It's 30 years in the books; let the historical revisionism begin.

Special thanks to my wife Diana, to my friend and attorney Lisa Fleming, and to Stock Yards Bank & Trust for doing what MainSource Bank wouldn't.

And now, my special guests ...

Previously: THE BEER BEAT: At long last, my NABC business divorce is about to be finalized.

THE BEER BEAT: At long last, my NABC business divorce is about to be finalized.

Three years ago on this very day (February 26, 2015), I began letting go.

Media notice: Roger A. Baylor will take a leave of absence from NABC to run for mayor of New Albany.

Consequently, the first of many transitions on the path to come begins today. Effective immediately, I’m taking a leave of absence from the New Albanian Brewing Company (NABC), so as to devote my full attention to the campaign for mayor.

Five-odd months later, with a bit more time to think things over, the leave of absence became permanent.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

After a quarter century, Roger Baylor will move on from New Albanian Brewing Company, by Kevin Gibson (Insider Louisville)

... Roger Baylor, well known for his long career in beer and brewing, is now running for mayor of New Albany. If he wins, that will be his new focus. If not, well, he’ll look for another path to follow. Either way, his position as the public face of New Albanian has come to an end. He already had announced he would step away if he won the election — instead, he’s moving on ahead of the decision. It was simply time, he says.

As is my habit, I started trying to explain myself.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015

A future mayor? An ex-brewery owner? 30 years later, there's another fork in the road, and I'm pumped.

Thirty years ago, I closed my eyes wide shut and jumped -- not so sure where or even if I'd land, but firm in the realization that I needed to do something to change my life.

Of course, NOTHING IN MY LIFE IS EVER SIMPLE.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016

Another twist in the Great NABC Non-Buyout Saga 2016.

Today was a landmark of sorts in the history of the New Albanian Brewing Company. It's the last time I'll mention it, at least for a while. I've always tried to be transparent in these matters, and see no reason to stop at this late date ...

... Last summer, I announced my intent to sell my shares in both businesses to my two business partners, in the hope that negotiations with them in good faith prior to activating the provisions of our buy/sell agreement might keep a few dollars out of the hands of attorneys.

Unfortunately, these negotiations have not amounted to much, and in order to protect my interests, I have not yet initiated the timetable according to the mechanism specified in the buy/sell. This means that I remain 1/3 owner/shareholder in both businesses. In short, I continue to enjoy the all risks of ownership without any commensurate rewards.

And then another year and a half passed.

FRIDAY, JUNE 16, 2017

THE BEER BEAT: The timeless wisdom of Dean Kay and Kelly Gordon.

It's colossally sad, and you wish it were possible for there to be a "do over," but there isn't, and in the end, that's life.

There's no sense in being bitter about things or people or feelings over which you have no control. When you know in your heart that you did your fair share, and your fair share mattered when it came to creating considerable value from absolutely nothing, then it really isn't about money, pride or reputation. It just is, and they can't take that away from you.

Now it's 2018, and tomorrow morning -- three years after I followed Dr. Freedman's advice to pull down my pants and slide on the ice -- my ass is FROZEN SOLID, and a bit chapped, but the exit transaction finally will be complete.

Just like that, 28 years (plus a couple of months, in all) of affiliation with NABC and its precursors officially will be put to rest. This is the same length of time that Bill Champlin was a member of Chicago (the band), but perhaps a better analogy is Peter Cetera, whose hit songs have been sung by a succession of replacement singers for more than three decades.

At least Cetera has enjoyed songwriting royalties. I'm settling for farthings and eternal notoriety, and if I'm lucky, everyone who ever said they'd buy me a beer now can join the queue at their earliest convenience.

As many readers already know, a new project has been gestating during this time of self-imposed exile. In some ways, I'm glad the process took so long. This allowed time to do much thinking, and to reconnect with Joe Phillips.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018

THE BEER BEAT: The twentieth Gravity Head begets a Pints & Union update.

Here's an update about the emerging Pints & Union project.

I learned a hell of a lot those first 25 years at NABC, and perhaps even more during the past three away from it. The time has come to put all of it to use. In addition to partnering with Joe at the pub, I'll continue to write, and to perform periodic free-lance beer advocacy.

It's time.

Thanks to everyone, and especially Diana. She's my rock, and her patience has been otherworldly.

THE BEER BEAT: This iconic (and ironic) photo of Dan Canon and Rosa L. Stumblebus.

In spite of the many reasons that seeing this photo might annoy me, only one of which pertains to the candidate himself, I can't convey my pleasure in seeing it continually pop up during coverage of Dan Canon's congressional campaign.

The photo dates to Canon's campaign kickoff party in July at the downtown NABC location, whatever it's being referred to these days.

Dan Canon, (D) Civil Rights Attorney for IN-09, by Jordan Valerie Allen (Millennial Politics)

Jordan Valerie spoke with Dan Canon on the podcast about his candidacy, America’s racist criminal justice system, and some of his more controversial opinions. Make sure to follow Dan Canon on Twitter @dancanon, like him on Facebook, and check out his website.

It's only been a few months, so please forgive  me for repeating a few paragraphs from July 8 -- and no, not yet. Is Clarence Darrow still practicing?

---

THE BEER BEAT: Dan Canon and the welcome return of progressive thinking at NABC.

I was in Chicago on Thursday, doing my little bit for Anglo-American relations, or else I would have walked down Spring Street to my former beer joint to toast Dan Canon and his congressional run on the occasion of his well-attended kickoff party -- although actually the words "former beer joint" won't be 100% accurate until the deal is done and a check is written.

For those readers who've been asking for an update: Two years later, and no, not yet.

Apart from all this, I'm sincerely delighted to see progressive politics return to Bank Street Brewhouse, which since my absence has been renamed the NABC Cafe & Brewhouse. You'll understand it's difficult for me to think of it other than BSB, founded to further to cause of Progressive Pints.

Somewhere along the way, the ghosts of Lord Cornwallis' musicians struck up the tune.

The serving men doe sit and whine, and thinke it long ere dinner time:
The Butler's still out of the way, or else my Lady keeps the key,
The poor old cook, in the larder doth look,
Where is no goodnesse to be found,
Yet let's be content, and the times lament, you see the world turn'd upside down.

So it was that back in 2015, during my indie campaign for mayor, I was expressly forbidden by my business partners from hosting campaign events. I was told that we simply had to keep politics out of the business.

Consequently, I'm terribly envious of Dan for his signage on Rosa, the draft truck (shown above).

In 2015, she was off-limits to my stylish pirate logo, in spite of it being hard to imagine a better place for a skull and crossbones than a vehicle named for a legendary activist -- nay, Marxist, just like the fellow whose triptych is the single most famous feature of the Red Room at the Public House.

Noting that I'm a shop floor kind of guy, know that I've never doubted the political instincts and integrity of NABC's staff and crew. They've always gotten it, even when the owners didn't, and I'll always appreciate their support.

Ironically, my partners weren't ever concerned that a lefty progressive like me would chase away local Republican customers, most of whom converse freely with me whether or not we agree on politics.

Rather, they were terrified of retaliation from the local social and civic favors club known as Let's Pretend We're Democrats, for whom the emerging Canon candidacy might be the most entertaining litmus test in all recorded history.

The floor show begins ... now, as Chairman Dickey gathers together Jeff Gahan, Bob Caesar, Brad Striegel, Warren Nash and ... that newbie Canon guy ... in one forced photo-op of a loving embrace.

They're all Democrats, right?

Well, in name only. It simply cannot be that Canon and the likes of Caesar both are Democrats, at least without them or me or all of us doing heavy drugs, and there's something in so very instructive (not to mention blatantly hypocritical) herein about NA's perennial political dysfunction that I really have no choice left but to continue drinking heavily and waiting for a check in the mail ...

SNIP

 ... Most importantly of all, welcome back to the real participatory local world, NABC. I missed your political consciousness these past two years. It was something I'd taken for granted. Maybe it will survive without me, after all.

THE BEER BEAT: Dan Canon and the welcome return of progressive thinking at NABC.

I was in Chicago on Thursday, doing my little bit for Anglo-American relations, or else I would have walked down Spring Street to my former beer joint to toast Dan Canon and his congressional run on the occasion of his well-attended kickoff party -- although actually the words "former beer joint" won't be 100% accurate until the deal is done and a check is written.

For those readers who've been asking for an update: Two years later, and no, not yet.

Apart from all this, I'm sincerely delighted to see progressive politics return to Bank Street Brewhouse, which since my absence has been renamed the NABC Cafe & Brewhouse. You'll understand it's difficult for me to think of it other than BSB, founded to further to cause of Progressive Pints.

Somewhere along the way, the ghosts of Lord Cornwallis' musicians struck up the tune.

The serving men doe sit and whine, and thinke it long ere dinner time:

The Butler's still out of the way, or else my Lady keeps the key,

The poor old cook, in the larder doth look,

Where is no goodnesse to be found,

Yet let's be content, and the times lament, you see the world turn'd upside down.

So it was that back in 2015, during my indie campaign for mayor, I was expressly forbidden by my business partners from hosting campaign events.

I was told that we simply had to keep politics out of the business.

Consequently, I'm terribly envious of Dan for his signage on Rosa, the draft truck (shown above).

In 2015, she was off-limits to my stylish pirate logo, in spite of it being hard to imagine a better place for a skull and crossbones than a vehicle named for a legendary activist -- nay, Marxist, just like the fellow whose triptych is the single most famous feature of the Red Room at the Public House.

Noting that I'm a shop floor kind of guy, know that I've never doubted the political instincts and integrity of NABC's staff and crew. They've always gotten it, even when the owners didn't, and I'll always appreciate their support.

Ironically, my partners weren't ever concerned that a lefty progressive like me would chase away local Republican customers, most of whom converse freely with me whether or not we agree on politics.

Rather, they were terrified of retaliation from the local social and civic favors club known as Let's Pretend We're Democrats, for whom the emerging Canon candidacy might be the most entertaining litmus test in all recorded history.

The floor show begins ... now, as Chairman Dickey gathers together Jeff Gahan, Bob Caesar, Brad Striegel, Warren Nash and ... that newbie Canon guy ... in one forced photo-op of a loving embrace.

They're all Democrats, right?

Well, in name only. It simply cannot be that Canon and the likes of Caesar both are Democrats, at least without them or me or all of us doing heavy drugs, and there's something in so very instructive (not to mention blatantly hypocritical) herein about NA's perennial political dysfunction that I really have no choice left but to continue drinking heavily and waiting for a check in the mail.

Best wishes to Dan Canon, and if I'm ever bought out, some of the cash is coming to your campaign. It may even happen before your second or third term in Congress.

Meanwhile, I'll do whatever is in my limited power to help Dan get elected, and conversely, also do whatever I must to defeat local poseur Democrats of the strictly theoretical variety who merely masquerade as progressives.

Now that Canon's on the scene, I've a coherent, principled platform to compare to theirs, not to mention his solid record of action in advocating for social justice, not just making vague non-binding gestures about it.

Most importantly of all, welcome back to the real participatory local world, NABC. I missed your political consciousness these past two years. It was something I'd taken for granted. Maybe it will survive without me, after all.

THE BEER BEAT: The timeless wisdom of Dean Kay and Kelly Gordon.

Day 667. A reader asks, and I answer: No, not yet. 

When you were immersed in the day to day, it was never enough.

The critique was constant. Your work was irrelevant; for all the good it was doing, you might as well have been washing dishes rather than thinking and teaching.

Finally you took the abundant hints and stepped off the merry-go-round, only to be nickel-and-dimed into oblivion because now you're a quitter. You find it difficult to address all this publicly, because you can see that the behavior currently being directed against you can be explained by the same behavior once directed against them.

It's colossally sad, and you wish it were possible for there to be a "do over," but there isn't, and in the end, that's life.

There's no sense in being bitter about things or people or feelings over which you have no control. When you know in your heart that you did your fair share, and your fair share mattered when it came to creating considerable value from absolutely nothing, then it really isn't about money, pride or reputation. It just is, and they can't take that away from you.

Thus, today's mantra: Can I get a shrug?

I hope this answers your question.

ON THE AVENUES: A stern side view of Gravity Head, nineteen times over.

ON THE AVENUES: A stern side view of Gravity Head, nineteen times over.

A weekly column by Roger A. Baylor.

Before the drinking starts, let’s return to the analogy of a ship leaving the dock and making for open water.

This was something we experienced first-hand just last year aboard a big Baltic ferry, first leaving Tallinn for Helsinki, then again on the trip back later the same day.

At night, the specific sensation might be described as lights fading, but by day it is the gradual disappearance of land as the ship moves farther away from shore. Depending on the weather and the strength of one’s eyesight, there comes a split second when land no longer is visible. It’s a melancholy feeling, like the place itself has ceased to exist apart from the imagination.

From this point forward, until the next port of call begins slowly to materialize past the bow, the journey becomes synonymous with the undulating rhythm of the sea. In 2016, our trip was a loop, as we returned to Tallinn after a lovely day in the Finnish capital. In 1985, when the ferry to Italy finally left Corfu and the Albanian coastline well behind, my 24-year-old self was pondering exactly when I’d visit Greece next.

It hasn’t happened yet. Maybe soon. If possible, I’d really like to do it the same way, by sea, from Italy … and close the circle.

Similarly, most aspects of business ownership that consumed my daily existence for a quarter-century – the good, the bad, the drunk and the sublime – finally have dissolved into distant invisible headlands. Now it’s just the rocking of the waves, and one really important question.

Where’s this damned boat going, anyway?

I’ll let you know when something comes into focus on the horizon. Only then will the chorus erupt with a sturdy “Land ho!” Will the anchor be dropped, or not?

We'll see.

---

Comes that ancestral imperative time again.

When Gravity Head calls, familiar space and time continuums are briefly altered. Normal routines appear Byzantine by comparison. Life’s infinite horizons narrow. On reverts to existence by the hour, or minute by minute. Passing through the looking glass is boring by comparison.

As for the fest’s actual commencement on Friday morning, once the opening bell sounds there is a collective observance of Sidney Freedman’s immortal dictum from television’s M*A*S*H:

“Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice - pull down your pants and slide on the ice.”

Gravity Head might be staged differently, but as they pertain to what unexpectedly has become a bona fide tradition, an array of minor and often weirdly eccentric points adds up to a greater sum.

It’s just another beer fest, and yet it’s more, and decidedly unique. From the very start, when it was decided to have a second Gravity Head in 2000, no one had any idea what the “proper” way of running a beer festival was supposed to be. Conventional wisdom completely eluded us, for which I remain grateful.

The aim was, and remains, to provide regular pub customers and locally-based friends with as many opportunities as possible to taste an array of special beers over a period of time – at least a month, and usually longer.

That’s the sum of it.

The beers never have been served all at once. They unfold in waves over a period of weeks. There are no flights, because flights imply a “right” to taste them all. Rather, the desired end is for folks to taste a few, and then return another time and taste a few more. Not too many at once, of course, because they’re strong.

Gravity Head’s opening day has become somewhat of a scrum, and a singular tradition all its own. Folks seem content with the interior logic occurring at the fest’s beginning, but this isn’t what every celebrant looks forward to experiencing each year.

Rather, there’ll inevitably be a quiet Tuesday night on the second or third week, with a handful of friends, and leisurely, contemplative sipping of one or two quality libations, spiced with conversation. These are the precious moments that lead to feelings of timelessness.

And without timelessness, beer is far less interesting to me.

---

The 19th edition of Gravity Head begins tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. at NABC’s Pizzeria & Public House. The brewery partner for the opening day tap takeover in 2017 is Dark Horse Brewing Company from Michigan, of whom I know too little, though the starting lineup looks as solid as ever.

GRAVITY HEAD 2017 STARTING LINEUP

Cascade The Vine (2015) 9.73%
Dark Horse Barrel Aged Plead the Fifth 12.00%
Dark Horse Bourbon Barrel Scotty Karate 9.75%
Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree (2016) 12.00% * JUST ADDED*
Dark Horse Plead the Fifth (2015) 11.00%
Dark Horse Sapient Trip Ale (2016) 9.50%
Dark Horse Scotty Karate (2014) 9.75%
Dogfish Head Fort 18.00%
North Coast XIX Barrel Aged Old Rasputin 11.20%
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot (2011) 9.60%
Stone Xocoveza 8.10%

As an aside, last year’s Gravity Head honoree was Stone Brewing Company. I’ve always had a soft spot in my teeny-weeny, Grinch-sized heart for Stone, and especially its co-founder and CEO, Greg Koch, who visited the Pizzeria & Public House in 2007 while touring the Midwest.

For Gravity Head 2016, I’d already gotten the ball rolling with Stone’s then-regional sales representative Mark Kocher, but by the end of the year, Mark was gone from Stone, along with other longtime brewery personnel in an internal “rationalization” borne of an expensive international expansion effort. It was a harbinger of sorts.

Coincidentally or not, numerous other figures of note in “craft” brewing circles made similar professional exits last year, voluntary or otherwise, ranging from Mitch Steele (the brewer, from Stone) to Dan Kopman (the part-owner, from Schlafly). My seven years as a director on the board of the Brewers of Indiana Guild came to a necessary end, too, and I miss it.

Combined with the many “craft” breweries purchased in 2016 by multinational conglomerates, these various developments suggest to me that the original dynamism of the “craft” segment, while still intact in many artistic and creative ways, gradually is yielding to the deadening reshaping tendencies of capitalism as we tend to tolerate it.

As a revolutionary, I was hoping for better. As an exceedingly reluctant capitalist, it’s no longer a comfortable place for me.

---

I never got around to attending Gravity Head opening weekend in 2016, and my consecutive year streak of liver damage ended at 17. It didn’t faze me at the time, though in retrospect, I feel equal measures of annoyance and regret having missed the chance for what would have been a final Gravity Head toast with my friend Kevin Richards, who died unexpectedly last fall. Gravity Head 2017 simply cannot be the same without him.

Part of the reason for my absence last year was pique, pure and simple. At the time, it was starting to become clear that my payout for a quarter-century of business ownership likely would be calculated at pennies on the dollar, if even that.

However, now it is twelve months later, and I’ve done my best to make peace with the past, hence my advice to one and all: If given the choice between cash and infamy, choose the latter. Money comes and goes; notoriety is forever.

The buyout saga began in earnest in late 2015, and (finally) I believe a resolution is coming soon, as early as next month. I’ll be absorbing a vicious metaphorical beating, and a financial one as well, but true freedom isn’t ever free.

Meanwhile, by all accounts Gravity Head 2016 proceeded just as it had before, and I have every reason to believe it will perform in 2017 according to the same trajectory, exactly as it always has. In a tremendous exception to standard operating procedure, I managed to arrange the beer program succession quite intelligently, and my protégés at NABC constantly make me proud.

For those about to rock, I salute you.

At the precise moment of writing, I’m not sure whether I’ll make Gravity Head this coming weekend. As divulged yesterday, my mother’s health is uncertain, and it doesn’t strike me as the best time to debilitate myself with Imperial Stouts and Barley Wines. Besides, I’ve evolved into a session-strength advocate, intent on challenging the new orthodoxy.

It’s always something, or so I’m told.

Once upon a time Gravity Head was my idea, and now it’s no longer about me, assuming it ever was. Gravity’s the law, and it’s bigger than you and me. Feel free to go forth these next few gravity-laden weeks and propagate daddy’s scant pension fund – and while you’re at it, have one for … no, not me, but Kevin Richards.

He absolutely would have done the same for you. Cheers, mate. Of all the eras seemingly passing into mist beyond the stern as we navigated 2016, his loss still affects me the most.

(Variations of this column have appeared previously.)

---

Recent columns:

February 16: ON THE AVENUES: In 2014 as in 2015, then 2016, now 2017 ... yes, it's the "Adamite Chronicles: Have muzzle, will drivel."

February 9: ON THE AVENUES: I'd stop drinking, but I'm no quitter.

February 2: ON THE AVENUES: A luxury-obsessed Jeff Gahan has packed a board and now seeks to break the New Albany Housing Authority. Can we impeach him yet?

January 26: ON THE AVENUES: Jeff Gahan and Adam Dickey are Trumping the Donald when it comes to breathtaking moral turpitude. Have they no shame?

Here's the latest in the Great NABC Non-Buyout Saga of 2016.

The last time I wrote about the Great NABC Non-Buyout Saga 2016 was January 15.

Another twist in the Great NABC Non-Buyout Saga 2016.

Contrary to what you may have heard, I remain an owner of the two NABC entities. That's because since my last report, there has been no further progress with buyout negotiations.

I'm offering today's update because so many of you keep asking me what's happening, and conversely, because I'll tell the truth.

But first, I'm both humbled and appreciative of the many nice comments via e-mail and during streetside chats. You know who you are. Thank you.    

In short: The actions of my business partners have placed me in the position of being the purely silent, one-third owner of two restaurant/brewery entities, obliged to absorb my share of liabilities and risks, but with no input into operations, and sans remuneration since early 2015.

We've probably taken the "friendly" negotiations as far as they can go; six months and roughly one and a half inches, and it's time for a different tactic. I suppose legal mechanisms must now come into play, and as Vonnegut would say, "So it goes."

Obviously, my intent remains to sell. However, it's called a "buy-sell," and not a "give-donate," for a reason.

A final thought: My goal for NABC over a period of 25 always was to build something that would endure as a team concept, not sink or swim based on the presence or abilities of just one component. It does not flatter me to hear you say, even jokingly, that you'll refrain from patronizing NABC because of this buyout imbroglio.

Please understand that doing so can't help me, and yet can hurt employees and staff. If the experience is still good, then keep enjoying it. One way or another, my situation will be resolved.

Thanks again for asking. I genuinely appreciate it.

A diary entry about video documentaries and the personal process of recovery.

Photo credit: The Red Egg, by Oskar Kokoschka.

Starting just before Christmas of 2015, I commenced an obsession with YouTube documentaries. First came a wave of videos about Eastern European history during the Communist era. Then I shifted into more current events in and around Estonia, where we have a holiday booked later this year.

Reading a biography of poet/crackpot Ezra Pound shifted my gaze to documentaries about writers, first Englishmen (Larkin, Burgess, Amis), then expatriated Americans in Europe (Hemingway and Fitzgerald), but also a few Americans remaining in America (Philip Roth, John Steinbeck).

In turn, this recently yielded to visual artists, primarily painters: Kokoschka and Schiele from Austria; Englishmen Sickert, Bomberg and Nash; Magritte and de Lempicka in Paris (1928). For the first time, maybe ever, modern trends in painting that began with impression are beginning to make sense to me. There's hope yet.

Admittedly, apart from a film about the Japanese writer Yukio Mishima, these various immersions are occurring within the familiar outline of the "Western" canon. There have been far too few about women. I'll need to do something about this, and will. It's a start, nothing more.

Previously I likened being at loose ends after 25 years in business as feeling as though I'd awakened from a coma. Now it's becoming even clearer, in the sense that dormant personal interests submerged beneath the weight of My Life in Beer are bubbling to the surface again. They never went away. There simply was too much drama and distractions to indulge them properly.

It's like picking up where I left off in 1990, and being back in school; not the required courses, but the electives. I get out of bed each morning enthused by the opportunity to learn. It's priceless.

Yes, I'm damned lucky to have this time to think. Not everyone gets the chance, and I recognize my good fortune in having it.

Introspection is one of those hackneyed double-edged swords, because it leads you to good places as well as bad. The following essay, published at my beer blog earlier in the week, is an example of what I think will be arriving more often as post-business time passes. It's time for me to write the history of that 25-year span.

If I'm up to it. After all, I'm a posterity kind of guy.

THE POTABLE CURMUDGEON: Can I get a “do-over” on Naughty Girl?

... Previous generations of humanity, living and dying prior to the advent of mass communications, missed the sheer thrill of screwing up, watching one’s screw-up instantly become grist for a potentially global audience, and then be reminded of it at regular intervals forever after.

ON THE AVENUES: Gravity Head again, because times change, and possessive pronouns change with them.

ON THE AVENUES: Gravity Head again, because times change, and possessive pronouns change with them.

A weekly web column by Roger A. Baylor.

Back in February of 2014, On the Avenues was devoted to previewing a much-loved local institution, and it is my aim to partially revisit these words today, with an altered addendum. Diligent readers may notice a slight but palpable change of perspective in this updated version. As Kurt Vonnegut might have observed: "And so it goes."

---

When Gravity Head comes calling, familiar space and time continuums can be briefly altered. Normal routines are rendered Byzantine by comparison. Life’s infinite horizons narrow, and one reverts to existence by the hour, minute by minute.

Passing through the looking glass is boring by comparison.

I’m not speaking of the fest’s actual commencement, because once the opening bell sounds on Friday morning, there is a collective observance of Sidney Freedman’s dictum from television’s M*A*S*H: “Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice - pull down your pants and slide on the ice.”

No, it’s the preparation for Gravity Head that saps working days and requires so much attention to detail during the run-up to the bacchanalia.

It might be done differently, but when it comes to what has unexpectedly become a tradition, the array of minor points adds up to a greater sum. It’s just a beer fest, and yet it’s more, and different from the rest.

From the very start, when it was decided to have a second Gravity Head, no one had any idea what the “proper” way of running a beer festival was supposed to represent. Conventional wisdom eluded the original organizer, for which many among us remain grateful.

The aim was, and remains, to provide regular customers and locally-based friends with as many opportunities as possible to taste a few special beers over a period of time.

That’s the sum of it.

The beers never have been served all at once. They unfold in waves over a period of weeks. There are no flights, because flights imply a “right” to taste them all. Rather, the desired end is for folks to taste a few, and then return another time and taste a few more. Not too many at once, because they’re strong.

Of course, Gravity Head’s opening day has become somewhat of a scrum, and a singular tradition all its own. Folks seem content with the interior logic occurring at the beginning, but this isn’t what every celebrant looks forward to experiencing each year.

Rather, there’ll inevitably be a quiet Tuesday night on the second or third week, with a handful of friends, and leisurely, contemplative sipping of one or two quality libations, spiced with conversation. These are the precious moments that lead to feelings of timelessness.

And timelessness is why beer still matters, among numerous other reasons I'll always cherish.

---

And so the 18th edition of Gravity Head begins on Friday at 7:00 a.m. at NABC’s Pizzeria & Public House. The brewery partner for the opening day tap takeover in 2016 is Stone Brewing Company. Stone’s regional sales representative Mark Kocher, a friend and confidant, offers a tout.

This is going to be an exciting time with some pretty fun stuff. Stone Brewing will be in full effect with treats sent from California especially for Gravity Head. Do not miss!

Mark's a keeper, and I’ve always had a sizeable soft spot in my teeny-weeny, Grinch-sized heart for Stone, especially its co-founder and CEO, Greg Koch, who visited the Pizzeria & Public House in 2007 while touring the Midwest. Currently Stone is constructing a brewery in Berlin, Germany, and doing it the American way; for once, that’s a compliment. It’s the first such project in Europe.

Only recently, Koch had this to say about Stone’s commitment to independence. I couldn’t agree more.

… The industrial giants that worked for decades to marginalize our segment have found their tactics ineffective. So, Big Beer decided it’s time for an age-old strategy: Purchase. Control. Obfuscate …

… In purchasing small, “local” brands, Big Beer is able to capitalize on the purchased brand’s reputation, while many consumers are too distracted to pay attention or care.

Truth is, we live in a complex world. As consumers, it’s exhausting to know which brands are truly independent, authentic; did or didn’t sell out. When a craft brewer sells out to Big Beer, not only are they handing over control of their company’s future (irrespective of the requisite “We’re Not Changing Anything” press release), their brand is transformed overnight from being a positive force for growing the craft segment into a tool fighting against the brewers who choose to remain solely dedicated to the craft category.

… We are standing strong, knowing our team members and fans care passionately about Stone Brewing’s philosophy and values. Celebrating an artisanal, natural approach to beer and food, philanthropy, sustainability, reinvesting in our company, community, industry and future … all while holding true to the craft beer ethos.

The ideologies that Steve (Wagner) and I have been able to incorporate into Stone Brewing are of incalculable value to us, and selling our company to Big Beer is not in our future. No matter the size of the check. Period.

As for Gravity Head itself, I have every reason to believe it will proceed in 2016 according to its normal trajectory, largely as it always has. The festival template has been developed over a period of 17 years, and it is staff's second nature by now.

Still, I’d be lying if I were to deny feeling somewhat strange at being completely uninvolved with Gravity Head for the first time since 1999 – not bad or depressed, just a wee bit odd.

For so many years, I’d do the ordering and stashing; write, rewrite and publish the program; disseminate the propaganda; rig tap handles; produce signage; and count glassware … and by the time all of it was ready, it felt like I knew each one of those kegs personally.

Farmers must feel that way when they take their piggies to market.

Of course, over the years I’ve gradually ceded most of these tasks to others, except for the program and propaganda (for the last time in 2015), and this is why Gravity Head will proceed in 2016 without a hitch. If only in this one instance, the succession was intelligently arranged.

After 17 years, gravity remains the law, and it’s a hard habit to break, but break it I fully intend to do. Once upon a time it was my idea, and now it’s no longer about me, assuming it ever really was. Gravity’s bigger than you and me, anyway.

Now, please go forth and propagate daddy’s pension fund – and while you’re at it, have one for me. Happy Gravity Head!

Opening lineup here

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February 18: ON THE AVENUES: Mourning in America, circa 1984.

February 11: ON THE AVENUES: James Fallows, New Albany, and the primacy of bricks over string music.

February 8: ON THE AVENUES EXTRA: "No, John Rosenbarger, congestion is our friend. Help us achieve it, or get out of the way."

February 4: ON THE AVENUES: Hello, I must be going.

Collateral damage: Sadly, the era of "One Night with the Publican" guided tasting certificates for charity has ended, at least for now.

I can't remember when the tradition started of my donation of certificates for private beer tastings to worthy non-profit organizations for their use in fund-raising, typically at silent auctions. If pressed to guess, perhaps ten years. Some of these organizations have been repeat customers, year after year. The total number of certificate redemptions over this span of time probably has been somewhere between 75 and 100.

It's been a wonderful ride, and a great way of leveraging value for positive results. I'm proud of it. The certificates cost NABC only a few ounces of beer per attendee, breadsticks and my time, anywhere between one hour and three, depending on the interest of the particular group. These tastings kept me sharp and on my toes. There was the occasional dud, but my memories are uniformly excellent.

It's February, the usual calls and e-mails are coming through, and I'm obliged to be the bearer of bad tidings. Owing to my estrangement from NABC -- I remain a shareholder, albeit one stripped of corporate offices and with no say or day to day presence -- this charitable component has come to an end. I hate to say no; alas, I cannot say yes.

Maybe as time passes, I'll come up with something similar. Maybe something similar might work with another local establishment, whether brewer, bar or restaurant. Maybe next year. For the time being, I see little choice except to wait until another method of operation presents itself.

This makes me feel awful, but there's not much I can do. Sorry.

Another twist in the Great NABC Non-Buyout Saga 2016.

Today was a landmark of sorts in the history of the New Albanian Brewing Company. It's the last time I'll mention it, at least for a while. I've always tried to be transparent in these matters, and see no reason to stop at this late date.

Prior to February 26, 2015, when I took a leave of absence from my daily tasks in order to campaign for mayor, my professional existence took three forms, as applicable to each of two separate incorporations: The original 1994 New Albanian Brewing Co., Inc., known to you as NABC Pizzeria & Public House, and the 2008 New Albanian Bank Street Brewery, Inc., or Bank Street Brewhouse.

A simple way to look at it:

Worker x 2
Director/Officer x 2
1/3 Owner/Shareholder x 2 

Last summer, I announced my intent to sell my shares in both businesses to my two business partners, in the hope that negotiations with them in good faith prior to activating the provisions of our buy/sell agreement might keep a few dollars out of the hands of attorneys.

Unfortunately, these negotiations have not amounted to much, and in order to protect my interests, I have not yet initiated the timetable according to the mechanism specified in the buy/sell. This means that I remain 1/3 owner/shareholder in both businesses. In short, I continue to enjoy the all risks of ownership without any commensurate rewards.

Obviously, my intent was to sell, and my desire remains to sell, but when it became evident that the verb "to sell" means different things to different people, I decided to return to work -- and was outvoted, 2 to 1.

Worker x 2

Today, at the annual shareholder meetings of both entities, I was removed as director/officer by the same 2 to 1 tally.

Director/Officer x 2

I believe this goes a long way toward explaining the many questions asked of me since last year, and now it can be seen that if the ax was destined to fall, anyway, why not try to have some say into the process, and to retain whatever leverage might yet help to achieve a settlement?

So, as an update since my most recent update, my professional existence now looks like this:

1/3 (Silent) Owner/Shareholder x 2 

Do I remain an owner?

Yes. 

Am I involved in any way with business decisions?

No.

Am I being paid or remunerated?

Not at all, since the leave of absence began. 

Do I consider myself to be a free agent?

Yes. My shooting range is a bit diminished, but I'm a bastard on the boards.

To reiterate: If you have questions or comments pertaining to NABC, I’ll do my best to direct them to someone who can help you. None of this should be construed as judging the commitment of the folks on the shop floor; I have the utmost confidence in the abilities of NABC's employees and staff, and I am happy to assist them if they need help on or off the record.

This is an ownership thang, pure and simple. It'll play out, one way or another. It's been a quarter-century of good vibes, and I intend to keep it that way. I never was very good at punitive, anyway. Cheers to all, and to all a good night.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a wake to attend.

ON THE AVENUES: You know, that time when Roger interviewed himself.

ON THE AVENUES: You know, that time when Roger interviewed himself. 

A weekly column by Roger A. Baylor.

And stay right here, 'cause these are the good old days.
-- Carly Simon, “Anticipation”

So long as we persist in delineating our messy, serendipitous lives according to sleek, clean calendar lines, there’ll be reviews, resolutions, tired December conclusions and fresh January beginnings.

These annoy me, and yet I’m as guilty of them as anyone, even if the utter indifference of the cosmos as a whole keeps me grounded ... most of the time.

Throughout the mayoral campaign, a prime objective was for "us" to speak of “we,” as opposed to “I.” This owed in part to the incumbent’s bizarrely swollen head, although my antipathy to cults of personality has resulted from personal experience as well as perusing books every now and then.

During the course of my own years in beer, there have existed periodic temptations to indulge in precisely this sort of self-deification. Regrettably, I wasn’t always immune to periods of relaxed vigilance, which are characterized by reading one’s own press clippings and actually believing what they say.

What kept me grounded most of the time was the simple realization that I was part of a team, and the daily efforts of the team resulted in satisfied customers, who returned and made possible the survival of the business. I played one role, and it was just that: One part among many, inter-related, and meaningless when separated from the whole.

Perhaps politics inevitably works somewhat like this, and perhaps it doesn’t, but either way, the very notion of a personality cult is deeply offensive to me. What’s more, the greater our proximity to it, the more indefensible such an indulgence becomes.

Never again.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll conclude this column by talking about myself.

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Your continued questions about my professional life are flattering, humbling and deserving of some answers. Insofar as there is verifiable truth to tell, I will try to dispense it, though be advised that as yet, the year 2016 is shrouded in fog and mystery.

Even I don’t know how it’s going to turn out.

1. What is your current status at the New Albanian Brewing Company?

The needle hasn’t moved for many months. As yet, I own 1/3 of New Albanian Brewing Co., Inc. (NABC Pizzeria & Public House) and 1/3 of New Albanian Bank Street Brewery, Inc. (Bank Street Brewhouse). Until I reach agreement with my two business partners to sell my shares to them, I’ll continue to enjoy the all risks of ownership without any of the commensurate rewards.

2. That’s odd – didn’t you already sell out?

No. Last year I stated publicly that it was my intent to sell my shares in the business to my business partners, and this objective has not changed. 25 years is long enough for me.

3. Okay, but is there a timetable for resolving this issue?

Yes, there is a mandated procedure according to our by-laws and buy/sell agreement. There have been desultory preliminary negotiations, but I have not initiated the timetable according to the mechanism specified in the buy/sell.

For one thing, it should come as a surprise to no one that the legalities involved are formidable. In addition, and perhaps more to the point, our buy/sell agreement makes no reference to my charitable donation of these shares. The verb “to sell” means something entirely different, or so we were taught at school.

4. So, to be completely clear: Are you involved with NABC on a daily basis in any fashion apart from ongoing issues pertaining to your unresolved ownership stake?

I am not involved at all, and to be honest, I do not expect to be involved during the transitional period. If you have questions or comments pertaining to NABC, I’ll try my best to direct them to someone who can help you. I have the utmost confidence in the abilities of employees and staff, and am happy to assist them if they need help.

5. What about the Brewers of Indiana Guild?

For so long as I retain an ownership stake in NABC, I remain on the board of directors of the Brewers of Indiana Guild. My enthusiasm for the advancement of the collective growth of brewing in Indiana is undiminished, and I hope to be able to participate in several upcoming guild projects. Of course, once my shares in NABC are sold, I’ll resign from the BIG board, and if for any reason the board feels it would be in the best interest of the guild for me to step aside, I will.

6. What are you doing with your time?

“I am at the moment writing a lengthy indictment against our century. When my brain begins to reel from my literary labors, I make an occasional cheese dip.”
― Ignatius J. Reilly, in A Confederacy of Dunces

Reading, writing, listening and learning.

My wife is elated at my rediscovery of home kitchen cooking, something I’ve always enjoyed. I walk several miles a day and have been maintaining reduced weight. Perhaps a resumption of bicycling will occur when the weather warms.

I’ve joined the board of New Albany IndieFest, and am preparing to more actively organize and promote the New Albany Restaurant & Bar Association. As with the Brewers of Indiana Guild, there is palpable liberation in working for the good of the collective, rather than always promoting one’s own business.

My relationship with beer is undergoing a necessary reinvention. With distance has come a greater measure of perspective, which I’ll be gradually documenting at the Potable Curmudgeon blog and my new Facebook page, Roger’s Simple Beer Pleasures. Localism interests me. Multinational capital accumulation does not.

A long-term goal is to unify my varied interests in beer, history and culture with past experiences in the beer business, hopefully arriving at an integrated program of education and entertainment. I want to get back to the notion of teaching.

Of course, the NA Confidential blog isn’t going anywhere, although I’d like to do some remodeling in 2016. Nick Vaughn has agreed to write a weekly column, and I’ve extended this offer to others.

7. Is it safe to say the job of mayor pays better than all this?

Yes, quite safe. I currently inhabit a pro bono world, but am forever open to suggestions. Whether I’m employable is one of the more intriguing questions in my life at present.

8. Are you still pursuing civic activism?

*SPOILER ALERT*

I find it exceedingly difficult not to have a viewpoint, and harder still not to express it.

Did someone say “civic activism”? Yes, indeed. The pursuit continues, even if the quarry is elusive. I’ve been knocked down, brushed back, blocked, besieged, blockaded, censored, defriended, unfollowed and trivialized.

However, I’m not discouraged in the least. Overall, we’ve only just begun. In the Land of C-Minus Students, being a dissident suits me, so don't expect it to change.

9. What about your spotty career in politics?

Having mastered the Seven-Per-Cent Solution, my next amazing trick is to hover around the exclusionary and gated periphery, an eyebrow jauntily cocked, looking for loopholes.

However, to quote Tricky Dicky, let’s make one thing perfectly clear. If Scott Blair and Dan Coffey both self-identify as "independent," then I might as well run for office next time as a socialist. These people are ruining my brand.

10. Do you have any final thoughts?

Absolutely, though you’ll have to keep reading to find out.

By the way, has that News and Tribune guest columnist position been posted yet?

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Recent columns:

December 31: ON THE AVENUES: My 2015 in books and reading.

December 24: ON THE AVENUES: Fairytale of New Albania (2015 mashup).

December 17: ON THE AVENUES: Gin and tacos, and a maybe a doughnut, but only where feasible.

December 10: ON THE AVENUES: Truth, lies, music, and a trick of the Christmas tale (2015).

December 3: ON THE AVENUES: Who (or what) is New Albany's "Person of the Year" for 2015?