Having "electored" to begin winter hours at the Bank Street Brewhouse, and feeling that after eight months of work, we're feeling great about what we've accomplished so far, it seemed a good time for a Grand Opening gala. Here's what I have so far. There'll probably be a few alterations, and I'll inform you of these.
Tuesday, November 17
It's Villiger 1888 Cigar Night on the patio. In conjunction with our friends at Kaiser’s Tobacco Store, where so much of Roger’s paycheck is deposited each week, we’ll host our first-ever cigar night with cigars, promos and giveaways. A representative of Villiger 1888 will be on hand. 1888 is a new hand-rolled premium cigar from the Dominican Republic by way of Switzerland’s 121-year-old Villiger tobacco firm. There will be a small fee (as yet undecided) for participation that will include ample cigar(s), beers and a chances to win door prizes. “Session Beer” pint specials at BSB all day long, and food specials to be announced.Wednesday, November 18
Bank Street Brewhouse's Official Ribbon Cutting ceremony, and suitably propagandistic speeches, featuring representatives of city government, Develop New Albany, One Southern Indiana and the Pants Down Progressive local political insurgency. The show begins at 6:00 p.m. We’ve saved kegs from the batch of Elector that New Albany Mayor Doug England (with David Pierce, above) helped brew earlier this year, and the “mayor’s batch” will be pouring all day. Expect “Grant Line Garage Brewery” beer specials all day long, perhaps Jared's single hop series on the handpull, and food specials are to be announced.Thursday, November 19
NABC encourages its friends and customers to attend the Conway Fire Equipment Museum Pledge Night, 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at the Grand Convention Center, where NABC’s Community Dark will be on tap at the cash bar. Before, during and after the event, there’ll be food and beer (Beak’s Best, Bob’s Old 15-B) specials at Bank Street Brewhouse.
Friday, November 20
There is a possibility of musical entertainment in the evening. More on that later. Food and beer specials will last all day long (specifics to be announced).
Saturday, November 21
Singer, songwriter, poet and author Misha Feigin offers dinnertime musical entertainment inside the Bank Street Brewhouse from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., with food and beer specials to be announced.
Sunday, November 22
Build-Your-Own Bloody Mary Bar from Noon to 3:00 p.m.
I'm sometimes asked: Why the Bloody Mary?
Because it is a traditional match with beer and beer-based cuisine, and as such, the natural extension of Chef Josh’s kitchen … especially the way NABC does it. In the few short months since its inception, our Build-Your-Own Bloody Mary Bar has been acclaimed as a downtown New Albany institution. Select the spices and ingredients that you'd like, watch as it is served over ice in a 20-ounce NABC pint glass rimmed with your choice of Celery Salt or Smoked Sea Salt, and then finish it off with a skewer of unique garnishes.
Thanks for your support, and we're looking forward to a fine, progressive winter season in New Albany.
18 comments:
congratulations on your brewhouse, I mean that sincerely. I just have one question, did the mayor help brew beer during official office hours? I hardly think that is a good use of tax dollars if he did.
If Dan Coffey started drinking/brewing your kool-aid, I mean beer, would his uncivil antics suddenly be off-limits here at the "community ... that is respectful of the prerequisites of civilized discourse, and that seeks to engage visitors in substantive dialogue."?
I have had several civilized discussions/disagreements "here" about the Mayor and his administration. I have never been told that it is off limits to be critical of the administration. Roger and/or Jeff may disagree, at times, with my arguments but we still manage to get along well.
Eco: That's a question for him, as I'm not in eyesight of the city hall time clock.
Gina: That's cute. Kook-Aid is funnier. If he drank craft beer, I suspect he'd become dapper and civil just like me.
I just have one question, did the mayor help brew beer during official office hours? I hardly think that is a good use of tax dollars if he did.
One of the Mayor’s jobs is to help local businesses flourish. Free symbolic gestures and a little free PR help businesses flourish, whether it’s cutting the ribbon at a new retail store, participating in a gold shoveled “groundbreaking ceremony,” or brewing a batch of local beer. Plus, the Mayor is salaried; he doesn't punch a clock. I doubt this distracted from any other official business.
Roger,
Congratulations to BSB for being selected by the State of Indiana as The 2009 Main Street Business of the Year.
Now that you mention it, you did look dapper today. Must be the coffee you're drinking, too.
Eco, all's fair in attack politics and I know you're sincere in your antipathy to the current officeholder, but that "official hours" inquiry is pretty weak.
New Albanian, I think it's pretty nifty that you withheld the "grand" opening until a time when all the cylinders were firing at the same time. November is filled with grand openings downtown this month - Sweet Stuff, BSB. It's great to see it.
I think it's a sign of extreme confidence (or hubris) that all these new businesses are opening in the fall, by the way. When that cold snap bites and holds on, people huddle inside instead of going out to shop. Yet, nobody waited until spring to open. It says something about the expectations, if not about the sustainability.
No surprise, all you boys passed over my point so you could have a gay huddle and some mutual butt-slapping. Are you finished? Has everyone had their beer?
My point was how do you see NAC now in terms of having a “progressive agenda”? I mean what is your agenda anymore? I seemed to have lost the point recently. If your blog and/or BSB are now the back-room for the city administration, it does bear on your credibility. Your bar-brawl with Coffey et al has become a parody of the civic dysfunction you were railing against a couple short years ago.
what gives...?
As is often the case, I'm not sure who Gina is addressing, as with mentioning the bar brawl with Coffey, which would seem to be directed at Bluegill and not me.
The pivot is here:
If your blog and/or BSB are now the back-room for the city administration, it does bear on your credibility.
"If" - big implications for such a small word. "If" this, "if" that. I believe it would have interested Gina to have heard the speaker at the grocery/food co-op meeting the other night as he replied to one woman's concern that the mere act of selling oranges and avocados from California would render such a progressive project null and void.
The speaker's response, in essence, was this: Ideological purity is just wonderful if you've no intention of actually accomplishing something.
Five years ago, I raged and bitched and moaned at all the fools who couldn't see the way forward. They're still quite prolific among us, but now I try to find those capable of performing some function, any function will do, that remotely serves the cause of progress, and see if something actually might HAPPEN as a result, aware all the while that the capable are a small minority rowing against a fllod tide of ignorance.
Consequently, I find it profoundly bizarre that Gina now seems eager to paint me (us?) as a tool of the administration. Not disappointing, just weird. That's troglodyte crap, and unsupported by the evidence.
Which brings me to a question of my own: Why this thread to pick the fight, Gina?
Hey Gina, do you remember when "alternative music" was really alternative? Then it became all you heard on the radio. So if everyone was doing it, was it really alternative? I see your point. Maybe the wrong thread, but something to keep an eye on, eh?
Daniel, I get your point. I just look at it differently. At some juncture, everyone goes through the learning curve just like the alternative musicians did when they belatedly learned to play their instruments and decided to take a sober look at who was handling the proceeds.
This act of becoming better at what they did was viewed by some as compromising their creativity -- the familiar "sell out" refrain. I don't see it that way. I see it as learning enough about the way things work to have the chance of making an impact. In the case of the musicians, this permitted them to expand their skills, reach new audiences, and have the opportunity to enjoy careers as working musicians.
I can complain about Coffey being re-elected last time from numerous perspectives of outrage and indignation. Conversely, I can help those who are trying to figure out how to turn a couple dozen votes the other way and beat him next time. Or, I can find the three other people living here who want to stage a violent putsch, overthrow the hated England regime, and spend the rest of my life in jail.
I've already given this more than it deserves. Excuse me -- back to business work. Sorry if that crushes the preconceived notions of the last of the purists.
Back to topic...congrats Roger! Beyond the great craft beer, Josh has put together a truly remarkable menu a fact that was noted by the guys from Lost River who were truly impressed with every aspect of BSB and, I daresay, will trek down from Paoli in the near future to try it out again, especially when they can consume beer without fear of falling over their presentation!
Besides, you have brotzeit now! Mrs. Bayern is fired up about that. It seems it might be only BSB or Dueling Grounds for us, she may never let us go anywhere else to eat from here on out...
As long as she understands that the Brotzeit is primarily conceptual ... not Franconian, but rather a point of reference.
I'll try and bring back ideas for Josh after the Bamberg sojourn.
It's probably more that you're calling it brotzeit...she's stated more than once that BSB reminds her of home in a way. The concept of brotzeit is what she enjoys and she just thinks it's cool that there are others who live around here that get it too.
Shit, man. I'm just happy with the beer.
Thanks.
Is there anyone around here that can so concisely get to to the real point, other than Bluegill?
Dear Roger and Jeff (NAC),
If the removal of Dan Coffey will make the all the change NA needs to move forward, then you are on the right track.
But if there are systemic problems, or just no way to find out owing to the lack of transparency and accountability of government, will the jihad against Coffey really change NA?
A good percentage of the city lives in poverty and they elected Coffey and Price to represent them. That is really bad for all of us. But so is living in a town that has a good percentage of poverty. Removing Coffey/Price from the city council, while a step in the right direction, doesn’t address our deepest problems? Do the thousands of households living in poverty here also go away, crime stops, property values magically start rising? Without Coffey & Price will our town see it’s slumlord ways as a thing of the past?
Thanks for articulating your blog mission as it has evolved. I understand your goal is to promote positive things happening in town and remove Coffey from office. Fair enough.
(crickets chirping...)
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