most of these are coming in 20-liter kegs designed for gravity pour – a hole in one end and a tap in the other.
As in Sandkerwas past, there’ll also be conventionally dispensed draft beers from Schlenkerla, Mahr’s and Kumbacher.
What I’m hoping to do is line up the gravity-fed kegs and pour several of them at one time beginning on a Thursday night, not a Friday, which might be more conducive to contemplation of these wonders, and with the idea being to drink through as many as possible in one or two days before they go stale.
Thus, Sandkerwa will commence in Prost on Thursday, September 24, perhaps with Bavarian snacks as a bonus if I have time to pull it off. The other kegs of Bavarian beer will continue pouring in their usual places until depleted, as is customary.
This is the new schedule. Wish me luck. See you there.
Since 2004, I’ve tried to set aside one day each year to dispense as many types of bottled Belgian Lambic as can be mustered, priced and poured by the glass, the goal being to make it easier and less expensive for customers to sample the olfactory joys of this style of rare, funky and challenging Belgian ale.
Lambic by the Glass takes place at the Public House, usually no later than July, but for reasons that I’m about to explain, it was not staged last year and will be late in coming this year.Sandkerwa NA is a draft beer showcase that dates to 2007, originating as a late summer excuse to devote a Public House festival to fermented specialties from Germany.
With Oktoberfest remaining a worthy concept, but one that has been done to death, I set my sights on a more esoteric tableau: Namely, the three-hour train ride from Munich to Bamberg, my beloved “Bierstadt” in the epicenter of heavily-breweried Franconia, and Bamberg’s annual August civic celebration that features beers from throughout the region.
This year’s Sandkerwa NA, emulating Bamberg’s street festival, was originally scheduled to begin on August 28, but it will be delayed. The reason for this brings me to the second part of this essay.
---
As far as I’m concerned, the past year has been a perfect storm of circumstances and ensuing personal annoyance insofar as the timely acquisition of special order kegs is concerned.
I’m thinking here primarily of imports, the sort of items that we’ve always specialized in showcasing at the Public House. American craft beers seem to have taken care of themselves, but our conduit to the importing companies has periodically been strained, making it more difficult for me to schedule traditional events.
In my view, it all started because of an otherwise good development: Virtually every world beer producer of merit has opened a route for export in recent years, bringing an unprecedented number of high-quality beers to American shores.
The trick has been bringing them to New Albany.
As the number of choices has increased, Indiana wholesalers have found it impossible to stock these many items on a daily basis, leading to the institution of wide-ranging special order systems, in effect grafting the varying availability of special order items, some seasonal and many rare, onto a “just when you need it” ordering regime.
Accordingly, gasoline prices suddenly skyrocketed in early 2008, and shipping costs immediately followed suit, naturally causing wholesalers to be very selective about their ordering habits. When shipping rates go up, the truck needs to be filled with full pallets, and until they are, the pallets don’t ship.
“Just when you need it” works wonderfully when it comes to shipping lightweight replacement parts by air freight. It doesn’t work as efficiently when a wholesaler waits for a pallet of expensive kegs and bottles to fill before receiving it. Because of the rarity of the items involved, the importer tends to ship to those who will take them, first-come, first-served. Wait too long, and you risk losing out … and truth be told, I lost a lot of product options in this manner last year.
No finger-pointing; it’s just the way things worked out. There surely were other factors involved, such as tenuous relationships between wholesaler and importer, and also, there was me and my crazy workload. Being stationed in downtown New Albany for more than a year trying to get the Bank Street Brewhouse up and running took me out of the “nagging” loop. Mike’s done great with my beer dossier, but he doesn’t have my connections, and he doesn’t have the clout, at least yet, to pester people in obeying my will.
The upshot: There was no Lambic by the Glass in 2008, and Sandkerwa NA wasn’t stocked as I’d intended. This year, both are going to take place, but at different times than usual. These dates remain tentative, although I’m generally comfortable with them as we await one last shipment.
---
Lambic by the Glass
Friday, September 4 – one night only
At the Public House, in Prost (rear – the “gallery” area)
In a special twist, perhaps as many as five lambics will be on draft, including a Hanssens “young” Kriek from B. United International, and three Cantillons from Shelton Brothers. These remain on draft until depleted, and on the evening of the 4th, they will be augmented by a representative selection of bottled Lambics from Hanssens, Cantillon, Drie Fonteinen and two we haven’t had before: St. Louis and Girardin. There’ll be cheese and snacks, too, and of course, you can order from the menu.
Sandkerwa NA
Thursday, September 24 until all the kegs are gone
At the Public House, starting in Prost on a Thursday night
Shelton Brothers has brought an incredible, unprecedented shipment of Franconian draft beer into the USA, and selections from it are coming to the Public House, including seldom seen beers from virtually unknown breweries like Fischer (in the town of Greuth), Bayer (Theinheim), Sauer (Rossdorf) and Will (Schederndorf). Most of these are coming in 20-liter kegs designed for gravity pour – a hole in one end and a tap in the other.
As in Sandkerwas past, there’ll also be conventionally dispensed draft beers from Schlenkerla, Mahr’s and Kumbacher.
What I’m hoping to do is line up the gravity-fed kegs and pour several of them at one time beginning on a Thursday night, not a Friday, which might be more conducive to contemplation of these wonders, and with the idea being to drink through as many as possible in one or two days before they go stale.
Thus, Sandkerwa will commence in Prost on Thursday, September 24, perhaps with Bavarian snacks as a bonus if I have time to pull it off. The other kegs of Bavarian beer will continue pouring in their usual places until depleted, as is customary.
This is the new schedule. Wish me luck. See you there.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Lambic fans: There'll be Lambic by the Glass. I'm not sure exactly when.
I believe there is sufficient inventory to revive Lambic by the Glass after a year's hiatus. As before, the event will be held at the Public House.
However, the final decision as to the exact date depends on the disposition of a shipment of specially ordered Cantillon kegs and bottles.
Currently, I'm hoping this might be the first weekend of week of August or shortly thereafter. It probably will not be held on a weekend, as these are booked until about November, judging from my calendar scrawls. I'm looking at a Monday or Tuesday night.
As soon as I get the word on the shipment, I'll make a fnal decision. Thanks for your patience.
However, the final decision as to the exact date depends on the disposition of a shipment of specially ordered Cantillon kegs and bottles.
Currently, I'm hoping this might be the first weekend of week of August or shortly thereafter. It probably will not be held on a weekend, as these are booked until about November, judging from my calendar scrawls. I'm looking at a Monday or Tuesday night.
As soon as I get the word on the shipment, I'll make a fnal decision. Thanks for your patience.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
NABC update: Beer events for July and August at the Public House & Pizzeria.
From today's e-newsletter:
----
At the original Grant Line (Rich O’s and Sportstime) location, business continues as always. Special recognition goes to brewer Jared Williamson, who is working the Grant Line brewing system daily to make enough beer for both locations.
Apologies for not being able to precisely fix dates on a number of forthcoming beer events, but I’ll give you what I have and hope that they fall into place as expected.
In July, roughly by the 6th, we’ll be doing three English “real” ciders on the hand-pull at Grant Line: Yarlington Mill, Scrumpy and Norman (single varietal), all from Gwatkin. They’ll follow one after another until depleted, and once we decide on a serving order, I’ll let you know.
Also in July, Mike Bauman is organizing Brooklyn Brewery and Magic Hat promotional events. These probably will fall on Monday or Tuesday.
For the resumption of Lambic by the Glass, I’m going to say that some time around August 1 – 5 is the window. Again this year, I’ve had trouble sourcing enough product to pour the typical 4-oz samples. However, Shelton Brothers is shipping a few Cantillon and Drie Fonteinen selections, including Cantillon draft. When I’m able to be exact, I will.
Similarly, Sandkerwa is on for late August, circa Friday the 28th. I’m working with Shelton Brothers of a shipment of Franconian craft drafts that could be mind-blowing if it comes together, and these will be featured alongside the usual Schlenkerla smoked lagers.
Stay tuned. As a final calendar notification, don’t forget the Brewers of Indiana Guild festival in Indianapolis on Saturday, July 18. Tickets are on sale at the Public House.
Both NABC locations will be closed on Saturday, July 4.
----
At the original Grant Line (Rich O’s and Sportstime) location, business continues as always. Special recognition goes to brewer Jared Williamson, who is working the Grant Line brewing system daily to make enough beer for both locations.
Apologies for not being able to precisely fix dates on a number of forthcoming beer events, but I’ll give you what I have and hope that they fall into place as expected.
In July, roughly by the 6th, we’ll be doing three English “real” ciders on the hand-pull at Grant Line: Yarlington Mill, Scrumpy and Norman (single varietal), all from Gwatkin. They’ll follow one after another until depleted, and once we decide on a serving order, I’ll let you know.
Also in July, Mike Bauman is organizing Brooklyn Brewery and Magic Hat promotional events. These probably will fall on Monday or Tuesday.
For the resumption of Lambic by the Glass, I’m going to say that some time around August 1 – 5 is the window. Again this year, I’ve had trouble sourcing enough product to pour the typical 4-oz samples. However, Shelton Brothers is shipping a few Cantillon and Drie Fonteinen selections, including Cantillon draft. When I’m able to be exact, I will.
Similarly, Sandkerwa is on for late August, circa Friday the 28th. I’m working with Shelton Brothers of a shipment of Franconian craft drafts that could be mind-blowing if it comes together, and these will be featured alongside the usual Schlenkerla smoked lagers.
Stay tuned. As a final calendar notification, don’t forget the Brewers of Indiana Guild festival in Indianapolis on Saturday, July 18. Tickets are on sale at the Public House.
Both NABC locations will be closed on Saturday, July 4.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
2008 draft beer fests at the Public House: Status update.
Before turning tomorrow to the topic of our forthcoming 2008 renewal of the “Sandkerwa in New Albany” ideal, permit me a brief digression.
It has been a very difficult year in terms of purchasing guest beers, whether draft or bottled. I’m not pointing fingers, only saying that I’ve not always been able to get on the same (shall we say) chronological page with wholesalers, especially when it comes to imported beers. Rising fuel prices have wreaked havoc with economies of scale in shipping, and in the beer biz, “just when you need it” has always been a nebulous and largely unobtainable ideal.
In terms of draft fests at the Public House, the good news is that Sandkerwa NA 2, while probably curtailed in numbers of kegs owing to the quirks of availability, will proceed as scheduled on Friday, August 29. Come back Monday for details.
Also, our Lupulin Land Harvest Hop celebration is unaffected and will begin on Friday, October 17.
The annual Saturnalia Winter Solstice kicks off on Friday, December 12 – nine valuable preparatory drinking days in advance of the actual solstice on the 21st. I believe that we’ll have full rosters of goodies for these two celebrations.
And, here’s the starting date for Gravity Head 2009’s Liver Olympics: Friday, February 27.
There’ll be a new twist to Gravity Head next year if all goes as planned, because we’re hoping to stage a pre-Gravity Head outdoor preview party at the soon-to-come Bank Street Brewhouse’s parking lot in mid-January. There’ll be more on that later, once we’ve actually opened the establishment.
The bad news, straight up: I’ve decided to abolish, at least for now, the YourNameHere draft fest (DaveFest in 2006, and SteveFest in 2007). The primary reason for this has less to do with purchasing issues than my steadily worsening lack of time as we plan the new brewing venture. A personalized draft fest is something that utterly depends on my direct participation, and I’m currently learning to set a few boundaries. In the future, if personnel can be assembled and time found, we may revive the idea.
Also, on the bottled front, I’ve had little choice except to postpone Lambic By the Glass until later in the year (that is, if I can obtain what I want) or next year (if I cannot). Purchasing issues are directly related to this postponement. Take heart: I’m still trying to whip something up, perhaps in November.
Tomorrow, there’ll be the scoop on Sandkerwa NA 2.
It has been a very difficult year in terms of purchasing guest beers, whether draft or bottled. I’m not pointing fingers, only saying that I’ve not always been able to get on the same (shall we say) chronological page with wholesalers, especially when it comes to imported beers. Rising fuel prices have wreaked havoc with economies of scale in shipping, and in the beer biz, “just when you need it” has always been a nebulous and largely unobtainable ideal.
In terms of draft fests at the Public House, the good news is that Sandkerwa NA 2, while probably curtailed in numbers of kegs owing to the quirks of availability, will proceed as scheduled on Friday, August 29. Come back Monday for details.
Also, our Lupulin Land Harvest Hop celebration is unaffected and will begin on Friday, October 17.
The annual Saturnalia Winter Solstice kicks off on Friday, December 12 – nine valuable preparatory drinking days in advance of the actual solstice on the 21st. I believe that we’ll have full rosters of goodies for these two celebrations.
And, here’s the starting date for Gravity Head 2009’s Liver Olympics: Friday, February 27.
There’ll be a new twist to Gravity Head next year if all goes as planned, because we’re hoping to stage a pre-Gravity Head outdoor preview party at the soon-to-come Bank Street Brewhouse’s parking lot in mid-January. There’ll be more on that later, once we’ve actually opened the establishment.
The bad news, straight up: I’ve decided to abolish, at least for now, the YourNameHere draft fest (DaveFest in 2006, and SteveFest in 2007). The primary reason for this has less to do with purchasing issues than my steadily worsening lack of time as we plan the new brewing venture. A personalized draft fest is something that utterly depends on my direct participation, and I’m currently learning to set a few boundaries. In the future, if personnel can be assembled and time found, we may revive the idea.
Also, on the bottled front, I’ve had little choice except to postpone Lambic By the Glass until later in the year (that is, if I can obtain what I want) or next year (if I cannot). Purchasing issues are directly related to this postponement. Take heart: I’m still trying to whip something up, perhaps in November.
Tomorrow, there’ll be the scoop on Sandkerwa NA 2.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Here's the lineup for Lambic by the Glass 2007, tomorrow at the Public House.
The conclusion of the 2000 beercycling series will come this weekend. Meanwhile, there are wild Belgian ales to taste. Here is the .pdf of this year's program.The goal of the 2007 edition of Lambic by the Glass, our fourth such tasting, is to make it easier and less expensive for patrons to sample the olfactory joys of this style of rare and challenging Belgian ale. As in the past, we’re going to try dispensing at least 20 types of lambic priced by the glass, including two draft examples and an experimental American microbrewed nod in the direction of Belgian microflora (note that the projected second American example did not arrive in time).
When the day comes that we can legally buy Boon, Girardin and other examples of the craft, they'll be added to the assemblage.
STRAIGHT LAMBIC … $4.00
Cantillon 1900 Bruocsella Grand Cru … DRAFT … Straight, single-batch lambic aged three years before packaging. Minimal carbonation; usually almost still. This is the fundamental lambic flavor unit.
GUEUZE … $4.00
Cantillon Organic Gueuze … DRAFT … the famous Cantillon house blend of one-, two- and three-year old lambics.
Hanssens Oude Gueuze … from Belgium’s last independent blender, which uses lambics brewed by others, comes this traditional dry blend of variously aged lambics.
Lindemans Cuvee Rene … lambics of various ages, brewed and matured at Lindemans, then blended.
FRAMBOISE … $4.00
Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus … fresh raspberries are added to year-and-a-half old lambic, with a shot of young lambic used to bottle condition the finished beer.
Lindemans Framboise … DRAFT … sweetened version of a traditional raspberry lambic.
KRIEK … $4.00
Hanssens Oude Kriek … traditionally, cherries are the fruit of choice for steeping in lambic. Hanssens uses black cherry pulp.
Lindemans Kriek … sweetened version of a traditional cherry lambic.
Two Brothers Project Opus 10 (Kriek) … (USA microbrew) … the “pseudo-lambic” ringer of the bunch, brewed near Chicago; oak-aged, with cherries.
MISCELLANEOUS and FLAVORED LAMBICS … $4.00
Cantillon Iris … a totally unique variation on the lambic theme, brewed with 100% malted barley (no wheat), hopped with 40% fresh Styrian Golding hops, wild-fermented, then dry-hopped. Lambic meets ordinary bitter?
Cantillon Vigneronne … lambic fermented with white Italian Muscat grapes.
Lindemans Cassis, Peche and Pomme … flavored with currants, peaches and apples, respectively, and sweetened.
VINTAGE/SPECIALTY … $7.00 (unless noted)
Cantillon Lou Pepe Gueuze
Cantillon Lou Pepe Framboise
Cantillon Lou Pepe Kriek
Only the brewery’s finest two-year old lambics are blended to produce the Lou Pepe line, with raspberries added to make the Framboise and cherries for the Kriek. The intent in all three cases is to yield the undiluted flavor of the base lambics.
Cantillon St. Lamvinus 2006 … two-year old lambic fermented with red Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, generally from different vineyards for each year’s batch.
Drie Fonteinen Oude Gueuze 2006
Drie Fonteinen Schaerbeekse Kriek 2006
Drie Fonteinen Oude Kriek 2005
Blending commenced at Drie Fonteinen in 1953, and Belgium’s first new lambic brewery in 80 years was added in 1999. House brewed lambics now are added to other one-, two- and three-year old lambics sourced elsewhere to yield vintage-dated nectar.
Hanssens Mead the Gueuze 2004 ($4.00)
A blend of Hanssens Oude Gueuze and English mead from the Lurgashall meadery. We cellared these bottles, and the result is some oxidization and diminished carbonation, but with a whole different dimension to the character.
Links:
Hanssens
Lindemans
Cantillon
Drie Fonteinen
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Lambic by the Glass coming on June 30.
Just the poster for now. More information is forthcoming, but the general plan remains the same as always: Providing the opportunity to taste as many different lambics as possible by serving them in 3- or 4-oz pours, and getting funky in the process.Here's a .pdf of the poster for printing: Promo poster.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
