THE BEER BEAT: On crowlers, Southern beer terroir and Sunday sales changes in Indiana.

Before I proceed, heartfelt thanks to everyone who commented and asked questions as our big news leaked out earlier this week.

THE BEER BEAT: "Pints & Union to open in New Albany, will be inspired by classic European pubs."

SHANE'S EXCELLENT NEW WORDS: On taverns, pubs, Gaststätten and Bung -- with a Mencken chaser.

ON THE AVENUES: Golden oldie classic comfort beers at an old school pub? Sounds like Pints & Union to me.

I'm never without illusions as to how much work is yet to be done, but the karma is good and we're looking forward to getting it done.

So it was that yesterday I was hanging on for dear life to Floyd County Brewing Company's bar, when I noticed the new gadget behind the bar. The Ball Corporation explains.

INTRODUCING THE CROWLER, WHERE THE CAN MEETS THE TAP.

The beer can revolution is taking on the tap with Ball’s new innovative Crowler can. It’s a 32 ounce, Growler-sized can that allows your customers to take their favorite draft beer home with them. Once filled at the tap, a Crowler lid is sealed with a bar-top seamer, so people can bring home your hand crafted beer in a package that keeps it the way you intended it because the Crowler has the superior qualities of aluminum, like the ability to block out light and oxygen, as well as provide a sharable, 100 percent recyclable container. Call it a big, 32 ounce “cheers” to your craft beer business.

Crowlers aren't new as such, but they're new to New Albany, so stop by FCBC, watch the show, and buy a can of beer to go.

You'll recall that Over the 9 closed in January.

Thank you to all the patrons we have serviced over the years here at Over the 9. Unfortunately, we will be closing our doors for 2018 as a full service restaurant/bar and creating a venue space for exclusive parties and events. For more information regarding the event space and reservations, please contact logan@old502.com.

A few days ago Old 502 Winery (@Old502) tweeted that the event space and enlarged tasting room in the former Over the 9 space was ready. I asked if this new area would offer Falls City beer as well as wine from Old 502.

Yes, we will be offering beer flights in addition to wine tastings. And you will still be able to purchase beers from the bar.

Jeff Gillenwater provides this link to a brief overview of efforts "down South" to conjure a contemporary beer terroir. To me, this sort of thinking makes sense as it pertains to Americanized Saisons and sours.

What Is Southern Beer?, by Bob Townsend (Bitter Southerner)

... we’re talking about terroir, the French word that defines that country’s sacred system of regional wine appellation.

But more and more, that sort of sense of place is being discussed in terms of the unique characteristics of the soil food crops are grown in or the aquaculture of oyster farming.

And all around the South, many breweries have been sprouting up taking a cues from those ideas, while finding inspiration in the Old World farmhouse brewing practices of Belgium and France.

Indiana's legislative season is rapidly drawing to a close. Following is an excellent, locally written overview of the perennial weirdness of Indiana's Sunday (and cold beer sales) restrictions, and how some of these will be changing.

Sunday alcohol sales expected to have little impact. So why was it so controversial?, by Danielle Grady (News and Tribune)

INDIANA — Ask an Indiana resident if he or she favors Sunday alcohol sales, and the answer is likely to be yes.

A June study conducted by Ball State University and Old National Bank found that a majority of Hoosiers, 58 percent, supported allowing stores to sell alcohol on Sunday, which has been outlawed since prohibition ended way back in 1933.

This year, the possibility of being able to walk into an Indiana store and buy a six-pack of beer or a bottle of wine seems more likely than ever.

Thanks to a deal struck between liquor stores and big box retailers in the fall, Sunday sales bills have made it further than they ever have in the state Legislature. Both the Indiana Senate and the House have passed their own version of the legislation. Their bills would allow stores to sell alcohol from noon to 8 p.m on Sundays. The Associated Press reports that final passage of a bill is expected in mid-March, although the law wouldn’t take effect until July.

But the businesses that sell alcohol in Indiana have met the historic news with a lukewarm reception. The state’s liquor, convenience and grocery stores expect to be affected by the new rule if passed in different, but probably not dramatic ways. At the same time, compromises on separate alcohol issues have muted the wins and losses that accompany the ban lift ...

Fieldhaus, Brownie's "The Shed", Over the 9, Falls City, Old 502 and what they all mean.

As best as I can piece all this together ...

First, there was JR's Pub on Main Street in New Albany.

The pub's principal owners, the Neaces, bought the River Bend Winery in Louisville and rebooted it as Old 502.

Then they bought an interest in Falls City Brewing, which was moved to the winery building in downtown Louisville, and later purchased the remainder from founder David Easterling.

Meanwhile, JR's was reinvented as Fieldhaus.

In Louisville, the winery and brewery were joined by an eatery, Over the 9, this being a concept developed by David Hagan, who also originated the Fieldhaus idea.

And, concurrently, there's a sports bar and eatery in Louisville called Brownie's "The Shed" Grille & Bar, which has a large and loyal following.

Now ... what I believe is happening is this: The three restaurant concepts are being merged into one company with their respective identities intact.

Hagan explains:

My restaurant division and (Brownie's) got married. (it's about) portfolio diversification. We have 3 brands with different styles that we can grow in the region. Over the 9 is probably a one off, unless we expand Falls City's footprint in the city; Fieldhaus and Brownie's are both sports themed, but with different demographics and different styles. At the end of it all, unification gives us buying power and outreach.

Consequently, the current location of Fieldhaus will change to Brownie's "The Shed," with the grand opening announced for August 28.

Fieldhaus will move to a location in downtown New Albany, to resume operations whenever it can.

Over the 9 has lifted off in Louisville. For more on that, see this posting from my beer blog.

My beer with Cezary Wlodarczyk, and what's up at Falls City, Old 502 and Over the 9.

The standard disclaimer has never been more apt: Stay tuned for further details.

On Bamberg, winter drinking sports and seasonal spiced wine from Old 502.

Just this morning, we were talking about our Christmas (2009) in Bamberg, Germany, and the endearing custom there (and elsewhere in Northern Europe) of ignoring the chilly weather and drinking outdoors at or near the weeks-long Christmas market -- also held outdoors. Beer and spirits are available, but it seems like most of what is consumed is mulled wine. They've only been doing it for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years.

The memory has some wheels spinning. Perhaps a truncated outdoor Christmas winter solstice market in downtown New Albany? It's too good of an idea to entrust to the usual gussied up suspects, and besides, holiday foo-foo is already in abundance. We'd just need to find a few hearty vendors for a weekend, load up on beer and food, celebrate the solstice symbolism, and run the show at Lloyd's Landing, the outdoor area at Bank Street Brewhouse, which we're not using in cold weather, anyway.

Maybe next year, we need to begin to start using it. I might drink outside today anyway, just for the fun of it. In the meantime, Old 502 Winery understand the warm wine tradition.

Like potpourri that will get you drunk:’ Hot Old 502 wine for the holidays, by Kevin Gibson (Insider Louisville)

Hot wine? Yes, hot wine. And we’re not talking about trends, either — Old 502 Winery has a wine available for a limited time that is designed to be served hot.