Thanks to RateBeer users for declaring NABC's Pizzeria & Public House the top brewpub in Indiana.

Congratulations to our comrades in the list above.

I'm fairly ambivalent about beer ratings, but there are two things about such rankings that I always find pleasing.

First, just being included as part of any conversation about best beer bars and/or brewpubs is reward enough for me. I've always felt we deserve to at least be mentioned, and I'll leave the exact numbers to the calculation of others.

Second, it's wonderful to see New Albany's name alongside New York, Chicago, New Orleans and San Diego in accountings of the best of anything.

Obviously, we could not do any of it without our workers and without you, the customer. Your patronage is much appreciated, and we thank you.

In 2012, we marked 25 years for the business overall (founded 1987), 20 years for me at the Public House, and 10 years as a brewery. Once upon a time, I sat down at a bar somewhere with a pint of Guinness in hand, and the next time I looked up, a career seemed to have found me. Problem is, I still don't know what I'd like to do when I grow up.

Here's the press release.

RateBeer Best 2013 -- AWARD RESULTS

By RateBeer's Joe Tucker, Executive Director, 2001-present

(Santa Rosa, CA) First and foremost, I'd like to raise a glass to the people who make the beer we drink. These men and women are the artists, engineers, visionaries, chefs, CEOs and of course janitors and many other roles combined that are today's craft brewer. I've had the pleasure of listening to many in my role here and there are no more passionate, skilled, brave and hard working people on the planet. The great success of craft beer around the world proves this.

It's my great pleasure to honor them, and all those in the craft beer industry, with the results of this year's RateBeer Best.

Over 4.5 million times, RateBeer beer reviewers worldwide have raised a glass to review a new beer. We have tallied those scores and now present them as our competition results. For our summaries, a particular emphasis was placed on tastings made in the last twelve months. Additionally, brewpubs, bottle shops, restaurants and bars from around the world were awarded prizes. Cheers to all the winners and to everyone who keeps the world of craft beer growing as a fun, cooperative community devoted to artfulness and excellence.

Hillsboro Hops and craft beer at a ballpark that matters.

Hillsboro is in Oregon, a place not only characterized by a plethora of craft beer, but also where sharp folks at newspapers write about their cornucopia on a regular basis.

Louisville is in Kentucky, where craft beer is on the rise, but you'd never know it, either when visiting the ballpark or reading local media.

Oh, well. First, a random selection of three previous articles discussing this phenomenon (or the absence of same):

Louisville Bats hypocrisy symbolized by a "can of corn."

Bats, Baseball, Beers and Bucks.

"No water in the lines": Even golf courses are getting crafted.

And on, and on, dating back to the 1990s. Geez, the Philistinism in Louisville can get tedious.

Let's get happier. Here's the Hillsboro link. Can you imagine a baseball general manager who looks at a reporter and says, ""The goal is to feature as many local craft beers as we can," while not crossing fingers behind his back and/or fondling the annual check from ABInBev?

Hillsboro Hops: Beer update, by Andrew Theen, The Oregonian

HILLSBORO – There will be beer.

The Hillsboro Hops are close to finalizing a concessions agreement related to the Class A professional baseball team's upcoming season, according to General Manager K.L. Wombacher.

"The goal is to feature as many local craft beers as we can," Wombacher said.

NABC's Winterfest lineup: The visual.

And described.

Prepare your eyes to bulge out ...

... when you read Rita Kohn's list of new and planned breweries in Indiana, from Hope to Goshen, and from Granger to Chesterton.

New brew: Indiana awash in beer (at Nuvo)

But that's not all. Rita's also on another new brewery story, The Owner's Wife.

Brew and chew: Hardesty, Miller break new ground

Ted Miller's one of my favorite people in the business, and I wish him the best in this new project. For me, Indianapolis is becoming a more frequent destination, as well as a more fattening one. If only we had rail service ...

Q & A with Ron Downer, via the Brewers Association.

Almost exactly one year ago, I reported the welcome news that old friend Ron Downer was getting back into commercial brewing.

Ron Downer to brew at Blackberry Farm in Tennessee.

 ... Ron was a prolific homebrewer before turning pro, and so starting small at Blackberry Farm prior to growing the brewery should be right up his alley.

It appears that Ron's hope of bringing his new brewing operation up to cruising speed is bearing fruit, if not blackberries, as evidence by this Q & A chat at the Brewers Association community page.

A toast to Ron Downer.

BIG Winterfest news ... the show is this Saturday, January 26.

With Winterfest coming this Saturday, here are a few items of importance passed along to us by the executive director of the Brewers of Indiana Guild. My personal favorite is the Online Program link. You can view NABC's lineup here, as well.

---

Fine Dining, Craft Beer and Jazz!
The Jazz Kitchen is hosting a beer dinner on Thursday, January 24, featuring North Coast Beer. $35 includes a 4-course dinner, beer and gratuity. What a deal! Reservations and info here.

Looking for a place to stay this weekend?
Indy Hostel says they are closest to the State Fairgrounds. For me, "Hostel" brings to mind bunk beds and cots in the attic, but this looks pretty nice (also promises a good deal!). For more info -- Indy Hostel link.

Brewing LEGEND Jack McAuliffe at Winterfest!
Back in the 1970s, Jack McAuliffe opened the first US microbrewery. New Albion Brewing sold hand-crafted beer that sold for the exorbitant price of $1.10 per bottle! Boston Beer Co. has collaborated with Jack to brew a limited-edition New Albion Ale, Jack will be at Winterfest for the first Indiana tapping of this iconic beer. We'll toast Jack as the VIP hour winds down, around 3:45. Listen for the announcement.

Sellout!
Winterfest tickets are really, truly sold out. Sold out in record time two weeks ago. But tickets just went on sale for the Bloomington Craft Beer Festival. B-Fest is 12 weeks away, on April 13. Spread the word on tickets. Here's the link. 

Online Program

Kudos to Holy Grale and Sergio's for making Draft's "best beer bars" list.

National eyes have turned to the Louisville beer scene once again, and as someone who's been in the trenches for a quarter-century, constantly fighting these battles ... come to think of it, sometimes before many local commentators were even born ... let me just say that it's a wonderful thing, indeed.

And so, congratulations to Holy Grale and Sergio's. Louisville is richer because of  establishments like these, and I echo noted IPA lover Mr. Spock in saying: "Pour long and prosper, guys."

When we speak with craft beer lovers in other parts of the country, it's an unparalleled selling point to be able to tell folks that in addition to an ever-expanding local independent craft brewing scene in metro Louisville and the surrounding region, there are world-class beer bars aplenty -- in fact, some of the best anywhere.

Praise also is due the justly fabled Heorot in Muncie, Indiana, although Draft's list writer is plainly foolish to dismiss Indiana-at-large by suggesting the Heorot is "often the lone Indiana stop for craft brewers crossing the Midwest."

Really?

With more than a dozen local craft breweries in the Indianapolis area alone, not to mention Twenty Tap and other excellent purveyors in the state capital? But Heorot's inclusion is amply merited, and it is one of many reasons to visit Indiana for beer, something that can be said about the metro Louisville area as well.

Nostalgia nudges me. I fondly remember the warm feeling that recognition brings, as when the Public House was declared the 6th-best beer bar in the world all the way back in 2007, or when we made it into Stan's and Daria's "The Beer Lover's Guide to the USA" thirteen years ago, in 2000.

Cherish it, keep up the damned fine work, and thanks.

Draft Magazine's listing is here: America’s 100 best beer bars: 2013

And, at Insider Louisville, the Draft link with superfluous commentary (Windhoek?) from the nominal music writer: Polly Wanna History Lesson?

Tony's art for Gravity Head 2013: "Return of the Living Gravity Dead."

Ladies and gentlemen, Tony Beard.

For a current Gravity Head update, go here.

Great news: "The Beervangelist's Guide to the Galaxy" has been funded at Kickstarter.

Word has come via e-mail that along with 159 other backers, my pledge at Kickstarter has successfully funded Fred "New Holland" Bueltmann's book.

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

This is wonderful, and I suppose it means that it is time for me to begin writing my memoirs: "Beer, Bile & Bolsheviks: A Fermentable Life."

MilkWood, opening at Actor's Theater in February.

MilkWood, described as a "modern speakeasy with cuisine that will explore Southern Bar Food with an Asian Pantry," is Chef Edward Lee's new project at Actor's Theater, located in the epicenter of downtown Louisville.

(On an unrelated note, there is still a chance for you to go to Actor's for performances of "The Whipping Man," which Mr. and Mrs. Curmudgeon viewed in 2012 at the Ensemble Theater in Cincinnati)

Chef Lee's new venture will have four regional craft  brews on tap, and at least at the outset, one of them will be NABC's Black & Blue Grass. When we conducted a tasting with Chef Lee and staff, he commented that Black & Blue Grass would play well with the "Asian Pantry" concept, and I couldn't agree more.

I'm hoping that Black & Blue Grass stays on tap at Milk Wood for a good, long run. For more, visit Milkwood at Eater Louisville.

Coming soon to a Hoosier legislature near you: Sunday alcohol sales, with huge question mark attached ...

Sikich's overview is one of the best I've read, given that  "booze on Sunday" in America is more totem for tribalism than topic for dispassionate discussion. The author duly notes the Sunday exceptions for Indiana's breweries and wineries. I might add that while the Brewers of Indiana Guild has interest in a few bits of legislation possibly being considered in 2013, this isn't one of them.

As a guild director, believe me when I say that we have our own side of the street to work -- and we're doing so. This particular issue isn't our fight.

Speaking personally, part of me is eternally annoyed that "moral" considerations as defined by religious interests should be a part of the Sunday equation. Another part entirely understands that small independent business will suffer if big boxes go into Sunday sales. I'm forever willing to sock it to the preachers and health fascists, and at the same time, giving an inch to mega-retail is odious to my own inner moral structure.

When I'm declared dictator, it's an easy call: Let the indie package stores open if they wish, and keep the chains shut. Then again, some might say I'm an extremist. In the end, Senator Alting probably is right: Change will be incremental, in bits and pieces, because such hesitancy truly reflects a state of division.

Need I add: Support your local breweries and wineries. That's the best solution, and it beats the Silver Bullet every damned time.

Sunday liquor sales battle brewing: An effort is afoot to change Indiana's law, but owners of liquor stores say the move would be devastating, by Chris Sikich (IndyStar)

Indiana is the toughest place in the nation to buy take-home beer or liquor on Sundays.

While most states limit Sunday alcohol sales in some ways, Hoosiers face the broadest restrictions.

Indiana prohibits Sunday sales of beer, wine and liquor at grocery and packaged liquor stores. Connecticut lifted a similar ban in May, leaving Indiana standing alone.

The longtime ban has remained in place for religious and economic reasons. And though it has been eroded somewhat in recent years, state lawmakers trying to do away with the ban this year aren't hopeful.

Red Yeti Brewing Company. Coming to Jeffersonville?

It's always amazing what you can find on the Internetz.

My tip about Red Yeti Brewing Company came from a former beer class student, who remarked that he had been talking to the property owner. I can't place the building, although I was told that it is located at Spring and Chestnut in Jeffersonville.

From Untappd, we learn only that Paul R. is a homebrewer going pro, while much of the information at the official web site has to do with bureaucratic wranglings pertaining to the site build-out.

Hmm. HopIPAtimus. Seems there's a beer somewhere with a name almost the same as that ... surely just a coincidence.

Calendar check (updated): The Varanese/NABC beer dinner is Thursday, February 7.

01/22 update, now with the complete menu
01/23 update, added Tony Beard's poster

John Varanese, chef and owner of the Frankfort Avenue eatery that bears his name, is devising a four-course menu to accompany the six NABC beers pictured: Hoosier Daddy, Elector, Black & Blue Grass, Solidarity, Hoptimus and Tunnel Vision (in the growler).

It is Varanese's first-ever beer dinner, and it takes place on Thursday, February 7, with greetings and drinks at 6:30 p.m., and the courses unfolding beginning at 7:00 p.m.

Varanese web site
Varanese at Facebook

I'll be there to describe NABC's beers, and we're looking forward to a memorable evening. Here are the menu and pairings, and remember, this is only $49 per person, plus tax and gratuity.

NABC Beer Dinner
Varanese/The New Albanian Brewing Company

Reception
Hoosier Daddy – Imperial Red Ale

First Course
Black & Blue Grass – Spiced Belgian Ale
Crispy Fried Chipotle BBQ Quail Legs
Served with Beer Battered Onion Rings
With a Horseradish Cream Sauce

Second Course
Elector – American Strong Ale
Arugula and Frisee Salad topped with Bacon Lardons, Toasted Sunflower Seeds and Croutons with a Lemon-Cracked Pepper Vinaigrette Topped with Poached Egg

Third Course
Hoptimus – Imperial India Pale Ale
Beer Braised Short Ribs and House-Made Sausage
Served with Toasted Barley and Carrot Risotto, Buttered Cabbage and Caraway
Finished with a Porter Beer Sauce

Fourth Course
Solidarity – Baltic Porter
Chocolate-Orange Cheese Cake with Pretzel Crust
Topped with Caramel and Marshmallow Sauce

Closing
Tunnel Vision – Royal Wallonian Ale

Gravity Head 2013: Back to the Founders future with mystery on Friday, March 8.

01/31 Update: Gravity Head's 62 beers here

At roughly the same time that my projected mid-January Gravity Head update was about to come due, our Founders Brewing Company representative, John Host, messaged to say he had procurement matters in hand for what has become an annual Founders showcase on the third Friday of Gravity Head, which doubles as a Southern Indiana field trip for Cavalier Distributing’s team.

Just a couple of days later, further word came that John Host no longer was employed at Founders.

Understandably, this surprising turn of events caused some measure of confusion. I felt compelled to formulate a back-up plan, just in case one was needed. However, yesterday I spoke with Cavalier, where Aaron and Jen have been working the phones. Happily, we’re going to be able to keep the Founders third weekend Gravity Head focus alive, albeit with a touch of short-term mystery.

Alongside these kegs from Founders, there’ll be blocs of Flat12 and NABC beers, all slated for tapping on March 8.

13F RUSSIAN IMPERIAL STOUT

Founders Imperial Stout (2011)
Founders Brewing Company

Grand Rapids MI

Malts: Ten varieties

Bitterness: 90 IBUs

Alcohol by volume: 10.5%

www.foundersbrewing.com

Gravity Head Twist: The Publican endorses the use of terms like “jet black” and “motor oil” to describe this straight, unadorned, perennially honest Imperial Stout.

19A. OLD ALE

Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale

Founders Brewing Company

Grand Rapids MI

Malts: “Insane malt bill” and

molasses as an adjunct

Bitterness: 50 IBUs

Alcohol by volume: 9.8%

www.foundersbrewing.com

Gravity Head Twist: Founders suggests we think about “classic sea faring ports, local pubs, and weathered old fisherman,” but shouldn’t the imagery be about the Great Lakes? The Publican prefers thinking about his own nickname, prefixed with Potable, and also appropriately weathered.

21A. SPICE, HERB, OR VEGETABLE BEER

Founders Breakfast Stout (2011)

Founders Brewing Company

Grand Rapids MI

Malts: Indeterminate, but includes flaked oats, bitter and sweetened imported chocolates, and Sumatra and Kona coffees.

Hops: Why do you ask?

Bitterness: 25 IBUs

Alcohol by volume: 8.3%

www.foundersbrewing.com

Gravity Head Twist: Has any single beer been used as the base for more fascinating experiments than this one? From beerhaikudaily.com, come words for living:

bacon, eggs, and beer
everyday should start with
breakfast stout at 10!

22C. WOOD-AGED BEER

Founders Backwoods Bastard (2012)

Founders Brewing Company

Grand Rapids MI

Base style: Strong Scotch Ale

Malts: “Ten varieties of mported malt”

Bitterness: 50 IBUs

Alcohol by volume: 10.2%

www.foundersbrewing.com

Gravity Head Twist: Founders makes a Scotch/Wee Heavy called Dirty Bastard, and bourbon barrels come from the backwoods of Kentucky. Put the two together, and you have a familiar stereotype, complete with bearded hillbilly on the label. But where’s the hootch, the shine, the mountain dew? Coal smoke instead of peat?  

Founders Bolt Cutter

(15^th Anniversary)

Founders Brewing Company

Grand Rapids MI

Base style: American Barleywine

Hops: A “mountain” of Cascades for dry-hopping

Bitterness: IBUs

Original Gravity:

Alcohol by volume: 15%

www.foundersbrewing.com

Gravity Head Twist: The Founders Backstage Series presents this 15^th anniversary Barleywine, with portions barrel aged (bourbon barrels and maple syrup-bourbon barrels), and blended with portions non-barrel aged. Named for the bolt cutter acquired by a Founders founder more than ten years ago when foreclosure seemed likely.

*Founders “Mystery Ale” ? 10%-20% ?*

I’ll step out on a limb and suggest that once I’m able to reveal the identity of the mystery ale (announced on January 31), the timing of which is entirely up to Founders, you’ll understand why its very presence bolsters the Michigan brewery’s Gravity Head lineup in an otherwise leaner year. Note that Bob Kaiser of Founders will be on hand March 8, along with the Cavalier crew. I’ll know what Flat12 is sending soon.

NABC’s March 8 lineup is here.

Thanks to everyone for making this happen, and to John: Hope to see you soon for a civilized pint somewhere.

NABC's contingent for Gravity Head 2013: Return of the Living Gravity Dead.

01/31 Update: Full program listings added

03/05 Update: Now with Jaxon and Quadageddon added! 

For Gravity Head 2013, NABC will have three even more elderly 2012 festival returnees ...

NABC IX — Ninth Anniversary Ale (2010) 9%
NABC/De Struise/LBS B’Urban Trotter (2011) 9.2%
NABC/O'Fallon/Schlafly C2 Collaboration Ale (2010) 10.7%

 ... and three from last year's 10th Anniversary Bygoner Series:

Bourbondaddy (2012) ...Imperial Chocolate Milk Stout (Bourbon Barrel Aged) 9.5%
Stumble Bus (2012) ... American Strong Ale 11.2%
Turbo Hog (2012) ... Malt Liquor 9.5%

Expect to see all of these on Friday, March 8, alongside classics from Founders and Flat12. Here are the full program listings.

14C IMPERIAL INDIA PALE ALE

NABC/De Struise/LBS

B’Urban Trotter (2011)

New Albanian Brewing Company

New Albany IN

De Struise Brouwers

Oostvleteren BELGIUM

Louisville Beer Store

Louisville KY (retailer)

Malts: Rahr 2-Row, Weyermann

Bohemian Pilsner, Castle Biscuit, Simpsons Medium Crystal
Hops: Cascade (mash, dry), Summit (first wort), Summit (bittering), Chinook (bittering, flavor, dry), Northern Brewer (flavor), Simcoe (dry)
Special additions: Vanilla beans and honey were added during the whirlpool.

Yeast: American (Chico) Ale

Bitterness: 208 IBUs

OG: 21 degrees Plato

ABV: 9.2%

www.newalbanian.com

http://struise.noordhoek.com

www.louisvillebeerstore.com

Gravity Head Twist: If the Kentucky Derby is the greatest two minutes in sports, then B’Urban Trotter is the finest few moments of sipping, because what better place for a brewer/ostrich rancher from Flanders to seek inspiration than Louisville’s annual Run for the Roses? With collaborative assistance from NABC and Louisville Beer Store, De Struise’s Urbain Coutteau created this “Derbied” Double India Pale Ale to be dry-hopped and bourbon/oak aged, with a phantom suggestion of mint for the home stretch.

22C. WOOD-AGED BEER

NABC IX — Ninth Anniversary Ale (2010)

New Albanian Brewing Company

New Albany IN

Base style: Smoked Oatmeal Stout

Malts: Rahr 2-row, Weyermann Smoked (Beechwood), Briess Chocolate, Briess Roasted Barley, Simpsons Chocolate, Briess Aromatic, Briess Smoked Malt (Cherry), Castle Special B, Flaked Oats

Hops: Northern Brewer (Mash), Northern Brewer (First Wort), Northern Brewer (@60min)

Yeast: House ale

Bitterness: 50 IBUs

Alcohol by volume: Circa 9% 

www.newalbanian.com

Gravity Head Twist: A chocolate malt-heavy oatmeal stout with two types of smoked malt, brewed in 2010 by former NABC brewmaster Jared Williamson, and then set aside to rest in Port barrels formerly used to age C2 (Smoked Belgian Dark Strong), the latter to be found elsewhere in this compendium. For the record, the actual NABC brewery anniversary date is October 25 (2002).

NABC Bourbondaddy (2012)

New Albanian Brewing Company

New Albany IN

Base style: Imperial Chocolate Milk Stout (Bourbon Barrel Aged)

Malts: Rahr Pale, Simpson Chocolate and Roast Barley, Patagonia Especial, (+ flaked oats)

Sugar: Milk (lactose)

Hops: Challenger

Special: Raisins and cocoa added to mash, cacao nibs in the kettle, and "Dry Nibbed" in the bright for two months prior to filling barrels

Yeast: House Ale

Bitterness: 18 IBUs

OG: 20 degrees Plato

ABV: 9.5%

www.newalbanian.com

Gravity Head Twist: “Go forth and proceed” … The first batches of Bourbondaddy appeared in 2003 and 2004. The 10^th anniversary revival version began life as an Imperial Chocolate Mik Stout, and then was racked into Angel's Envy barrels for four months’ aging. Part of NABC’s (the brewery) 10th Anniversary Bygoner Series, brewed to celebrate NABC’s (the company) 25^th anniversary in 2012.

23. SPECIALTY BEER

NABC/O'Fallon/Schlafly C2 Collaboration Ale (2010)

New Albanian Brewing Company

New Albany IN

O’Fallon Brewery

O’Fallon MO

The Saint Louis Brewery (Schlafly)

St. Louis MO

Say what? Smoked Belgian Dark Strong Ale

Malts: Castle Pale, Weyermann Rauch, Castle Biscuit, Briess Smoke, Castle Aromatic, Castle Special B
Adjuncts: Belgian dark candi sugar, Brewer’s Crystal, Molasses

Mash Hops: Mt Hood, Crystal
Kettle Hops: Magnum, Slovenian Celeia

Bitterness: 20 IBUs

Original Gravity: 1097

Alcohol by volume: 10.7%

www.NewAlbanian.com

www.ofallonbrewery.com

www.schlafly.com

Gravity Head Twist: “C2 was split into various wine casks for aging. Two of the wine casks are Missouri-built, and spent five years in Napa Valley aging Silver Oak Cabernet. The other two wine casks are Kentucky-built and have been at the Huber Winery in Southern Indiana aging various Ports for the last 12 years. Once fresh fig season arrived in September 2010, a portion of figs were smoked and then the figs were split up and added to one of each of the two varietals of wine casks. The barrels were aged eight months total, and the batch was blended back together in early January 2011.” - Jared Williamson, formerly of NABC, now brewing at Schlafly.

NABC Stumble Bus (2012)

New Albanian Brewing Company

New Albany IN

Say what? American Strong Ale

Malts: Rahr Pale, Weyermann Vienna, Simpson Medium Crystal, light malt extract

Hops: A delicate mix of Galena, Cascade and Golding

Yeast: House American Ale

Bitterness: 126 IBUs

OG: 25 degrees Plato

ABV: 11.2%

www.newalbanian.com

Gravity Head Twist: Fall Off the Bus … Along with Bourbondaddy, Stumble Bus is the most fondly remembered seasonal ale brewed by NABC’s founding brewer, Michael Borchers. Was it Imperial IPA, or was it Barleywine? What is it now? It’s not the destination; it’s the journey. Part of NABC’s (the brewery) 10th Anniversary Bygoner Series, brewed to celebrate NABC’s 25th company anniversary in 2012.

NABC Turbo Hog (2012)

New Albanian Brewing Company

New Albany IN

Say what? Malt Liquor

Malts: Rahr Pale, flaked maize

Sugar: White table sugar

Hops: Hallertau Magnum and Tettnanger, Czech Saaz (4 late kettle additions and dry hops)

Yeast: House Ale

Bitterness: 86 IBUs

OG: 20 degrees Plato

ABV: 9.5%

www.newalbanian.com

Gravity Head Twist: The finest malt liquor yet devised by man … First came Bush Hog, and then its logical culmination, Turbo Hog (sans paper bags). Augmented with corn, boosted in strength, and refashioned as a malt liquor, it was a briefly invigorating experiment. Boss Hog was planned, but never brewed. Part of NABC’s (the brewery) 10th Anniversary Bygoner Series, brewed to celebrate NABC’s  25th company anniversary in 2012.