Medical expenses benefit for Jeff "Professor" Gesser, at BBC St. Matthews all weekend.

Even those readers who are only loosely associated with the Louisville beer and brewing community know Jeff "Professor" Gesser, who has tended bar at Bluegrass Brewing Company St. Matthews for many years, and as a sidelight, organizes amazing beer & bus trips to sporting events and festivals through Rick & Jeff Tours.

Jeff's business partner at Rick & Jeff Tours is Rick Southward, who sent this out today; here's the Facebook link, http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=205139442865756, and I'll reprint the text, too (below). In short, Jeff's doing fine, but he needs some help.

My thoughts: Jeff's been a stalwart of the local craft beer scene pretty much from the beginning, and I'm sure you'll agree with me that eating some barbecue and drinking a few beers is a great way for those who've enjoyed his companionship over the years to give a little back. I'm not sure when I'll be able to make it over, but I hope to see many of you there at some point this weekend.

A number of you know my friend and business partner, Jeff Gesser. Well, here is a little you may or may not know.

Thirteen months ago Jeff suffered a life threatening pulminary embolism. This event brought with it a number of life style changes, and a few lingering complications, to the tune of three additional surgeries.

The biggest, or smallest depending on perspective, change in my big buddy's life is that he is shrinking... before our eyes. At the last count I heard, he has lost 173 pounds.

BBC's benefit this weekend is a celebration of the changes Jeff has made. The money raised will help offset the hospital bills that have stacked up on him over the last year.

To do so, there will be bands and barbecue outside at the St. Matthews BBC. Friday barbecue will be Memphis style, with Texas style on Saturday and Owensboro style on Sunday. The bands are Dirty Church Revival on Friday, Red Shag Bula on Saturday and Slow Charleston on Sunday.

Rick and Jeff Tours will take you to the 16th Annual Indiana Microbrewers Festival on July 16.

Rick and Jeff Tours has the information at Facebook.

The 16th annual Indiana Microbrewers Festival takes place on Saturday, July 16, from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Opti Park in Broad Ripple on the north side of Indianapolis. Something new for 2011 is that some Indiana brewers will have "double wide" tables with expanded beer selections for sampling. NABC is one of these.

The motor coach leaves Louisville circa 12:30 p.m., with lunch before entry to the festival. You'll be back in Louisville approximately by 9:00 p.m. The cost of $85 per person includes motor coach transportation, ticket to festival, lunch, and refreshments. Call Jeff "Professor" Gesser at 502-807-7531, or send a message from the Facebook page.

Baseball with NABC and the Bombers: A Bus Trip to Dubois County on Sat., July 2.

Baseball with NABC and the Bombers: A Bus Trip to Dubois County.

Date: Saturday, July 2; Pickups in Louisville and at Bank Street Brewhouse TBA

NABC and Rick & Jeff Tours are sponsoring a motor coach trip from metro Louisville to Hoosier points west, including the following beer related attractions for a summer day’s relaxation:

12:30 p.m.: Historic Corydon for Summerfest 2011
There’ll be a Craft Beer Garden at the Harrison County Fairgrounds, with these beers on tap: Barley Island Sheet Metal Blonde, BBC Amber, Bell’s Oberon, Flat 12 Half Cycle IPA, NABC Community Dark, Schlafly Kolsch and Upland Preservation Pils.

3:30 p.m.: Schnitzelbank
A refueling stop at the Schnitzelbank Restaurant in Jasper. Since 1961, the Schnitzelbank has been a popular regional destination for German cuisine and beer.

7:15 p.m.: Dubois County Bombers vs Terre Haute Rex
The Dubois County Bombers play in the Prospect League, a collegiate summer baseball league. Players with remaining NCAA eligibility compete with wooden bats, and they live with host families during the season. Huntingburg’s League Stadium is a retro jewel, reconstructed from an existing grandstand to serve as the 1940’s-era home for the Rockford Peaches during location shooting of the film, “League of Their Own” (1992), starring Geena Davis, Madonna and Tom Hanks.

NABC is serving beer at Bombers home games this summer: Community Dark, Beak’s Best and Tafel Bier. In addition, for the game on the 2nd, we’ll have a special NABC selection on the fourth tap at the Craft Beer Bullpen down the left field line.

The price is $50 per person, and includes motor coach transport and amenities, motor coach beer, and your ticket to the ballgame. Beers and food at Summerfest, the Schnitzelbank and League Stadium are your responsibility.

We need 30 persons to make this trip work, so send your RSVPs to me at roger(at)newalbanian.com, and payment details will be forthcoming. All timings are approximate, but will not substantially vary when finalized.

Pre-Christmas Kentuckiana craft beer bus with Rick and Jeff Tours.

On Thursday evening, December 23, Rick and Jeff Tours will be piloting a beer bus tour of all the pubs where craft beer is brewed locally: BBC (I'm assuming both St. Matthews and the Tap Room); Browning's; Cumberland Brews; and NABC (Pizzeria & Public House).

Jeff Gesser says: "It's a last chance trip to buy brewery gift cards and/or t-shirts for friends and family before Christmas."

The cost is $25 per person, and includes transportation (the bus starts and finishes in Louisville), refreshments on the bus between stops and a catered meal. Call Jeff at 502-807-7531, or e-mail for details and reservations.

College football and craft beer coming in September from Rick and Jeff Tours.

I'm not a college football fan, but this trip from Rick and Jeff Tours has so many craft beer hunting possibilities that it deserves scrutiny. R & J has been doing sports and beer themed trips for a while now, and if you're ever been on one, you know that they're a blast. Note that Newport is the home of Rogue Ales. Need I say more? E-mail Prof. Gesser for further details, and read this overview:

We finally have details worked out for the upcoming football game, Louisville vs. Oregon State, Sept. 16 - 19th, 2010.

We fly in to Portland,Oregon midday on Thursday, Sept. 16th. After arrival, we will do a day trip to the Columbia Gorge and the Dalles area, with lunch provided. Afterwards, we will we will drive to Newport Beach, Oregon for a welcome party and check-in at our beachside hotel the 4-star Agate Inn right on the beach.

Friday we will provide day trips up/down the Oregon coast or you can stay in the historic and charming Newport Beach area. Saturday is game day and the time of game has yet to be announced. Corvaliss is 45 minutes away. We will provide an upscale tailgate party and game tickets. After the game, we will depart and stay in Portland on Saturday night. We fly out of Portand on Sunday.

This trip is going to be absolutely AWESOME!!!!! We are flying Southwest. Cost is $1175 pp and $1095 for four to a room. We also are offering land only packages for $660, and will also try to accomodate any other special circumstance or scenario. We are asking for refundable $400 deposits by June 3rd and final payments by Aug. 1st. Please help us spread the word and we hope you can join us on what will be an unforgettable trip.

Bus from Louisville to Gravity Head this Tuesday, March 10.

This Tuesday, March 10, Rick & Jeff Tours will be running a bus from Derby City Espresso (331 Market Street, Louisville) to NABC/Public House/Pizzeria for Gravity Head 2009.


The bus is leaving from Derby City Expresso at 7:00 p.m. sharp, and it will depart the Public House at 10:00 p.m. Derby City Espresso will provide complimentary coffee afterwards. While at the Public House, the bus group will have its own server in the Prost wing, along with a previously unannounced Gravity Head "The Liver Olympics" bonus keg: Three Floyds Dreadnaught IPA.


A seat on the bus costs $10. Call Rick for reservations 502-314-6056.

Draft Hoosier brews for Indiana Beer Week -- just not the ones I was expecting.

Don't forget: Rick and Jeff Tours motorcoach to the Indiana Brewers Festival this coming Saturday.

NABC/Rich O’s themed guest beer weeks are continuing throughout July. Today we were supposed to have unveiled four rare drafts from our brethren to the north, but it would appear that some things just aren't meant to be, so forget all about what I told you earlier.

However, don't forget the occasion. A new event, Indiana Beer Week, had been organized by the Brewers of Indiana Guild to celebrate the period (July 10-19) between the Indiana State Fair homebrew and professional Brewers Cup Competition (July 11 & 12) judging and the annual Indiana Microbrewers Festival (July 19). Accordingly, a brewery "swap" schedule was arranged and The New Albanian Brewing Company planned to put our assigned beers on tap today.

Unfortunately, the unexpected began occurring. First, owing to a miscommunication (my fault), I learned that there wasn't going to be a guest beer from Lafayette Brewing Company. Second, announced beers from Three Floyds and Brugge Brasserie fell through. Nothing could be done about it, so we've improvised, and the fallback plan is this:

We managed to get Shoreline Brewery SumCen Double IPA from Michigan City, so there's one.

We always have Alpha King and Upland Wheat on tap; that makes three.

Brugge sent Tripel instead of Black -- four.

On Monday I'll forage and buy a couple of Indiana microbrews to flesh out the lineup -- Wabash Valley (Terre Haute) and Barley Island (Noblesville) sound like reasonable candidates, and one from each takes us up to a half dozen.

You'll have to come back tomorrow to see what I decided to buy, and then give me until Tuesday to get all of it in order.

Damn. This turned out to be harder than I thought.

Rick and Jeff Tours Indiana Brewers Festival

Jeff Gesser has reminded the Curmudgeon that the Rick and Jeff Tours motorcoach excursion to the Indiana Brewers Festival is a go. Note that local craft beer is included for the ride, along with lunch. As noted often in this space, Jeff and Rick have been doing these excursions for years, I've gone on several (most recently in June for a Reds-Red Sox game), and they're always great fun.

Indiana Microbrewers Festival
Saturday, July 19
Chartered bus, tickets to fest (more than 50 brewers on site), program, souvenir sample glass, and hand-crafted beers available on bus both up and back, along with sodas and water. Unlimited samples from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the fest. We will also provide lunch. Cost $85 per person.

Will leave Louisville or New Albany around 11:45. For reservations and complete information contact Rick and Jeff Tours by calling 502-807-7531 or e-mail profgesser(at)insightbb.com

Rick & Jeff tours schedule: Reds - Red Sox and Indiana Microbrewers Festival.

Jeff Gesser has informed the Curmudgeon of the following upcoming charters. Note that local craft beer is included for the ride, along with lunch.

What more can I say? Jeff and Rick have been doing these excursions for years, I've gone on several, and they're always great fun.

Cincinnati Reds vs. Boston Red Sox at Great Western Ball Park in Cincinnati

Two chances: Saturday, June 14 or Sunday, June 15

Saturday June 14th (1:00 p.m.)
Includes chartered bus transportation, tickets to game, craft beer and refreshments for the ride up, pre-game tailgate party with food and drink and a great time. Cost is $95 per person.

Sunday June 15th (3:55 p.m.)
Includes chartered bus transportation, tickets to game, craft beer and refreshments for the ride up, pre-game tailgate party with food and drink, and a great time. Cost $100 per person.

Indiana Microbrewers Festival
Saturday, July 19
Chartered bus, tickets to fest, program, sample glass, and hand-crafted beers available on bus both up and back. We will also provide lunch. Cost $85 per person.

For reservations and complete information contact Rick and Jeff Tours by calling 502-807-7531 or e-mail profgesser@insightbb.com

12th annual Indiana Microbrewers Festival is this Saturday.

The 12th annual Indiana Microbrewers Festival is on Saturday at Opti Park (820 E. 66th St.) in Indianapolis. The festival runs from 3:00 p.m. to - 7:00 p.m.

The 2007 festival program can be viewed here. NABC will be taking Hoptimus and Thunderfoot as listed, but I'm not entirely sure that we have any Elsa Von Horizon remaining. This may necessitate a substitution.

Remember that if you're coming from the Louisville area and aren't interested in driving, Rick and Jeff Tours offers a superlative package for the day:

Rick and Jeff Tours: Buses to the Indiana Microbrewers Festival and Cubs vs. Reds in Cincy.

Rick and Jeff Tours: Buses to the Indiana Microbrewers Festival and Cubs vs. Reds in Cincy.

The Curmudgeon happily provides an occasional plug for Rick and Jeff Tours, which stages numerous yearly motor coach journeys. Most of these rolling parties are devoted to sporting events both collegiate and professional, but always with craft beer close at hand.

Here is the itinerary for July, 2007, as provided by Professor Gesser himself:

We have two trips coming up this month. Saturday, July 21st we have a trip to Indianapolis for the 12th Annual Indiana Microbrewers Festival, presented by the Brewers of Indiana Guild, with over 200 beers to sample! Trip is $75, which includes tickets to event, souvenir sample glass, food, entertainment, safe and reliable transportation and refreshments on the bus. The event is from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

On Saturday, July 28th we are doing a Chicago Cubs vs. Cincinnati Reds game in Cincinnati. The trip includes safe and reliable transportation, tickets (lower level right field), tailgate party with catered food and drink, a stop at the world famous Hofbrauhaus in Newport KY, and of course adult beverages throughout the day. Cost is $80.

Next week we will have our web site updated and start announcing our college football and NFL schedule for the fall.

For contact information, go to the Rick and Jeff Tours website.