Here's the menu for the Garage Bar's Anti-Valentine's Day Cask Beer Dinner with NABC, on Thursday, February 14.

The old ConeSmoker art. Tony's working on a new version.

The Garage Bar's Anti-Valentine's Day Cask Beer Dinner with NABC will feature two special food pairings. Unlike a formal beer dinner, the Garage Bar's method is to make the pairings available throughout the evening. Here is the menu as relayed by Facebook.

Whether you have a Valentine, or beer is your Valentine ... Garage Bar is partnering with New Albanian Brewing Company to offer an a la carte pairing menu.

Pork Belly with citrus sorghum jus and cannellini beans will be paired with the brewery’s Cone Smoker, a smoky American Pale Ale for $20, and the Country Ham Pizza with milled tomato, blue cheese, cherries and fior di latte will be offered with the malty and slightly sweet Hoosier Daddy Cask Beer for $22.

And, if you feel like making your own menu, the regular Garage Bar menu will also be available with beer pairing suggestions! And, we have to admit Hoosier Daddy was delightful with a bit of frozen chocolate custard.

The NABC beers both will cask-conditioned versions, poured by gravity dispense: Hoosier Daddy, our "crimson & cream" ale, and a very rare appearance for ConeSmoker, at least outside the friendly confines of our own locations. This year's ConeSmoker rates among the finest ever, with the hops and smoke weaving together as never before.

Seeking some background on cask-conditioning, Garage Bar staff interviewed me last week, and my comments are here: ALL ABOUT CASK ALE WITH NABC’S ROGER BAYLOR.

The Garage Bar is located at 700 E. Market Street in Louisville. I'll be there with the missus on Valentine's Day (February 14, 2013).

Cask-conditioned ConeSmoker and Hoosier Daddy for Valentine's Day? Yes, at the Garage Bar.

The old ConeSmoker art. Tony's working on a new version.

The NABC sales crew stopped at the Garage Bar (700 E. Market Street in Louisville) today and chatted with staff about a special event scheduled for Valentine's Day (February 14, 2013).

What I know is this: The NABC beers slated to be available at the Garage Bar on February 14 will be cask-conditioned: Hoosier Daddy and a very rare appearance for ConeSmoker outside the friendly confines of our own two on-premise locations. Honestly, it's worth a calendar notice for this fact alone.

Food will be paired with these, but I don't have the details yet. As always: Stay tuned.

Hoosier Daddy? Find out tonight at Bridge Liquors and Wick's Pizza.

There's a season opening basketball game in Bloomington tonight, so it's the perfect time to ask the question, Hoosier Daddy?


According to the Terre Haute-born labor union leader and presidential candidate Eugene Debs, "The most heroic word in all languages is revolution." Indiana has had numerous revolutionaries in fields ranging from basketball (John Wooden) to music (Hoagy Carmichael) to popcorn (Orville Redenbacher). Ever heard of James Dean, the actor? He was a Hoosier Daddy, too.

NABC's Hoosier Daddy (Crimson & Cream Ale) honors them all. Today there'll be a pre-game sampling of Hoosier Daddy bombers at Bridge Liquors in New Albany, followed by game time drafts at Wick's Pizza (downtown on State Street, also in New Albany). Hoosier Daddy has its own Facebook page, so tell us what you think and where you found it.

NABC Hoosier Daddy is available now through March, 2013, in 13.2 gallon kegs and 22-oz Bomber bottles. Here is more information.

Parade Day is Gold Day at Bank Street Brewhouse.

This Saturday, October 6, is the annual Harvest Homecoming Parade in downtown New Albany. Pictured above is a scene from 2009. Note the absence of the steeple on St. Mary's; it was being restored and the church made ready for an exterior refitting when the parade passed it that year.

Because the parade's traditional final turn is from Spring Street onto Bank Street, you can see the whole show at Bank Street Brewhouse with a Progressive Pint in hand. BSB will open at 11:00 a.m., and while the parade begins at noon, it takes a while for it to reach our craft beer reviewing stand.

Although it has been on tap for a few weeks, NABC Gold’s official unveiling is on Saturday. To celebrate, there’ll be $3 pints of Gold all day long. NABC Gold is the latest addition to our Session Series (4.2%), and brewed in the style of American blonde ale.

Hoosier Daddy Crimson & Cream Ale will be on tap, too; in fact, we intend to continue brewing it through next spring.

Hoosier Daddy debuts today. But when?

Stay tuned to Facebook to know when the Hoosier Daddy starts pouring today.  

According to the Terre Haute-born labor union leader and presidential candidate Eugene Debs, "The most heroic word in all languages is revolution." Indiana has had plenty of revolutionaries in numerous fields, from basketball to music, and this is our homage to them all.

Hoosier daddy? Is it Eugene Debs, or John Wooden? James Dean or Hoagy Carmichael? NABC unambiguously salutes all Hoosier daddies, wherever they are, whatever they do, and whomsoever they do it for, or to.

Malt: Weyerman Munich, CaraRed, CaraAroma and Carfa Special II malts. Rahr Pale

Sugar: Lactose

Hops: German Hallertau Magnum

Yeast: House Ale

OG: 18 Plato

ABV: 7%

IBU: 35

New NABC beers for 22-oz bomber bottling in 2012.

As a preface, permit me to note that these beers are as yet on the drawing board. Labels must be created and approved, and the beers brewed, but we've no reason to believe these bomber releases will not occur as scheduled.

Hoosier Daddy (March release)
The most heroic word in all languages is revolution
Cream and crimson? Hoosier daddy? Is it Eugene Debs, or Bob Knight? David Letterman, or John Mellencamp? NABC unambiguously salutes all Hoosier daddies, wherever they are, whatever they do, and whomsoever they do it for, or to.
7% abv

Black & Blue Grass Saison (April release)
You can’t drink Black Grass in striped pants
Wallonian-style farmhouse ale, brewed with lemongrass and black pepper.
Circa 6% abv, perhaps higher as reformulated

Le Diable Blonde (May release)
Here comes the woman with the look in her eye
Patience is the key and virtue is the lesson from this malt bomb devil of a Belgian-style Tripel.
10.7% abv

Naughty Claus (November/Thanksgiving release)
Santa needs daze off, too
A rich, full-bodied holiday spiced ale. Unveiled for Saturnalia, NABC’s annual observance of Christmas’s pagan roots. We’ll be sticking to the 2011 formula in years to come.
7.5% abv