Friday, September 25 is the soft RE-opening for dining inside at NABC Pizzeria & Public House.

Trek to the Deck, 1999.

Think of it as a public service announcement. We did curbside at NABC on Saturday, and if I may say so myself, the Roundhouse was brilliant. Sunday was spent eating leftover pizza and bread sticks. I've emphasized one passage in bold.   

Facebook post 

Well, guess it’s that time of year again, ya know, the one where there was a pandemic & you haven’t had customers in your building for six months?!

Soft opening THIS Friday September 25th on the Pizzeria dining room side.

We will resume our regular carryout service as before meaning customers will call in an order, you’ll be quoted a pick up time only this time you’ll be required to wear a mask upon pick up.

We will continue to be a first come first serve operation with the exception of the “waiting room” being outside the building to encourage physical distancing.

DOORS OPEN at 11am THIS Friday September 25th 2020

PLEASE NOTE our hours of operation have changed for the time being:

Friday & Saturday LUNCH & dinner
11am - 9pm

Monday- Thursday dinner only
3pm - 9pm

Masks must be worn upon entry and only taken off while seated at your space please.

ALL employees will wear masks properly and continuously.

We will be very diligent about cleaning spaces especially after each use.

IF the allotted spaces fill to capacity we will get a cell phone number from you and ask that you wait outside the building.
We will call you as soon as a space is cleaned, sanitized and available!

Operating a restaurant during COVID-19 has been challenging to all of us. We are, thankfully, a popular independent, local, family owned & operated business. We all need each other to make this work.

Please be patient, kind, & respectful to one another. We are doing the best we can do under these circumstances.
Hand washing, mask wearing, & distancing is the key to all of our health.
Be safe & well during pandemic & cold&flu season

RECAP:
11-9 on the weekends Friday & Saturday

3-9 Monday-Thursday

Masks must be worn upon entry and only taken off while seated at your space please.

IF the allotted spaces fill to capacity we will get a cell phone number from you and ask that you wait outside the building.

Roll With It.

At Food & Dining Magazine today I wrote a brief report about the (partial; carryout only) reopening next week of NABC, my former company.

Someone messaged me to ask how this feels.

It's very simple. I spent roughly half my life affiliated with the people, company and building. Those years always will be a part of me. Of course I want them to do well.

Please go back and patronize NABC, beginning next Monday. I'll be doing it.

New Albanian Brewing Company Pizzeria & Public House will reopen on August 10 for carryout only

In July the New Albanian Brewing Company Pizzeria & Public House (3312 Plaza Drive off Grant Line Road, New Albany) celebrated its 33rd anniversary as a family-owned and operated business. NABC is among New Albany’s oldest food and drink purveyors under continuous family ownership, and the brewery (founded 2002) is the 12th oldest in the state of Indiana.

However, NABC “electored” to suspend service on March 28, promising to return when management felt comfortable with safety for patrons and staff amid the pandemic. Now a reopening date of Monday, August 10 has been set for call-ahead curbside carryout only ...

New Albanian Brewing Company looks to reopen on or around the 1st of August.

The post below drew almost 500 likes on Facebook and generated 80-odd comments, almost all of them positive. When you've been around 33 years, making NABC among the oldest continually operating pub businesses in town, that's the way it works.

While I'm no longer a part of NABC, make no mistake: I want them to succeed, and I'm confident they will. After all, 25 of those years included me, and I'm quite proud of what we accomplished in making New Albany a better place.

---

June 30, 2020

The New Albanian Brewing Co. Pizzeria & Pub (aka Sportstime Pizza) was TEMPORARILY closed in late March due to the Covid-19 virus pandemic. We had hoped for better news by now regarding the spread, testing, or vaccinations of this virus but this does not seem to be the case. We are still not satisfied that opening our doors would be in the best interest of our employees or the public. We are all facing unprecedented circumstances and this has not been easy to make business decisions but we are doing our best.

As such, we are announcing that NABC will remain closed for the month of July. Our plan, as of today, is to REOPEN on or around the first of AUGUST.

As you may be aware, we have been working on repairs and maintenance, cleaning, reorganizing and more cleaning since our shut down. Two of the bigger projects have already been completed during this time...a much-needed new roof for the entire complex as well as a new exhaust hood for our pizza oven! There has been some painting in both dining rooms and we have more projects planned during July such as adding a hand washing station in the Arcade, updating sanitation safety measures, updates to our employee handbook, printing new menus that will be easily wipeable, relocating the Gifts Store, installing new thermostats, installing two additional point-of-sale systems to provide less overlap of screen touching by front of house staff, and plans on how to layout the dining areas to provide distance and/or barriers of some sort between diners.

Opening will begin slowly for us not only to control the flow of customer traffic intelligently, safely and realistically, but because it will require quite a bit of time for us to ramp back up to full production of both food and beer. The brewery will take months to get back on track from ingredients ordered to brewing to tank time to tapping. Getting to our normal operational hours will take more time than anyone desires, but we feel it is the best course of action.

We are incredibly grateful for everyone's support, patience and understanding during these times. Please check our Facebook page for any new or updated information near the end of July.

Be safe. Wear a mask if you can. Wash your hands thoroughly and often. Stay physically distant, not socially distant. Hope to see you all soon!

Much Love,
The New Albanian Sisters
AMY&Kate

Gahan issues oblivious economic development proclamation: "We don’t have anything like this. We have a few pinball machines, we have some arcade games."

Listen to the Economic Development engine pencil sharpener get it wrong: Recbar opening second location in downtown New Albany (at WAVE 3).

"We don’t have anything like this. We have a few pinball machines, we have some arcade games, but this will be a concentration of them, and it will serve all ages, even folks like me who remember pinball in the 80s – and Space Invaders."

This will come as a complete surprise to the Super Coin Op Bros and their patrons at NABC's Pizzeria & Public House, where a popular arcade has been up and running for a while now.

Maybe Hizzoner didn't know. Maybe Gahan thinks I still own part of NABC. Maybe the pencil sharpener is taking credit for so many things that have absolutely nothing to do with him that he can't keep track of his vacuous boasts.

But Gahan's assessment is mistaken -- and he owes the Super Coin Op Bros an apology, doesn't he?

THE BEER BEAT: "Dives and hives" in Nawbany, a new brewery coming to Floyds Knobs, and other tales of the drinking life.

It's late notice, but if you're out and about today between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., drop by Donum Dei Brewery (3211 Grant Line Road in New Albany) for Chili Cookoff to Benefit Apron, Inc.

Let's begin with a gratifying round of self-aggrandizement.

Thanks to Sara "Bar Belle" Havens for the name-drop in this survey of "New Albany’s smoky dives and trendy hives" at Insider Louisville.

In the early ’90s, Roger Baylor transformed (NABC Pizzeria Public House) into a craft-beer mecca, long before craft beer was a big thing around here. And since then, it’s been the spot to try all sorts of styles and brands.

Ironically, the release of Sara's article was concurrent with RateBeer's annual list of very best places in America to have a beer, in which the Pizzeria & Public House yet again was named as Indiana's best brewpub (with Keg Liquors Clarksville capturing another "best bottle shop" citation).

Sara's pub crawl also took her to Jack's, Brooklyn and The Butcher and Hugh E. Bir Cafe. Taken as a whole, her wanderings testify to a rich diversity of drinking options in New Albany, and in spite of my own personal trials and travails, I have to admit I'm proud to have played my role in it -- and look forward to doing so again.

THE BEER BEAT: Have a look at this Pints&Union pub buildout progress report.

Speaking of start-ups, I too was surprised to see a brewery coming soon to Floyds Knobs.

A craft beer boom is looming. Keep an eye out for these 7 new breweries opening this year, by Bailey Loosemore (Louisville Courier Journal)

Our Lady of Perpetual Hops

Location: 3815 Paoli Pike, Floyds Knobs

Anticipated opening: Late spring

Introduction: We first heard of this new Southern Indiana brewery earlier this month, and it's already well on its way to capturing our attention.

The brewery will be located on a 10-acre property near the Valley View Golf Club, where four co-owners plan to eventually build an entertainment campus complete with a taproom, restaurant, sand volleyball courts, outdoor deck and beer garden.

The entire campus isn't expected to be finished until spring 2019. But this year, the company plans to open a small taproom and brewery in an existing building at the site.

CEO Robert Pappas, a chemist who owns Essential Oil University, said Our Lady's beers will be unique for the area.

With help from an experienced brewer, the team has created beers that incorporate essential oils to act as a sort of aromatherapy, Pappas said.

Follow the brewery's process on Facebook.

Upon further reflection, I recall discussing a similar idea with Rob (a longtime pub customer) in 2012 or thereabouts; at the time, he was looking at a farm in Starlight near the Huber winery and distillery. The brewer at OLPH is Kyle Richmer, and I'm enthused that the Knobs will be getting in on the game.

For the record, here is the entire list.

1. Falls City Brewing Co., 901 E. Liberty St., NuLu
2. Bluegrass Brewing Co., South Fourth Street and Broadway
3. Wild Hops Brewery, 1001 Logan St.
4. Our Lady of Perpetual Hops, 3815 Paoli Pike, Floyds Knobs
5. False Idol Independent Brewers, 1025 Barret Ave.
6. Against the Grain, 719 Lynn St.
7. Goodwood Brewing Company, Vine Street

As a closer, ignore the author's lapse (these days my beloved Pilsner Urquell is owned by Asahi of Japan, not the MillerCoors leviathan) and feel good about how far beer has come in the States.

Now, all we need to do is make sense of where we've been. I have a feeling this is something that will be occupying much of my time in the near future.

Craft Beer Is the Strangest, Happiest Economic Story in America, by Derek Thompson (City Lab)

Corporate goliaths are taking over the U.S. economy, yet small breweries are thriving. Why?

But what explains the nature of the craft-beer boom? From several interviews with economists and beer-industry experts, I’ve gathered that there appear to be two big reasons—a straightforward cause and a more complex and interesting history.

Monday, Feb. 16: NABC’s Pizzeria & Public House is closed on account of snow.

We haven’t taken a snow day in a while, but this one’s shaping up to be transit-disruptive, so today, Monday, February 16, the Pizzeria & Public House is closed. We expect a Tuesday re-opening, and will keep you informed.

Meanwhile, there is a pot of bean soup on the stove, and a case of Gale's Hard Cider in the pantry. Plenty of books and music. Enjoy it IF you're able, and cheers.

At the Public House, 6:00 p.m.: "Louisville Beer: Derby City History on Draft" book signing with Kevin Gibson.

Thursday, September 25

Louisville Beer: Derby City History on Draft Book Signing with Kevin Gibson

On Thursday, September 25 at NABC’s Pizzeria & Public House, our old friend Kevin Gibson will feature, sell and sign his new book about beer. The gig starts at 6:00 p.m. and lasts until 8:00 p.m., or whenever the stories recede. It is predicted that Kevin will drink beer while doing so.

Gravity Head 2014: Bullet Train to Blackout Town ... program, starting lineup and 14th starter voting information.

In keeping with recent content management resolutions, most Gravity Head blurbs have been posted at the NABC web site, and will continue to be. This is my blog, not the company nerve center -- if in fact we have such a thing. I'll be doing daily lineupdates in 2014 at www.newalbanian.com, not here. Following are the most important links as we approach the 16th liver bruiser. We're also intrigued to offer a Gravity Head event at Bank Street Brewhouse for the very first time.

Vote now for the 14th and final opening day Gravity Head starter.

Gravity Head 2014: The starting lineup.

Gravity Head 2014: The Program.

Schlafly kicks off Gravity Head’s 16th bacchanal on February 28, 2014.

March 2, 2014: Sun King Sunday Sunrise & Gravity Head Brunch at Bank Street Brewhouse.

Brewers Gone Wild: 6 NABC specialties added to 6 Sun Kings for the Sunday Sunrise at BSB on March 2.

Beer Tuesday 3: Coulrophobics rejoice ... the antidote is at hand.

NABC is releasing a special, one-time-only "censored" mystery beer at 5:00 p.m. today. It will be available on draft at both locations; it's a small batch and should last a week or two. You can check at the Facebook events page for further updates today.

We have another beer release this Sunday, and then a birthday on the 31st. Here's the calendar.

---

JANUARY 19 & 20

Old Lightning Rod Day 2014

At Bank Street Brewhouse (19^th) and the Pizzeria & Public House (20^th)

It’s the annual limited release of Old Lightning Rod, NABC’s cult favorite Colonial Dark Ale, honoring the legendary Benjamin Franklin’s birthday. On Monday, January 20, Old Lightning goes on tap at the Pizzeria & Public House. As always, it’s a small batch, so get your pints and growlers while you can.

JANUARY 31

Hoptimus Inception Reception 2014

At Bank Street Brewhouse only

Hoptimus is NABC’s biggest-selling beer in the metro Louisville market, and to celebrate its 8^th birthday, we’re showcasing the everyday recipe with added shadings, courtesy of the boys in the brewhouse: Oaktimus (oak-aged), Chouffetimus (Belgian yeast) and two pins of differently dry-hopped Hoptimus (with Citra and Styrian Celeia).

FEBRUARY 28

Gravity Head 2014: Bullet Train to Blackout Town

At the Pizzeria & Public House only, through March

The 16^th annual Gravity Head is NABC’s celebration of the brewing world’s biggest and best.  Beginning on February 28, and lasting daily throughout March until all the kegs are gone, we’ll be devoting numerous taps to showcasing these rare and sought-after beers, as chosen to exhibit maximum diversity of flavors and stylistic inspiration.

NABC ON THE ROAD: SELECTED FEBRUARY EVENTS

We’ll be on the road for four February samples-only, winter-themed beer festivals. Brewers and sales staff are guaranteed to be present, so if you’re attending one or more of these festivals, come by and say hi.

February 1

Winterfest, by the Brewers of Indiana Guild, held at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis

February 8

Winter Warmer, at Lafayette Brewing Company in Lafayette, Indiana

February 14 and 15

Cincinnati Winter Beer Fest, both nights at the Duke Energy Center in Cincinnati, Ohio (with Cavalier Distributing Ohio)

February 15

Craft Writing: Beer, The Digital, and Craft Culture, a symposium at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky. NABC’s Roger A. Baylor will appear along with other craft beer notables, including Garrett Oliver, Mitch Steele and Stan Hieronymus

February 22

Tailspin Ale Fest, at Bowman Field in Louisville, Kentucky, the city’s first ever winter craft beer showcase

NABC Pizzeria & Public House: On the right side of New Albany street grid history.

NABC Pizzeria & Public House

My two-way street project and how you can help.

Sandkerwa means Anstich? It's that time again

Bamberg, a beautiful city of 75,000 people located in the countryside of the northern German region known as Franconia, has long been recognized as the epicenter of traditional German brewing and beer culture. Around ten breweries operate within the city limits, and as many as 125 others are to be found within the outward radius of a good day’s bicycle ride. The majority of Franconia’s 300 breweries are family owned and operated.

For a half-century, SANDKERWA (SAND-kehr-wa) has been Bamberg’s end-of-summer street festival, one that originated as a church-related commemoration in the historic city’s oldest central district. For six days each year in late August, the Altstadt’s narrow lanes are filled with food, beer and people in a hearty celebration that brings Munich’s better known Oktoberfest to mind, but exists on a less crowded, decentralized and more enjoyably human scale.

Sandkerwa is an idea worth emulating, and Bamberg a state of mind worth honoring, hence Sandkerwa New Albany -- or Sandkerwa NA. The venue is NABC's Pizzeria & Public House (3312 Plaza Drive in New Albany).

Again in 2013, NABC’s original German-themed draft beer fest kicks off a few weeks later than usual to allow for a special delivery of gravity-dispense (Anstich) kegs from breweries in Bamberg and its Franconian hinterlands. But now they're here, and the first Anstich keg will be tapped on Friday, October 4, at 3:00 p.m.

Each one of these Anstich kegs has 40 half-liter (16.9 oz) pours inside it. The plan is to tap one per day according to this schedule. All tapping times are 3:00 p.m. unless noted otherwise.

Friday Oct. 4th
Löwenbräu (Buttenheim) Kellerbier

Saturday Oct. 5th
Weissenohe Bioland Export

Thursday Oct. 10th (tapped at 5:00 p.m.)
Mahr's Ungespundet

Friday Oct. 11th
Weissenohe Monk's Fest

Saturday Oct. 12th
Bayer Theinheim Landbier

Friday Oct. 18th
Weissenohe Zwickel Pils

Saturday Oct. 19th
Mönchsambacher Lagerbier

Friday Oct. 25th
Weissenohe Altfränkisch Klosterbier

Saturday Oct. 26th
Kraus Lager Hell

As many readers will have surmised, once tapped, Anstich kegs will not keep for long, so they'll be priced to sell through in an evening.

---

The Publican on Bamberg, by Roger A. Baylor

In personal terms, my experience with Bamberg dates to 1991, when I visited the Franconian city for the first time. Even before that, there was unmistakable infatuation. I’d read accounts of the city’s beer culture written by the late, great British beer writer Michael Jackson and salivated over his written descriptions of Schlenkerla’s trademark smoked lager.

Long before I tasted it, I knew that Schlenkerla would be an unquestioned, enduring favorite, and my first sip amply confirmed it.

Subsequent encounters with Schlenkerla have not failed to entice and impress, and these half-dozen trips since the first one have confirmed not only that Bamberg is the place to go for smoked lager, an elegant retro-rarity in the world of beer, but furthermore, that the city simply has no serious competition as the finest setting for beer drinking in all of Germany.

The beer is sublime, and available in as many styles and variations as there are taste buds, but the truly priceless aspect of any visit to Bamberg emanates from the opportunity, one unfortunately threatened by the pace of modern life, to comprehensively experience a culture seemingly crafted from only the very best of beer’s numerous virtues.

From the savory and always reasonably priced German cuisine accompanying and complementing my beverage of choice to the city’s many traditional indoor and outdoor drinking and dining venues, Bamberg affords the enhancement of gustatory and olfactory pleasures in a way that larger cities cannot match.

Bamberg’s 75,000 residents enjoy the products of the city’s ten (I'm guessing) remaining breweries (down from as many as two dozen a century ago), and also have the opportunity to sample the selected wares of more than a few of the 125-plus breweries in a fifty-mile radius. Many of these breweries are located in charming small towns tucked away in wooded hills and pastoral valleys radiating outward from Bamberg.

Bamberg and its outlying Franconian environs are to German beer what the Amazon Basin is to species of flora and fauna: A diverse and unfathomable “zymurgo-system,” and a treasure trove of species, many of which are doomed to extinction owing to the relentless march of consumerism and mass-marketing.

In truth, few of these beers equal the mighty Schlenkerla Marzen, the Trum family’s everyday (that’s right, everyday) beer. It is a full-bodied amber lager, and it would be delicious even if it did not burst upon the palate with an assertively smoky flavor deriving from beechwood kilning in the brewery’s micro-malting – a traditional method itself now largely extinct.

But there’s something to be said – and tasted – for each.

Progressive Pint alert: Democrats After Dark.

Even if you're not a Democrat, you can come watch as Democrats drink Progressive Pints, which is never, ever a bad thing.

Democrats After Dark
June 19th, 2013 @ 7:00 p.m.
New Albanian (Sportstime), 3312 Plaza Drive, New Albany

Don't Forget!
Today is Democrats After Dark! Join other members of the Floyd County Democratic Party on at 7:00 p.m. as we meet for our monthly social mixer. It's a perfect time to connect with like-minded friends and let off a little steam during a hectic work week.

June's event will be at a new location - The New Albanian (Sportstime) located at 3312 Plaza Drive in New Albany.
Don't miss an opportunity to enjoy good food, fellowship and fun at Democrats After Dark! All that's missing is you!
Paid for by the Floyd County Democratic Central Committee
Adam Dickey Chairman ~ Shane Gibson, Treasurer

Aching feet, pounding heads: NABC's event schedule for the remainder of June.

During the course of the year, there are three primary NABC businesses: The Pizzeria & Public House (3312 Plaza Drive); Bank Street Brewhouse (415 Bank Street); and the combined brewing operation occurring at both locations.

As the following list illustrates, in summertime a fourth whole effort gears up. It's the all-purpose umbrella title of "events season," which requires quite a lot of planning and manpower. It includes setting up accounts at venues (Dubois County Bombers, Derby City Roller Girls); catering (Bicentennial Park concert series, last week's Culbertson Mansion Garden Party); and pouring samples at beer geek gatherings (Fishers on Tap).

The list doesn't include hosting my 35th high school reunion on Friday the 28th at Bank Street Brewhouse, or the music we're planning at Lloyd's Landing (at BSB) beginning on June 29th.

NABC now has more than 60 full- and part-time employees working at their various jobs at our on-premise locations, and during events season, it takes each of them to accomplish all of the event commitments -- some by holding the bricks 'n' mortar forts, others by volunteering to stage or pour. We manage to keep most of the balls in the air. It could not be done without our workers, so cheers to them.

Now through the end of June:

NABC at this summer’s Bicentennial Concert Series, on Fridays from June 7 through August

Once again, NABC is on tap for Dubois County Bombers home games, all season long

June 8 & 9: Elector & Tafel at the 7th Annual Art on the Parish Green

NABC’s lineup for Zoo Brew 2013 (Saturday, June 8) at Mesker Park in Evansville

Derby City Roller Girls home bout this Saturday, June 8

Smokin’ on the River with BBQ and craft beer (June 14 & 15)

NABC reminds you about Music at the Mount on June 15

NABC at Fishers on Tap, June 15

Carnival Barker’s Blog: NABC at Exclusively New Albany on June 20

The 2013 “Art Walk During & After Party” is at Bank Street Brewhouse on June 22

The Waterfront Challenge: Race, Drink, Dance, Party and Black & Blue Grass on Saturday, June 22

NABC at Brew-Ha-Ha, the annual Phoenix Theatre benefit

Black & Blue Grass for Brandi Carlile at the Iroquois Amphitheater on Sunday, June 23

This transitional weekend, it's session, not sledgehammer.

I’m in my sixth decade, and my body reacts differently these days to the excesses of my profession. American craft brewing has excelled in the creation of highly alcoholic genre classics, including Imperial India Pale Ale, Barley Wine and Quadrupel, and while I still adore these styles, increasingly my palate turns to an evening’s reasonable sustainability, in the form of session beers. The Pennsylvania-based beer writer Lew Bryson is the founder of the Session Beer Project, and he provides these helpful parameters.

Session beers are:

► under 4.5% alcohol by volume
► flavorful enough to be interesting -- no light beers, please
► balanced enough for multiple pints
► conducive to conversation
► reasonably priced

In brief, low-alcohol, but not low-taste. It's deliberately vague. The great thing about session beers, especially the ones that come in under 3.5%, is that you can enjoy several beers, and still have a BAC of under 0.04.

At NABC, Gravity Head is winding down, and Session Head is here. In a nutshell, the weekend NABC schedule looks like this.

Gravity Head Fan Appreciation Night
Friday, April 5 at the Pizzeria & Public House
The handful of remaining Gravity Head listed selections will continue to be tapped and poured, but we're on the downward arc. On Friday, April 5, all Gravity Head listed selections currently on tap will be priced as specials, all day long.

Session Head 2013
Starts Saturday, April 6 at the Pizzeria & Public House
Officially, Session Beer Day is on Sunday, but NABC is starting early on Saturday with Session Head. Consider it the polar opposite of Gravity Head; instead of small pours of big beers, it's full pours of small beers. The list is here, along with the session beer philosophy. Read, absorb, and act. Hoops junkies already know that the University of Louisville's game begins around 6:00 p.m. If the Cardinals advance to the final game on Monday, and even it they don't, it will be shown at the Pizzeria & Public House (Bank Street Brewhouse is closed on Mondays).

Session Beer Day 2013
Sunday, April 7 at Bank Street Brewhouse
We'll observe Session Beer Day at Bank Street Brewhouse, with our weekly Sunday brunch (prime rib and the omelette station on the first Sunday of the month) and NABC session series pints on special throughout the day.

Links
More on Session Beer Day at Lew Bryson's Session Beer Project site
NABC's session observance preview at Session Beer Project
Session Beer Day 2013 at the Beermebartender blog
For a contrarian viewpoint, there's always Joe Sixpack (Don Russell) in Philly

Red Room redux: Welcome to genocidal grammar and tyrannical misspelling.

I never cease to be amused by the era of lunacy empowerment, and this sort of trolling seems to be happening with more frequency since last year's election, suggesting that one tormented person is responsible for multiple comments under different names.

"Manny" uses the words "shrine" and "idolized," as did the previous offended party, to whom I forwarded a prompt reply and received no response or acknowledgement. That's because the last thing he wants is dialogue ... and that's because thinking is so very hard.

"Manny" sent no e-mails, unless he botched the .com address; even dud newalbanian.com addresses are forwarded to me for examination.

Worst of all, having selected Yelp as platform for sharing his dullardry with a mass audience, "Manny" files his one-star review under Bank Street Brewhouse, while the supposed "shrine" to which he refers is at our Grant Line location.

Yep, we're all experts now. Even when we don't know Jack Schitt.

RateBeer users declare NABC's Pizzeria & Public House the top brewpub in Indiana.

Congratulations to our comrades in the list above. Metro Louisville is an under-rated craft beer destination, and both Indiana and Kentucky are exploding in terms of craft beer in the hinterlands. It's an exciting time to be in the business.

It's true that 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 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 pertaining to the "best of" anything.

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

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. This will do, at least for now.

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.

A word from our sponsor (sort of): What's happening at NABC.

Over the next month and a half, the New Albanian Brewing Company will be completely revamping the main company website. In the interim, www.newalbanian.com remains accurate insofar as basic information, menus, hours and routines at the Pizzeria & Public House and Bank Street Brewhouse are concerned. 

At the Pizzeria & Public House, we’re gearing up for Gravity Head 2013. The 15th edition of Gravity Head begins on Friday, February 22. Here is a mid-January update.

At BSB, the WCTU Reading Room gradually is being outfitted, and work can begin soon on Lloyd’s Landing, our evolving outdoor seating and events area. On Sundays, Bank Street's brunch, build-your-own Bloody Mary bar and carryout growler sales are unchanged, as is the strength of Chef Matt Weirich's menu.

Meanwhile, NABC’s beer and brewery event calendar is filling, even this early in the year.

NABC's core lineup for distribution in 2013 is stable: Black & Blue Grass, Elector, Hoptimus and (at present) Hoosier Daddy. Naughty Girl comes back on board in April. Beak's Best and Bob's Old 15-B are available to outside accounts on request.  

As for seasonal our beer releases, Solidarity Baltic Porter currently is pouring at both NABC locations, and because this year’s 22-oz bomber bottling of Solidarity was limited, bottles are available ONLY at the Pizzeria & Public House and Bank Street Brewhouse.

Draft-only Old Lightning Rod (Benjamin Franklin's Colonial-style dark ale) also now is on tap at both NABC locations. ConeSmoker is next to come on line, probably between now and Super Bowl. After that, there is Bonfire of the Valkyries, which has been brewed and is maturing. Bonfire will be kegged for distribution.

As a final note: NABC will soon be shipping 22-oz “bomber” bottles into Ohio via Cavalier Distributing Ohio. We're more than happy to be working with old friends at Cavalier Ohio. 

Here is a quick look at the company calendar.

The Brewers of Indiana Guild holds an annual indoor festival at the state fairgrounds; here is NABC's beer lineup at Winterfest in Indianapolis, coming on Saturday, January 26.

The Varanese/NABC beer dinner is Thursday, February 7, and I'm particularly excited about this opportunity because Varanese is a personal favorite among Louisville's many fine restaurants.

The tradition of NABCieged tap takeovers continues at Four Pegs Beer Lounge on Thursday, February 7.

It's rare to have even one cask-conditioned beer paired with food, and rarer still for the pairing to be on a romantic holiday, but ConeSmoker and Hoosier Daddy are on the menu for Valentine's Day at the Garage Bar in NuLu (Thursday, February 14).

Note that the year's first quarterly Food and Dining magazine (February/March/April) is just about due to be published. My column in the coming edition is about six craft beer trends to watch in 2013. 

Lastly, my two most recent columns at LouisvilleBeer.com, with another on the way next week:

"Getting Our Shift Together."

"Take It Off! Take It Off!" 

NABC's 70+ employees thank our patrons, and we all wish you a great year to come. 

ON THE AVENUES: You can call me Che.

ON THE AVENUES: You can call me Che.

A weekly web column by Roger A. Baylor.

Do you ever get the feeling you’re being watched?

The sensation of which I speak isn’t an irrational state like paranoia, which in the case of our New Albanian milieu is a condition monopolized to such an impressive degree by the founder of the Cracked Kitchen Linoleum Blog that it might as well be patented as a brand name – perhaps Yvonnanoia?

No, what I mean is the suspicion that you’re being toyed with, prompted and set up, suddenly confronted with a situation so weirdly surreal that a hidden camera surely must be aimed your way, primed to capture your dumbfounded, flailing reaction for speedy editing into a video, and posting on YouTube, where it will be greeted virally with the guffaws of the uneducated, addled masses.

My former manager at Scoreboard Liquors must have felt this way on that infamous day thirty years ago when a stranger walked in, pointed at the door to the rear office, and asked, “Do you mind if I go back there and change my pants?”

YouTube obviously didn’t exist back then, but Lloyd “Duck” Cunningham’s unprintable reply would have played well on Candid Camera, with Allen Funt suffering the brunt of the beeped-out epithets.

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As the first week of the New Year unfolded, my inbox disgorged a question.

A little while ago I noticed there was a room that had pictures of several mass murdering, genocidal, tyrannical dictators on the walls. As a customer what meaning should I take from that? In my opinion it seems to show support from the owner of New Albania of these tyrants?

I enjoy the pizza at NABC but I don't enjoy the thought of supporting someone that idolized people like the pictures and posters you seem to proudly display. Maybe I misunderstand their meaning.

My initial reaction was anger: Who’d gone and pulled down my Commie posters, and replaced them with fascists like Hitler, Mussolini and Idi Amin? Then I realized he was referring to Red Room stalwarts like Lenin, Castro and Gus Hall. Well, fair enough, because it all depends on where you’re standing.

Here’s what I told him in reply.

It isn’t necessarily a misunderstanding on your part, but what I can tell you with certainty is that there is no idolatry on mine.

I remain a leftist, broadly speaking, and I traveled in the East Bloc and USSR as a young man in the 1980s, but while I found these countries fascinating from a number of standpoints, they were not places where I ever wished to live.

Your question is asked every now and then, and my answer always has been the same: The Red Room means whatever the observer wishes for it to mean: Kitschy poster art emporium, as spoils of Cold War victory or a shrine of reverence.

However, the primary intent for me is for it to serve as a talking point to help keep a piece of still-recent history living, in the sense that with each passing year, fewer (mostly younger) customers have any idea what the era even was about.

The verdict of history is fairly clear when it comes to the legacy of Stalin and Mao, and I have confidence that interested parties will reach that conclusion, as you and I surely have. But they must first be interested, and motivated to investigate. In my view, the Red Room periodically serves that purpose.

To the best of my knowledge, the preceding explanation is true. As for what I might have been thinking twenty years ago with regard to the space now known as the Red Room, it’s also true that my prime motivation at the time was to have a place to display the many period propaganda pieces hauled home from travels abroad. One thing led to another, and there it was.

I’m the first to admit there is as little to idolize on Stalin’s part as Hitler’s, but to repeat, the point lies elsewhere. Now that decades have passed and the older generations have departed, precious little discussion takes place about the “-isms” dominating the entirety of the 20th century … and sorry tea-baggers, but loud ranting amid voluminous spittle about communism in the context of “Obamacare” does not suffice as earnestness.

Forgetting history begets repeating it, as either Santayana or Carlos Santana once said. It is my intention not to do so.

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But my favorite example of work- and history-related consumer behavior occurred not at the Public House, but at Bank Street Brewhouse not long after we opened in 2009.

One of our servers was asked to explain Roger’s political beliefs in light of the red stars and leftist images on the shiny new brewing equipment visible just past the window.

Our man on the floor at the time, who’d studied some history and poli-sci, made a game effort to interpret these complex threads of geopolitics, economics and the art of brewing, and to phrase them in snappy sentences reproducible on bumper stickers for a Lexus, and yet the customer remained unimpressed, writing this on his charge card receipt:

“Tell your Commie boss to share the wealth.”

In order to accentuate his displeasure with my cheeky political proclivities, this rather boorish scion of an identifiably Falangist regional family left the gratuity column empty, thus stiffing the server while doing me no harm whatever.

Classy.

Not only that, but the customer was utterly mistaken; in fact, I share the wealth of my knowledge every day, as teachers are wont to do, and in this vein, permit me to repeat my advice to the server should such a question ever be asked again:

“We don’t care what sort of ‘ist’ Roger is, just as long as he keeps signing our paychecks.”

Old Lightning Rod Day is Wednesday, January 16, at both NABC locations.

For 2013, Old Lightning Rod Day moves to Wednesday, January 16, which is the day before Benjamin Franklin's actual birth date of January 17 (in 1706).

Old Lightning Rod

Let thy discontents be thy secrets

NABC'S annual January release commemorating the birthday of Benjamin Franklin, Old Lightning Rod is a throwback strong ale from Colonial American times, incorporating “triangular” molasses as an adjunct, and encapsulating Franklin’s sly founding wisdom.

The sole annual release of NABC's dark, rich Colonial-era tribute ale will be on draft at both on-premise locations (Pizzeria & Public House and Bank Street Brewhouse) on the 16th. There'll be no bottles, and draft usually evaporates in a matter of days. There's be no limitations on growler fills. You also can also look for samples of Old Lightning Rod at NABC's kiosk during the Brewers of Indiana Guild Winterfest in Indianapolis on Saturday, January 26.

Here's the back story.

Benjamin Franklin was a multi-talented Colonial-era creative legend who brewed beer and drank beer. In his writings, Franklin referred to various types of ale and concluded that its consumption was healthy in moderation – an observation with which modern medical science concurs.

What did these ales of old taste like?

Seven years ago, as part of a nationwide promotion on the occasion of the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary, NABC’s brewers tweaked a Colonial-era recipe provided to members of the Brewer Association, and the result was our first ever batch of Old Lightning Rod. We've repeated the experiment every year since, and the ale keeps tasting better and better.

NABC Pizzeria (sans Public House) open 11 - 5 on New Year's Eve.

The NABC Pizzeria (sans Public House; pizza side only) will be open on Monday, December 31 (New Year's Eve), from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Last call and kitchen closing will be at 4:30 p.m., and all NABC drafts will be on special, including Hoosier Daddy, which is appropriate seeing that Indiana University opens Big 10 play on Monday afternoon.

Both the Pizzeria/Public House and Bank Street Brewhouse will be closed on January 1 (New Year's Day), reopening on Wednesday, January 2. Note that on Wednesday, Bank Street Brewhouse will open at 2:00 p.m.

Speaking personally: Thanks to all of you who make NABC possible. We appreciate it, and we're looking forward to a great 2013.