Chef Josh's blind IPA tasting tonight during the Patio Party.

There's a Patio Party tonight at Bank Street Brewhouse: Patio Party with PA Project at Bank Street Brewhouse (Wed., March 30).

Chef Josh has been itching to have some fun with IPAs, so tonight beginning around 6:30 p.m., he'll be holding a comparative blind IPA tasting (while supplies last).

You'll pay a nominal fee to get samples of four IPA's, all of them "Imperial" or close to it: Bell's HopSlam, Founders Double Trouble, NABC Yakima and Three Floyds Dreadnaught. Identify them correctly, and Josh will reward you with a prize.

The Publican (me) is ineligible to enter. I know way too much already.

Bank Street Brewhouse bids a fond farewell to Chef Joshua Lehman …

... and other comings and goings at NABC, by Roger A. Baylor, co-owner and carnival barker.

Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine.
--Robert C. Gallagher

In the interest of keeping our friends, customers and followers fully informed about our progress in building a business, the New Albanian Brewing Company announces the following personnel comings and goings.

First, Joe Phillips, general manager at Bank Street Brewhouse offers a goodbye and two hellos (well, sort of).

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“Bank Street Brewhouse would like to express our best wishes to Chef Joshua Lehman, who soon will be departing NABC to pursue new adventures on the Louisville culinary circuit. His last day is Sunday, April 3. We’ve been happy to play a part in his dream of becoming an executive chef by the age of 30. Good luck, Josh!

“Our goals at Bank Street Brewhouse have not changed: We will continue to focus on growth, quality, and consistency with Chef Matthew Weirich, Sous Chef Bernie Collier and staff. You can look forward to many good things to come from your local brewery and downtown dining emporium.”

Joe Phillips, General Manager

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Speaking personally, and as old timer who remembers when Josh Lehman was born, I cannot thank him enough for proving conclusively that downtown New Albany can support finer dining, and by extension, illustrating in broader terms that fine dining with a craft beer underpinning (and not an extensive wine list) is a viable proposition financially as well as artistically.

Matt and Bernie are ready, eager and capable to step out from roles as understudies and continue the tradition of excellence established by Chef Josh. Thanks to both of them for their hard work, as well as to the extended kitchen staff.

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As an addendum, permit me to report these changes in the NABC brewery and on the NABC sales front.

Richard Atnip is NABC’s new sales manager for all of Indiana and Kentucky. Josh Hill has moved from Louisville sales into the two NABC breweries full-time as cellarman, responsible for duties including the bomber bottling at Bank Street Brewhouse and other matters as directed by director of brewing operations David Pierce, while also assisting brewer Jared Williamson at our Pizzeria & Public House brewery location.

Josh fills the now refashioned position recently vacated by Jesse Williams. Thanks to Jesse for all his contributions while at NABC.

Also, longtime NABC employee Jeremy Kennedy is moving into a technical support role, with responsibilities to include draft line cleaning, delivery, bottling and anything else that comes up. Eric Gray and Ben Minton remain on the job as beer managers at the Pizzeria and Public House. We’re in the final stages of reformatting the beer program there, so look for the new bottled list to be launched in early April.

RAB

Patio Party with PA Project at Bank Street Brewhouse on Wednesday, March 30.

Come enjoy the soothing sounds of the PA PROJECT while sipping on some smooth delicious NABC beer on the heated patio at Bank Street Brewhouse in emerging downtown New Albany.

Natalie and Ben Felker of THE FERVOR will be starting the party off right. The party starts at 6:30 p.m. and goes until 9:30 p.m.

Office Hours tonight: Vintage gravity from the cellar.

I'm headed into the cellar now to dig out a few more aged Barley Wines and perhaps an Imperial Stout or two.

We'll begin this evening at 6:30 p.m., in back of Prost. See you there.

NABC Bottle Release Party at Keg Liquors this Thursday, March 31.

From the web site of the 44th best beer retailer in the world comes this notice of NABC's bottle release celebration this coming Thursday evening.

New Albanian Bottle Release Party ... March 31st, 2011

Join us on March 31st from 5 - 8 PM as we welcome our friends from New Albanian Brewing Company and help them launch their newly bottled beer. Bottles of Elector, Hoptimus and Elsa von Horizon will be available for sale, and discounted for the day of the event. Chef Josh Lehman from the New Albanian Bank Street Brewhouse will be creating some different appetizers for the event, and New Albanian personnel will be on hand to celebrate this great event.

Enthused recap: C2 Beer Dinner at the Eiderdown.

The Eiderdown's C2 beer dinner was held on Wednesday evening, with a collaborative menu created by Chefs Morgan and Lehman, and matched beers from the three collaborating breweries. Here's a brief recap from a satisfied customer -- me.

Schlafly's wide-ranging Scott Shreffler introduced his brewery's gently fruity Kolsch, which was paired with Smoked Duck + Mushrooms + Tomme Crepe. Ideal.


O’Fallon Black Hemp Ale was the choice to accompany Seared Skate + Fennel, Basil, Spinach & Hazelnut Browned Butter. The ale might be described as an almost black American Brown, with a hint of characteristically nutty hemp. And to think skate used to be considered a garbage fish!

The undisputed highlight of the evening, and a flavor combination that I can still savor in my memory a full two days later, was Roasted Fiedler Farms Pork Shoulder + Blue Cheese Biscuit & Green Peppercorn, with a huge goblet of C2. The pork was marinated in red wine, and the ale in wine barrels. Words fail me on this one, except to add that if there has ever been a textbook example of the merits of pairing upper echelon food with top shelf craft beer, this was it.

For dessert, we enjoyed NABC Thunderfoot alongside Chocolate + Duchesse de Bourgogne Ice Cream. The trencherman's glow was much deserved by this point.

Hats off to Scott and Jared Williamson for introducing the beers, to the chefs and kitchen staff for the exquisite cuisine, and to James and the Eiderdown/Nachbar experience for carrying the banner of food and beer in Germantown.

If you couldn't tell by my gushing ... it was a very good evening.

Ovila Abbey Dubbel at Rocky's.

The special Sierra Nevada promotion at Rocky's on Tuesday offered nine beers I'd had before, and one I hadn't.

It wasn't planned this way, but Steve Thiel says that my signature glass of Ovila Abbey Dubbel was the first poured from a keg in Indiana, and accordingly, the first consumed, because I wasted no time on it. Belgian yeast and American know-how have produced a sublime cross-cultural marriage, and there's little chance in a blind tasting that this ale would not pass as an upper echelon Belgian Abbey ale, if not an actual Trappist.

I've no idea if there's any left. If so, get over to Rocky's and taste Sierra's new Ovila.

Wednesday Weekly: Pornadoes at 15.

It would be my educated guess that visual cues are generally assumed to be the preferred tripwire for the re-establishment of errant memory. One looks at old photos, frayed synapses wriggle to renewed life, and it all comes back.

As I sit in my office trying to work amid storm windows rattling and wind gusts carrying small critters past my second-story field of view, it occurs to me that as surely as barometric changes prompt my aging knee to ache, weather conditions also prompt their fair share of memories -- along with smell, of course, although noses aren’t the point of today’s reflection.

---

I no longer remember that long-anticipated April weekend “just like it was yesterday.” I cannot tell you who all attended the party, or which day it was held, Friday or Saturday. What I can tell you with certainty is that it felt very much like today feels.

Given the outcome, had any of us even bothered to take the weather into consideration?

After all, only three years earlier, the Louisville area had been wrecked by tornadoes. None actually touched down in Floyd County, and maybe that’s why we were so youthfully oblivious. Three years might as well have been thirty.

We were freshmen in high school, and the day in question was slated to be a memorable, historic occasion: The gang’s first (of what proved to be many) swill-soaked camping forays, out in the fields of the Floyds Knobs farm where one of one of my closest friends lived.

Caution was the watchword, and I directed my mother to drop me off at the foot of the gravel driveway that crossed the creek, and then snaked up the bluff. I walked to the staging area between the house and barn. For April, it seemed warm at first, but showed definite signs of cooling as the clouds slowly rolled in.

The campsite was being established, far enough away behind a copse of trees to shield our activities from prying eyes. It seemed like miles at the time, and probably totaled about a hundred yards. After arranging coolers of weenies and stacking wood for the fire, we hiked into the woods and back down the bluff, away from the driveway, where three cases of Falls City longnecks had been artfully hidden in the chilly waters of the creek by a friendly senior football player eager to spare a rising generation the miseries of sobriety.

---

The perimeter secured amid darkening skies, I was rewarded with my first genuine bout of inebriation. This rite of passage was facilitated by two beers, maybe three, and was made tolerable by the icy flavorlessness of the liquid. It numbed my teeth, bolstered my confidence, and provided an escape from my persistent terrors of shyness, even if there were no girls present.

As we drank, we remained oblivious to the elements, paying little heed to the rising winds and droplets of cold rain heralding the storm’s arrival. However, a short distance away, my pal’s folks were paying very close attention, and with dusk and bad weather closing in, we saw the headlights from their pickup truck coming down the dirt path.

Drunken paranoia flared until we realized that they didn’t care one jot about our drinking. Rather, tornadoes had been spotted, and we needed to move the party, beer, burnt weenies and all to the barn I case it got any worse.

Relieved, everyone piled into the pickup and collapsed onto the metal bed, on their backs, staring up at the weird and swirling eternity. I swore aloud through stinging raindrops that I could see tornadoes fornicating – except it wasn’t the exact word I used, but you get the picture. Maybe you had to be there.

In the end, frantically coupling tornadoes didn’t disturb our consumption of the few remaining drops of beer, although the cold temperatures brought by the incoming front made the sharing of too few blankets interesting. It was the era of Top Forty radio hits, and someone turned on the tunes, which repeated dismally, again and again, the same songs over and over, with it being too cold for anyone to get up and turn the damn thing off.

The next morning I was cold, dirty, hung way over for the first time ever, and I had “Chevy Van” as an ear worm. I was offered fried eggs for breakfast and came close to vomiting. Careful to keep heretical thoughts to myself, I questioned whether the campout had been sufficiently fun to justify a return engagement.

The day after that, I was hooked for life.

Now it is 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 23, 2011. The sun is gone, there’s a tornado watch, and I need a drink. The Falls City we have today is better than what we lugged up that hill 35 years ago, but there’s none in the house, just some leftover Smoked Abzug in a growler.

Might as well drink it before the power goes down, which reminds me ...

League Stadium in Huntingburg: Rockford Peaches, meet Dubois County Bombers.

Why does a town like Huntingburg have a cozy retro ballpark like League Stadium? The inscription near the main entrance tells the story. Currently the stadium is home to the Dubois County Bombers, a college-aged summer league team.

The underside of the oldest, original section of the 1894 grandstand is pictured here:

League Stadium is situated on the edge of town, amid parkland. Here's the view toward left field. For the movie, old-fashioned outfield fence billboards were imaginatively conjured. 20 years later, several of them remain in place.

Remember the dugout on the third base line? It's where the "no crying in baseball" scene took place.





Here's the view down the right field side. The molded plastic seats closest to the field were acquired when Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium was demolished. For Bombers home games, they're the priciest seats, at $6 and $7 dollars. Bleacher seats cost only $5.

The picnic and concessions area on the left field side shows great potential for craft beer sales, don't you think?

The press box's "Rockford Peaches" reference reminds onlookers that League Stadium played a significant role in American cinematic lore. I think that NABC's Tafelbier model wearing a Peaches uniform would look mighty fine.


Okay, so when the deal's done and the press release is ready, we'll announce it over the public address system. Until then, and as you may have already guessed ...

... NABC hopes to have draft beer in League Stadium this June and July for Dubois County Bombers home games.

Sun King rocks the Inside Edge.

In a fascinating video, Sun King's Dave Colt and Clay Robinson explains their strategy to Inside Indiana Business. They expect to reach Three Floyds's production levels in another two years, and it's a great story.

(Thanks Nick)

Tony's artwork for Hard Core Gore.

I told you about the beer here: Hard Core Gore: New NABC release honors the memory of the late Jason Gore.

Tony Beard's artwork aptly captures the essence of the man. Hard Core Gore goes on tap today at the Pizzeria & Public House, and tomorrow at Bank Street Brewhouse.

Indiana Breweries book signings with the authors coming to both NABC locations.

I’m an Indiana brewer, and writers John Holl and Nate Schweber have a book coming out. The book is called “Indiana Breweries,” and the authors are coming to New Albany to participate in book signing events at both NABC locations, with signed copies available for purchase.

Saturday, April 2:
NABC Pizzeria & Public House, 3312 Plaza Drive (by Grant Line Road) at 3:00 p.m. in the Prost room.

Sunday, April 3:
NABC Bank Street Brewhouse, 415 Bank Street (downtown) at 12:00 Noon.

John and Nate also are scheduled to be on Good Morning Kentuckiana (WHAS-11), and they may receive mention in LEO, too. It stands to be a fun and educational weekend, ideal for drawing attention to craft beer’s increasing presence in Indiana as well as draining a few locally-brewed tankards.

Readers with longer memories will recall that it has been our great pleasure to promote two previously released books about the exploding Indiana craft beer scene: “True Brew” by Rita Kohn, and “Indiana: One Pint at a Time” by Douglas Wissing. Both are excellent, and recommended; Rita's contains voluminous, entertaining oral history from participants in the ongoing Hoosier craft revolution, while Doug's combines extensive history of the state's brewing history with valuable nuts and bolts about visiting today's newer generation of breweries.

But John’s and Nate’s new book has something the others lack: A foreward penned by me. Yes, it is self-serving and egotistical to point to such an obvious advantage. That's the way it is, and here is a brief excerpt:

Hailing from Indiana, otherwise known as the Hoosier State, means living as a stereotype. We’re supposed to be basketball-loving, soybean-growing, corn-shucking devotees of the Indianapolis 500, inhabiting flat ground somewhere in the vicinity of Illinois, drinking oceans of ice-cold, low-calorie, light golden lager after putting up hay, or downing boilermakers before shifts at doomed rust belt factories, all of which are both true and false, just like all stereotypes.

Hoosiers may not fully understand the meaning of the word “Hoosier,” but one element of our Indiana experience appears to be stealth, at least as it pertains to beer and brewing. Almost unnoticed, three dozen breweries (and more on the way) have settled into their joyous daily routines in Indiana communities large and small, from Indianapolis to Nashville, and from Ft. Wayne to Aurora.

The exact format of the book signing events isn’t known, although certain key elements are books, beer, author testimony and interaction, beer, the chance to buy signed copies, beer and whatever else strikes us.

There’s a Facebook page for Indiana Breweries, from which I've lifted this "official" description provided by the publisher.

Indiana Breweries ... available in April 2011 from Stackpole Books; John Holl and Nate Schweber profile the microbreweries and brewpubs of the Hoosier State. A detailed and current guide to all the brewpubs and microbreweries in the state of Indiana. With a foreword from Roger A. Baylor of New Albanian Brewing and the cooperation of all the state's brewers, Indiana Breweries is the go to guide for craft beer in the Hoosier State.

“The Hoosier State has a new underdog story to tell. Thanks to craft beer made by standout breweries and brewpubs, Indiana is quickly rising through beerdom's ranks. In this book, John Holl and Nate Schweber canvass the state leaving a trail of breadcrumbs that anyone interested in learning the charms of Indiana beer can now follow.”-- Nick KayeManaging Editor, The Beer Connoisseur

Postponement: Office Hours will NOT be held this Monday, March 21.

Apologies, but once again I am compelled to postpone the weekly Office Hours tasting. It is a bottom line thing. We've had the chance to book a very large party into the Prost area on Monday night, March 21, and there will not be space for us there. I don't really like the idea of using public space, given that Mondays have been busy lately; it's too noisy in the main pub area, anyway.

Instead: The Stone/BBC (and others) vintage tasting will take place in Prost on Monday, March 28.

It's almost here: C2 beer dinner at Eiderdown (Wed., March 23).

After waiting seemingly forever for a taste of C2, the product of last year's collaboration between brewers from New Albanian, O’Fallon and Schlafly, there have been several chances since January to nip at this once in a lifetime treat -- Smoked Belgian Dark Strong, aged in Port and Cabernet barrels, and infused with figs.

But only now comes the beer dinner, to be held this coming Wednesday, March 23, at Eiderdown (983 Goss Ave., Louisville, KY 40217). The four courses will feature kitchen collaborations between the chefs from Eiderdown and NABC, and the price will be in the range of $44 per person.

Note that you'll be getting meal-sized, 11-oz portions of the four beers served:

Schlafly Kolsch
Smoked Duck + Mushrooms + Tomme Crepe

O’Fallon Black Hemp
Seared Skate + Fennel, Basil, Spinach & Hazelnut Browned Butter

C2
Roasted Fiedler Farms Pork Shoulder + Blue Cheese Biscuit & Green Peppercorn

NABC Thunderfoot
Chocolate + Duchesse de Bourgogne Ice Cream

I'll be there. Call 290-2390 to reserve.

Hard Core Gore: New NABC release honors the memory of the late Jason Gore.

Monday, March 21, would have been the 27th birthday for Jason Gore. Sadly, we lost Jason to cancer in September, 2010.

Jason was a longtime NABC employee and a friend to all, in addition to being one of those special, distinctive personalities one sometimes has the good fortune to meet while traveling through life.

Jared Williamson, brewer at NABC's Pizzeria & Public House location, has formulated and brewed Hard Core Gore, a special tribute to Jason. A Belgo-American IPA, Hard Core Gore is a "unique beer for a unique man," according to Jared. It will begin pouring on Monday, March 21.

Note: Photo credit of Jason with his parents owed to the New Albany Tribune.

Hard Core Gore
Belgo-American IPA ... A unique beer for a unique man

Malts: Rahr 2-row and Weyerman's Vienna
Adjunct: Dark Brown Sugar
Hops: Magnum, Saaz, Styrium Goldings, Cascade, Sorachi Ace
Dry Hop: Cascade
Yeast: Chouffe
ABV: 9.5%

More green-free ales for St. Patrick's Day.

Previously, I revealed the Hibernian-inspired Gravity lineup for St. Patrick's Day at NABC's Pizzeria & Public House:

No green shades for a Gravity Head St. Patrick's Day at the Pizzeria & Public House.

That's one Gravity Head-listed keg of beer for each applicable relevant Irish beer color, which does not include the color green:

BBC Sam and Adam's Bustin' Lager
Upland Ard-Ri
Stone Imperial Stout.

No, there'll be no green beer, because that's just disrespectful. Yes, we have draft Guinness. There'll also be these two lower-gravity treats:

NABC Wee Foot ... Jared's session-strength Irish-style Dry Stout
People's Brewing Nine Irish Red Ale ... from our brothers in Lafayette

March 22: 10 Sierras on tap at Rocky's in Jeffersonville.

In terms of events in metro Louisville, the nations's top craft brewers have enjoyed ample showcasing of late. In less than a month's time, there have been three multi-tap biggies:

February 25: Nine Three Floyds beers on tap at NABC's Pizzeria & Public House.
March 11: Ten Founders beers on tap, also at the Public House.
March 22: Ten Sierra Nevada beers on tap at Rocky’s Sub Pub in Jeffersonville.

Kindly note that all of them have been (or will be) on the right bank of the Ohio.

The event on the 22nd at Rocky's is the biggest Sierra Nevada tapping ever in Indiana, and it's a fine list, indeed, including the brand new Ovila Dubbel and Sierra's series of 30th Anniversary beers (marked *).

Pale Ale
Glissade Golden Bock
Estate Homegrown Ale
Bigfoot
Hoptimum Imperial IPA
Ovila Dubbel
*Fritz & Ken
*Charlie, Fred, & Ken
*Jack & Ken
*Our Brewers Reserve

Rocky’s will also have live music on the 22nd. The event will begin at 4:00 p.m., and the location is 715 Riverside Drive in Jeffersonville. I'll be there. You?

Office Hours returns tonight: It's the #19 vintage stash.

I'm headed to the Public House's quasi-cellar now, to assemble tonight's sampling array. We'll be in BJCP Category 19 - Strong Ale:

19A. Old Ale
19B. English Barleywine
19C. American Barleywine

Exact selections await my scrutiny, although I can say this much: There'll be a vertical tasting of Sierra Nevada Bigfoot vintages, and some old JW Lees Vintage Harvest Ale, perhaps a few of the barrel-aged ones, too.

If there's time, I'll edit this entry and post the picks.

Just in time for the holiday: "Erin Go Blah" (a reprint).

Publican's note: "Bar" none, this commentary on the St. Patrick's Day holiday, originally written by bartender Chris Halleron some years back for the “Hot Trub” e-newsletter, is the best I've ever read. Permission to reprint has been provided by the author.

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Recently a friend asked if I was free to do something on St. Patrick's Day, but I explained that asking a bartender to take that day off is like asking an accountant to blow off work on April 14. It is the busy season for bartenders, when we get to see all those cheapskate rookies who haven't spent a dime in the bar since they threw up in the corner on New Year's Eve but now decide to poke their heads out of their holes and celebrate the Feast of St. Patrick.

While most people celebrate St. Patrick's Day on March 17, where I come from it seems to last longer than Mardi Gras in N'Awlins (coincidentally, that's also taking place right now). Hoboken, New Jersey, where I tend bar, has its parade the first Saturday of March every year, so as not to compete with the mega-parade across the Hudson in Manhattan on the actual St. Patrick's Day. Other communities in New Jersey spread their celebrations out in the interim, creating one thick fog of overindulgence week after week until finally the corned beef and cabbage comes out and everybody is too sick to eat it.

Normally I'd be all for such a celebration, but for the fact that somebody has to work these things-and once again that somebody is me. While I'm surely preaching to the choir with this column, I'd like to share some misconceptions and social faux pas regarding St. Patrick's Day that I've had the displeasure of observing over years:

· "Kiss Me I'm Irish" buttons will get you nowhere with the ladies.

· There is no "Official" Beer of St. Patrick's Day. Despite all its recent financial difficulties, the Catholic Church has yet to seek corporate sponsorship of its saints' feast days (though it may only be a matter of time…).

· The same goes for "Official" St. Patrick's Day Headquarters--as if that stinky dive down the street with the broken urinal would actually be the epicenter of the world's St. Patrick's Day celebration.

· Just because Mario's Bar and Grill has a shamrock in the window, it doesn't necessarily make it an Irish bar.

· In most circles, House of Pain's "Jump Around" is not considered traditional Irish music.

· Ask any brewer and they'll tell you--when a beer turns green it's a BAD thing.

· Killian's Irish Red is made in Golden, Colorado, not Enniscorthy, Ireland.

· Killarney's is from St. Louis, Missouri, not Killarney, Ireland.

· The number-one selling lager in Ireland is Budweiser.

· Guinness is most certainly not a microbrewery (I can't make this stuff up--I swear I actually heard someone say that once).

· Asking a bartender to put a shamrock on the top of a well-poured Guinness is like asking Da Vinci to put a mustache on the Mona Lisa.

· Not only is the "Irish Car Bomb" (a pint glass half full of Guinness with a shot glass of Bailey’s and Jameson dropped in) an appalling name for a drink, the waste of Guinness and Jameson in some novelty shooter is nothing short of blasphemy. Save the “Boilermakers” for the Milwaukee’s Best and enjoy a quality beverage the way it's meant to be enjoyed.

· A pint of Guinness takes awhile to be poured properly--if you're in a hurry then order something else.

· Guinness in a plastic cup is a travesty, no matter how busy the bar is.

· The plural of Guinness is Guinness, not Guinnesses.

· More often than not, Irish people (by that, I mean people born and raised in Ireland) couldn't give a rat's arse what town your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather left during the Potato Famine.

· There is no room for a discussion of Irish politics in a crowded bar.

· The stereotype of drunken Irish bar-fighters applies mostly to Irish-Americans.

· The Irish pastime of hurling is not what most people in this country think it means.

· No matter what you may have heard or read, a traditional Irish breakfast DOES NOT consist of a six-pack and a potato.

· No, I'd rather not wear a silly plastic green hat while I'm working, but thanks for the offer.

· There is no "siesta" napping on the bar for St. Patrick's Day--you have that confused with Cinco de Mayo, which is two months away.

· Just because the bar is open all day and all night doesn't necessarily mean you have to be there drinking the whole time.

· Just because you gave me a big tip doesn't give you carte blanche for being an @$$hole!!!

Despite all my bitches, gripes and complaints, I'm well aware that there's a lot of earning of the green that goes along with the wearing of the green. So it looks like I'll once again have to "Er-Grin 'n' Go Bear-it" as I look forward to the pot o' gold at the end o' me rainbow--the long, messy rainbow that it is.

In the meantime, may the road rise to meet the rest o' ye, and Sláinte--from the bitter bollocks behind the bar.

Readers: Who'd like a bar?

Have a look at these photos, and then I'll explain.

My father hand-built this bar circa 1970 from bits and pieces of wood left over from the construction of our house in Georgetown. It formed the centerpiece of his basement lounge, which these days would be called a man cave. After he died, most of his barroom furnishings were brought to my current home in New Albany. At first, the bar was brought to the back room of Prost, at the Pizzeria & Pub. As remodeling progressed there, it became redundant, was reloaded onto the pickup, and pointed toward Spring Street.

The bar was very barely squeezed through the back door on the ground floor, and while we have plenty of square footage in the house as a whole, there really isn't a place to permanently put it. It's a tough decision to make, but we need the space where the bar now stands, and about the only alternative a see is putting it up for adoption.

No charge; just haul it away (stools included) and promise me it will be put to good use, and I'm fine with it. I'll even clean out the junk currently stuffed into it. My e-mail's in the profile. Thanks.