Richard’s going to work for New Holland, and NABC wishes him the best.

We're sending another up-and-comer out into the world: Richard Atnip, NABC's brewery rep, is headed to Chicago to work for New Holland Brewing Company in a similar capacity.

Read all about it here: Richard’s going to work for New Holland, and NABC wishes him the best.

New Holland's new Head Pub Brewer is Steve Berthel, formerly of The Livery.

A while back, I noticed that Steve Berthel no longer was brewing at The Livery, so I decided to investigate ... got very busy and kept forgetting ... and now much later, the answer is clear:

New Holland Welcomes New Head Pub Brewer, Steve Berthel!

Better late than never to a story. Given that New Holland is a personal favorite as brewery, business model and place to enjoy life, this is a wonderful combination, indeed. I've met Steve because of Jared Williamson, who bonded with him many years ago, and he's a class act and one helluva brewer. When I finally made it up to Benton Harbor in 2011, Steve couldn't be there, but he left a couple of growlers for me, and cheers to that.

Following are other historical episodes:

It's simple: Steve and Jared brew a collaborative batch, and then I drink beer with them. 

Jared Williamson on "Michigan: Passion, Pints, and Pride." 

Scenes from The Livery's 5th Anniversary Ale brew day (Part One). 

Scenes from The Livery's 5th Anniversary Ale brew day (Part Two). 

Your chance to support Fred Bueltmann and his book, "Beervangelist's Guide to the Galaxy."

Way back in the youthful daze of the Public House, Fred Bueltmann used to stop in for chats and refreshing libations while he crisscrossed the Midwest for his job as beer rep for Bells. Later New Holland joined him, and I’ve quite enjoyably made it to Holland twice since then to check things out.

Unlike Holland, New Albany has no Dutch-styled windmill, but NABC had a stylish and quickly depleted contingent of New Holland specialties, handpicked by Fred and his team, when Gravity Head 2012 got underway last year.

These days, Fred has been busy with his book, entitled "Beervangelist's Guide to the Galaxy." The e-mail reprinted here tells you all about it, with a link to Kickstarter. I've pitched in, and I encourage you to do so, too. The campaign has less than two weeks to run. All the best to Fred, and he can take it from here.

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"Beervangelist's Guide to the Galaxy." 

The main purpose of this first email is to let you all know about the Kickstarter campaign for the book. I am raising funds to cover the production and publishing costs of "Beervangelist's Guide to the Galaxy", slated to be released in Spring of 2013.  While many years of experience have gone into the content of the book, I've been working specifically on this project for a little over two years, and the time has come to get this baby in print, and into the hands of readers. 

“Beervangelist’s Guide to the Galaxy” shares a lifestyle of quality and flavor. It will quench your thirst for information about craft beer, pairing and cooking, by teaching from a “flavor first” perspective. Whether you are a novice or an expert, “Beervangelist’s Guide” will engage and inform. It is useful and approachable for the novice, expert and professional. It will cover beer in your home, as well as out and about.  From casual, informative tastings like beer & cheese or beer & chocolate, to multi-coursed beer-dinners, it will bring comfort and knowledge to the interested drinker in any setting. The reader will come into the kitchen as well, with numerous recipes and tips including cooking with beer; the home-chef's next secret ingredient.  

Black River Press has signed on to publish the book, and working with an "Indie Label" offers some opportunities unavailable from the bigger houses.  I have an existing and productive relationship with their talented team, and by working locally, I'll have outstanding access to mentoring, editing and good 'ole fashioned brainstorms over a beer or two.  

With two weeks left, we've raised 32% towards the funding goal of $10,000, established to cover the upfront costs of publishing, design and photography.  Once this goal is met, we will be able to deliver a finished book to the distribution channels.  If we pass the project minimum, which I hope to do, additional funds will go towards the task of promoting and selling the book.   Publishing independently with Black River & funding the initial production costs will also allow me to maintain ownership of my publishing rights.

If you plan on buying the book - the best time to order is right now.  If you know someone that's interested, please share these links with them.   If you want your email removed from this list, there's an easy to use unsubscribe option at the bottom of this email.  If you know anyone that should be on the iist, send them to www.beervangelist.net which has a quick subscribe option.

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/TheBeervangelist

Kickstarter:  http://tiny.cc/beervangelist

Cheers & thanks!

New Holland's bonus keg: Marsha Mallow’s Malted Milk Stout, on tap now at Gravity Head.

I quickly copied the following from New Holland's web site. We received the keg along with the rest of the shipment, and I wasn't sure if there'd be room for it, but Eric found a way. He also just went home, after being up all night getting the Gravity Head drafts in order.

So far, I've sampled wee bits of Marsha Mallow's, Blue Sunday, and Charkoota (original and rum barrel aged). All are excellent. I recommend doing the two Charkoota brews back to back; you can taste the rum in the barrel-aged version, without the burn, and with the smoke and rye blending seamlessly in the background.

New Holland Collaboration Brew
Marsha Mallow’s Malted Milk Stout 8% abv
Brewed  with City Provisions (Chicago)

Brewed at New Holland Brewing Co. Restaurant and Pub with Chef Cleetus Friedman of City Provisions Delicatessen. Named after the infamous Marsha Mallow, of the NHB staff holiday party, 2012.

The Publican’s Gravity Head Diary: Thoughts on New Holland, Sun King and Founders.

Following last year’s Great Taste of the Midwest, the Curmudgeons exited Wisconsin via Milwaukee, loading the Crown Vic onto the Lake (Michigan) Express to Muskegon, and then enjoying a short drive to Holland for a few days of rest and relaxation at the wonderful City Flats Hotel.

New Holland Brewing Company is situated a block away from the hotel, and one afternoon over beers with Fred Bueltmann, it occurred to me to ask whether New Holland would like to “open” Gravity Head 2012 in the same fashion as Three Floyds “headlined” the 2011 edition, with a mini-tap takeover at the beginning. Fred was amenable, and that’s why the New Holland contingent will be on tap all at once when this year’s Gravity Head begins next week.

In the past, we didn’t do things like this, but in my view, it’s vital to follow a pathway of constant reinvention. Wholesale changes seldom are necessary; rather, little changes have a way of keeping ideas fresh.

Yesterday I attended a meeting of the Brewers of Indiana guild, and Clay Robinson of Sun King asked me if Gravity Head 2012 might still be able to use a few additional kegs. Well, of course it would. In recent years, after establishing exactly what we had on hand during Gravity Head and making comprehensive lists and programs, we’ve still welcomed various kegs as “bonus” unlisted surprises -- cameos, as it were.

In this spontaneous fashion, and although they’ll not be listed on the 2012 Gravity Form, expect to see kegs of Sun King’s Dominator Doppelbock and Isis Imperial IPA during Gravity’s Head’s run.

Also, we’re expecting a selection or two from Three Floyds; Oak-Aged Doppelbock from Louisville’s Against the Grain; a keg of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale from Alltech in Lexington, Kentucky; and gravity-dispensed Schlenkerla Eiche. There may yet be others. In the past, we didn’t run Gravity Head in this exact fashion, but nowadays, it sounds like fun, and so we do it. Do you see a pattern emerging?

Clay and I briefly discussed another beer-related item yesterday, and so I am highly pleased to announce that Sun King will take over the taps at the beginning of Gravity Head 2013, which will be the 15th such celebration. Might there be time for a Gravity Head collaboration brew between Sun King and NABC? Maybe, maybe not. You’ll just have to keep reading.

Meanwhile, there have been a handful of questions and comments since the Gravity Head starting lineup was released, and most of them have been about our decision to place all of the Founders beers in a phalanx, and execute a second bold tap takeover two weeks into the revelry.

In explaining this, it is helpful to remember that no matter what we do, all Gravity Head beers cannot be poured at once, for the simple reason that it isn’t the way we choose to operate the fete. Gravity Head is a state of mind that lasts for weeks, and from the start, the guiding principle has been to accommodate our regular customers throughout the Greater Louisville area by providing successive, undulating waves of higher-gravity goodness.

The Founders “second wave” tradition has evolved over the past three or four years. Founders wares are distributed in Indiana by Cavalier, and it has been convenient for Mat to bring the whole crew down from Indianapolis to visit on an early March date, after Gravity Head has already begun. It also is convenient for John Host of Founders to be here during the same time.

In logistical terms, after the zany hysteria of opening weekend, our collective livers begin to flag as the Gravity Daze inexorably accumulate. By grouping all the Founders beers into a bloc, we can create the effect of relaunching Gravity Head, serving as the second half kickoff. We get to spend some time with John and Cavalier, and there is much happiness in the land.

One thing’s for sure: There will continue to be tinkering with the Gravity Head concept. Gravity Head may have started as my idea, but in the years since inception, thoughts and ideas from numerous other employees, guests, brewers and passers-by have gone toward making it into what you see now. Even I can’t say for sure what it will look like in five years. Comments or suggestions? Let me know, and thanks for your patronage.

The New Holland delegation for Gravity Head 2012.

We've received the list of incoming Gravity Head kegs from New Holland Brewing Company, and so here's a Gravity Form program peek.

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00. NEW HOLLAND – STYLE UNTO ITSELF

New Holland Brewing Company
Holland MI

www.newhollandbrew.com

Gravity Head Twist: Way back in the youthful daze of the Public House, Fred Bueltmann used to stop in for chats and refreshing libations while he crisscrossed the Midwest for his job as Bells beer rep. Later New Holland joined him, and I’ve enjoyably made it to Holland twice to check things out. Unlike Holland, New Albany has no Dutch-styled windmill, but NABC has this stylish contingent of New Holland specialties, handpicked by Fred and his team. For Gravity Head 2012, they’re in a category by themselves, because it’s the end of the world as we know it, and we might as well celebrate with our brethren. Accordingly, they’ll all be on tap on Friday, February 24, when Gravity Head’s 14th bacchanal begins.

New Holland Barrel Aged Charkoota Rye
(22C) Rum Barrel Aged Smoked Rye Doppelbock
8.4% abv
(See below) New Holland’s distilling arm, Artisan Spirits, crafts “freshwater” Michigan Amber Rum. Emptied rum barrels are used to age regular Charkoota for eight weeks, adding another complex layer of flavor.

New Holland Blue Sunday “Gravity Head Sour Blend”
8.7% abv
From the brewery’s cellar library of barrel-aged Blue Sunday Sour source ales comes this exclusive Gravity Head custom blend, put together solely for the 2012 event.

New Holland Charkoota Rye
(22B) Smoked Rye Doppelbock
Circa 8% abv
Pigs indeed can fly, as illustrated by this tribute to the porcine, ranging from Porkapalooza to the glories of the charcuterie. Rye and four barley malts, including cherry-smoked.

New Holland Dragon’s Milk
(22C) Barrel Aged Stout
Alcohol by volume: 10%
Aged in bourbon barrels for four months, with accompanying vanilla notes, and a name that derives from historical examples of English special strong ale reserved for the privileged. Fox hunting, anyone?

New Holland Envious
(20) Fruit Beer
Circa 8% abv
From the brewery’s Cellar Series, utterly unique fruit ale aged on oak. Michigan pear juice and chardonnay yeast create a second fermentation, and the ale is finished with local raspberries.

New Holland Golden Mean
(18C) Belgian Tripel
8.1% abv
A New Holland pub exclusive, shipped just for Gravity Head. It’s a classic Belgian Tripel, tawny golden, with hints of clove, apple and chamomile in the nose.

New Holland Imperial Hatter
(14C) Imperial IPA
Alcohol by volume: 9.4%
A member of the High Gravity Series, with plenty of grapefruit and citrus overall, bitterness in front, dry-hopped at the end, and suitable for falling down rabbit holes.

New Holland Silent Night
(18E) Belgian Strong Dark Ale
11% abv
Another house ale usually seen only at New Holland’s pub, Silent Night is referred to as “Biere de Noel”, seasonally for the yuletide, but not spiced.

Days of the New(s) at Gravity Head 2012.

I'm pleased to announce that NABC's special, co-billed guest at Gravity Head 2012 (tentatively tagged as "The End of the World As We Know It" in deference to the Mayan calendar) will be New Holland Brewing Company from Holland, Michigan.

The other "new" referenced in the title is us: New Albanian Brewing Company. I'd seek to add New Glarus to the list, if only I could.

Believe it or not, Gravity Head 2012 is less than six months away. In 2011, we inaugurated the practice of asking a fellow craft brewer to join us in some co-branding. Three Floyds was first, and now our friends from New Holland. Details will follow, but there'll be excellent gravity from the New Holland Brewing cellar come February, although not the pint of Kolsch pictured above.

Also, know that as of two weeks ago, the products of New Holland's soon-to-be-expanded artisanal distilling operation are available in Indiana. Look for them at Bank Street Brewhouse soon.

Great Taste Roadtrip 2011: Monday, August 15.

The Lake Express is the fast ferry across Lake Michigan, connecting Milwaukee to Muskegon. We were equipped with bread, olives and Fantome Farm goat cheese, the latter purchased at Madison's sprawling Saturday morning Farmers Market, but libations were variable -- until I noticed cans of Milwaukee Brewing Company's Flying Damsel and Louie's Demise on sale at the terminal in Milwaukee.

From Muskegon, we proceeded directly to Holland's uber cool City Flats Hotel, which touts itself as "the first LEED Gold Certified Hotel in the Midwest (and) the happiest hotel in the happiest city in America."

I'm not one inclined to book hotel rooms for the distinctiveness of the hotel ambience (functional and cheap work for me). However, City Flats is an exception. Apart from the green vibe, each room is designed differently and the rooftop bistro (with only Michigan-brewed beer on tap) is superb.

Another obvious advantage of City Flats is its proximity to New Holland Brewing Company, a longtime personal favorite, and Lemonjello's, a sharp coffee shop we discovered on this year's trip.

We had time before dinner to visit Oval Beach, near Saugatuck to the south of Holland. The water was a bit cold, but who cares; after all, I can't swim.

The simple elegance of reality in food and drink.

The Curmudgeon household has been preoccupied with a number of professional and leisure time pursuits during recent months, and as a direct result of these diversions, the estate had become overgrown with noxious weeds. Diana needed help today, so I grabbed the machete and began hacking through the underbrush.

As one congenitally opposed to yard work, especially on a steamy Mekong-meets-Spring Street day like today, I was surprised to thoroughly enjoy the sweaty task of killing as many plant life intruders as possible. My analyst will help me decide the degree of transference in all this. Suffice to say that enemies and obstructionists were falling like … um, weeds.

Quite naturally, the wholesale slaughter of vegetation sans power tools left me somewhat hungry, but I was prepared. A Saturday morning visit to the Farmers Market in downtown New Albany had yielded ripe tomatoes, Capriole goat cheese with herbs, and about a pound and a half of locally processed beef ribeye. Diana had prepared deviled Farmers Market eggs. I melted the Capriole with a few splashes of white wine from French Lick and topped the medium rare meat with the cheesy goat sauce. The plate was adorned with naked fresh tomatoes and deviled eggs.

The local theme could not be extended to Kentuckiana beers, as I’d none of them at home, but there was an even better choice in the fridge: New Holland Blue Sunday, the brewery’s sour Flemish red ale, bequeathed to me by Fred Bueltmann during our recent visit to Michigan. Understand that sour cherry notes and oak with beefsteak is as fine a belly mortar as porter.

I’m no professional gourmand, but the simple reality of locally flavorful food and drink is what it’s all about.