Coomes: "C-J’s star ratings are an offense to serious restaurants."

Steve's point is well-taken, and my point in passing it along is for you, the beer enthusiast, to apply the same variety of skepticism to the beer ratings that guide your purchases.

I might add that in a strict Louisville-centric context, Steve might be guilty of piling on. As much as I cherish the writing of the Courier-Journal's restaurant critic Marty Rosen, whom I consider the local gold standard of erudition, the newspaper's overall influence and reach continue to wane. Who actually is reading the paper and seeing the stars?

Stars and Gripes: C-J’s star ratings are an offense to serious restaurants, by Steve Coomes (Insider Louisville)

Really? Proof and Asiatique are only one star better than a grilled cheese shop and a bar?

NABC bombers in today's Courier-Journal.

I'll have more to say about the bottling project very soon. Until then, enjoy Marty's fine piece on NABC's bombers.

In Search of Good Food: Cheers to New Albanian's big bottles of beer, by Marty Rosen (Special to The Courier-Journal).

It takes a big bottle to contain a big beer. And big beers have been a hallmark of the New Albanian Brewing Co. since owner Roger Baylor and his crew first started playing with grain, hops, water and yeast. So it's not surprising that when NABC started bottling beers, it would bring out the big guns and put them in the 22-ounce bottles called bombers.

C-J's Dale Moss: "A place to eat as well as to live."

Dale could write precisely the same column, substituting "beer" for "food" at every juncture. Fine piece from a real area pro.

Southern Indiana: A place to eat as well as to live, by Dale Moss (Courier-Journal)

I need, too, to be more adventuresome with restaurants, like with colors of socks or TV shows. Marty Rosen tells me Southern Indiana offers its share of good food, a larger share than usual or ever before. He urges me – and I pass along the challenge – to take a chance on our increasing choices. We need to believe in, to take pride in, the cuisine of our own communities.

Rosen on "Top Chefs" in Velocity.

Here's a good piece by Marty Rosen in Velocity about Louisville's ranking chefs, but let me tell you something: I'm admittedly biased, but I'll take our man Josh Lehman -- surely the top chef on this side of the river. You can enjoy his work only at Bank Street Brewhouse in downtown New Albany.

New Albanians, you have a great chef right here.

Talking with Top Chefs: Why is Louisville such a vibrant restaurant scene? The city's well-known kitchen magicians dish up their reasons.

Those of us who live and dine in Louisville believe that we live in one of the best dining cities in America. That's not to say that Louisville's scene is comparable in scale or scope with internationally renowned culinary centers like New York and Chicago, but that in terms of overall excellence and variety, Louisville's scene holds its own against any comparably sized — and many much larger — cities.

3 1/2 stars for NABC Bank Street Brewhouse, says the Courier-Journal.

We knew the Bank Street Brewhouse restaurant review was coming to the Saturday edition of the Louisville Courier-Journal, but we didn't know it would be posted on-line at Metromix a full day in advance.

The 3 1/2 star review begins with a description of downtown New Albany, then and now, and I wouldn't be human if I didn't say that it smells like vindication to me.

It's more than just a beer joint, by Marty Rosen.

All of a sudden, New Albany seems to have found its future. A sparkling new YMCA facility, long a centerpiece of the city’s development plans, is drawing throngs of people. And a downtown dining scene that was once best known for housing the diminutive burger joint Little Chef and the inexpensive enormity of the salt-laden meals at the old Southside Inn, has become a bona fide dining district, with enough diversity and quality to lure folks from all over the region.

Congratulations to Chef Lehman, GM Powell, staff and brewers. We're still not there yet, but we're getting closer each day. On-premise business has steadily improved, even without the outdoor seating that's so important to the business plan.

Our goal was 100 off-premise draft beer accounts after six months of draft beer distribution, and we're just about on time with it. You can find NABC beer at numerous establishments in Louisville and Southern Indiana, as well as in Munster, Indianapolis, Muncie, Zionsville, Madison and Evansville, among other Hoosier outposts.

We're hoping for a crazy weekend. Here's the link to Kylene Lloyd's BSB photo gallery in Metromix.

NABC Pizzeria & Pub a "pizza pick" in the Courier-Journal.

Nice words from Marty Rosen in Saturday's Louisville Courier-Journal: Four pizza picks that are sure to please.

NABC Pizzeria and Pub

The NABC Pizzeria and Pub, a component of the New Albanian Brewing Company, boasts a legendary beer list that draws connoisseurs from all over the country. There's nary a mass-market lager to be found, but if your thirsts are artisanal, there are hundreds of ways to quench it.

Also included is the Charlestown Pizza Company, which fully deserves the recognition.

I appreciate Marty's help with the ongoing process of rebranding, although if you still wish to call our Grant Line components by their Rich O's and Sportstime names, please feel free. One of my resolutions for 2010 is to be more consistent with my written references to NABC Pizzeria & Pub. We'll see how it goes.