Local + good cause = Tailspin Ale Fest (Feb. 20), so let Connecticut host its own damn gig.

The photo above was taken at the first Tailspin on February 22, 2014. The late Jimmy Mann's t-shirt attests to an unseasonably warm day.

Watch video of the Tailspin Ale Fest, yesterday at Bowman Field in Louisville.

Last year, we'd had snow three times by February and it was more wintry, although no one noticed, and Tailspin got even bigger.

Kevin Gibson previews the 2016 installment of Louisville's only beer festival held at an airport, and in doing so, he should be forewarned, because from sheer joy I might plant a wet one on his cheek next time we run into each other, congratulating him for emphasizing Tailspin's charitable component and "local flavor," then upping the ante by telling the truth about for-profit beer fests like the coming weekend's Louisville On Tap.

Tailspin Ale Fest turns 3 with more beer and more charity, by Kevin Gibson (Insider Louisville)

 ... one of the key focuses of (Tailspin) continues to be on maintaining its local flavor. For instance, the first Tailspin featured seven Kentucky breweries. This year, there will be up to 20. Throw in local food trucks and other vendors, and a whole lot of local artisans and businesses are benefiting, in addition to the charity.

Other Louisville beer festivals operate similarly, from the Fest of Ale to Highlands Beer Festival to Brew at the Zoo. By contrast, a number of people likely will attend Louisville On Tap this Saturday. While there will surely be plenty of beer to sample, this festival is one of more than 80 “On Tap” events produced by a Connecticut-based company called Townsquare Media, which primarily owns radio stations in mid-market cities and does live events.

There is no charity beneficiary; profits go to the parent company, so in essence, it is an out-of-town cash grab.

Preach it, Brother Gibson. We don't need no stinkin' Townsquare Media carpetbaggers 'round here. If anything, Tailspin founders Tisha Gainey and Trevor Cravens are overly diplomatic with regard to the outsiders.

As for Louisville On Tap, the Tailspin folks hold no ill will, but it bears noting that a festival like that one is aimed at a different demographic. In other words, it might not be as desirable for the hardcore beer lover.

“It’s kind of a beginner’s beer festival,” Gainey said, echoing a promotional video on the America On Tap website.

“They get to an audience we’re probably not reaching,” Cravens agreed ...

You've probably already guessed my question: If there is merit to the position that a "beginner's" festival is needed, then why defer to a Connecticut media conglomerate? Let's do that one, too.

Just thinking out loud. Of greater importance is attending Tailspin.

Wonder if I could get a media pass and pay? After all, it's for a good cause.

_

Haggis Laddie is back -- even if its primary reason for being is not.

In late January, I learned that the 2012 Celts on the River concert would be held not in New Albany, a city that had given the concert's organizers metaphorical refuge, a physical riverfront home and extensive help in nurturing the fledgling event for three years running, but in downtown Jeffersonville.

Evidently the concert was poached by Jeffersonville officials after the Celts committee organizer saw no compelling reason to inform New Albany that a bidding war was underway, seeing as to do so would have allowed for a matching counter-offer.

But worry not, New Albany's loss will be Jeffersonville's, too, once the Celtic carpetbaggers flee to Otisco, New Amsterdam or Birdseye at some point in the future, given that there seems to be no sentiment for them to be hosted anywhere in Louisville, from whence most of them hail. Therein lies an interesting story from the archives, but not just yet.

In the absence of regular communications between the organizers and NABC, which in retrospect was a predictable indicator of prospective divorce, we'd already placed Haggis Laddie Celtic Red on the production schedule to be ready for pouring at the concert in June. That's because we've been brewing it for the main purpose of being the event's "official" beer.

Yes, we might have made an adjustment in the schedule once we learned that the carpetbagging committee had flown the coop, but I wanted to ensure that all of it would be gone BEFORE the new concert date of September 8 ... all of which is to say, NABC Haggis Laddie Celtic Red now is on tap at the Pizzeria & Public House, and kegs are ready for tapping at Bank Street Brewhouse. Enjoy them, because we're not brewing any more batches this year.