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.

THE BEER BEAT: On inauthenticity, disinformation, RateBeer and those disembodied breweries of the Trojan Zombie Afterlife.

Today, recommended reading.

Jim Vorel's essay appeared in mid-2017, and nicely outlines a position of beer-drinking principle when it comes those breweries in the Trojan Zombie Afterlife Quadrant.

The BS Arguments of Craft Beer Sell-Outs: How Brewery Buyouts Hurt Craft Beer, by Jim Vorel (Paste Magazine)

Let me tell you who I care about, in the world of beer: I care about the craft beer industry as a whole. I care about selection and availability of great craft beer, and at night I dream of a world where great beer from independent breweries can be accessed just about anywhere.

That dream is currently under attack, primarily by so-called “Big Beer,” but not entirely. For all of the wrangling and shady dealing that AB-InBev and MillerCoors are conducting in the American beer market, equally disturbing is the propensity of beer geeks and even food & drink publications to rationalize and apologize for the buyouts and practices that are currently driving craft beer into the most dangerous situation it’s faced in more than a decade. In some cases, would-be allies are willingly parroting back the exact marketing copy that AB-InBev would love to place in their mouths. Other times, beer drinkers are simply accepting the bullshit reassurances of just-purchased breweries who have huge monetary incentives to be dishonest.

But don’t take our word for it. We’re not here to simply rant and rave—we’re here to give you specific examples of BS rationalizations you’ll see in the wake of every major brewery buyout. We’re here to point out the logical chasms and blatant hypocrisy that proliferate in the public response to buyouts. And we’re here to point out exactly why these buyouts are so capable of devastating the craft brewing industry.

More recently, Fritz Hahn brilliantly connects the dots between AB-InBev, ZX Ventures and RateBeer.

The world’s biggest brewing company is thirsty for your data, by Fritz Hahn (Washington Post)

Anheuser-Busch InBev is the biggest brewing company in the world, but it has a problem it can’t shake ...

... But as sales of hoppy IPAs continue to surge, and sales of Light (and Lite) macrobrews continue to drop, AB InBev is recalibrating its approach. Rather than buying up as many craft-beer producers as it can, it’s using its vast resources to buy data — tons of it — through a little-known division called ZX Ventures.

"So where are the growth opportunities?"

That’s where ZX Ventures comes in. According to its mission statement, “ZX Ventures is hopelessly dedicated to creating and analyzing the data necessary for determining our ideal strategies, products and technologies. We believe that the more we know and learn about our consumers and products, the better chance we have of anticipating their needs in the future.”

Translation: They want to know everything about purchasing patterns and decisions. What are customers looking for? What are influencers thinking? How can they make it easier to get AB InBev’s products into the hands of people who might want beer?

ZX Ventures’ broad portfolio includes last year’s purchase of Northern Brewer Homebrew Supply and Midwest Supplies, two of the largest home-brewing businesses in the country. It also has a minority stake in PicoBrew, the countertop home-brewing system that uses Keuriglike “PicoPacks” to make beer in a certain style or mimic the recipe of an existing brand.

In October 2016, ZX Ventures purchased a minority interest in RateBeer, a 17-year-old international beer-rating site that has grown to become one of the largest online databases of crowdsourced beer, brewery and bar rankings in the world. But neither RateBeer nor ZX Ventures publicized the deal until June 2017, when beer website Good Beer Hunting published a story about the move. ZX Ventures did not respond to requests for comment for this article.

Because it's all about the information, and RateBeer is like a homing device fixed to the throats of the "craft" beer sheeple.

If e-commerce is off the table, then the most important way for AB InBev to make money in an increasingly crowded marketplace is to get the right beer in front of the right customers at the right time. And right now, the world’s biggest brewer is tapping into a steady flow of data that can help it do just that.

If Trump were to consider deporting counter-revolutionary swine like these, I might consider voting for him.

ZX Ventures is a global incubator, operator, and venture capital team backed by Anheuser-Busch InBev. We are a small army of futurists, dreamers, doers, designers, engineers, scientists, marketers, brewers, builders, and data geeks.

MAINTAINING CONSUMER BONDS
Our goal is to make products, services, and technologies that bring people together and provide solutions for consumer needs. We want to positively impact society and our environment and celebrate the best this life has to offer. We're not afraid to break the mold of tradition, including launching businesses that sell directly to our customer-base. Yes, our aim is to generate profits, but those won’t come without first creating smiles, laughs and making the world a better place through innovative products, technologies, experiences and services. The more positive connections we facilitate, the more we learn about our consumers and products, and the better chance we have of anticipating their needs in the future.We truly believe that the consumer is the boss and constantly center our actions around what best fits their needs.

I'll venture one prediction about the future, in the sense that "IPA" already is sucked dry of meaning and lost to those of a "craft" persuasion. Just as decades of mass-market insipidity rendered the style "Pilsner" moot, so will the supermarket aisle stacks of Trojan Zombie Afterlife "IPAs" commoditize the concept.

Not a bold prediction, just an obvious one.

Beer Tuesday 1: NABC's Pizzeria & Public House in USA Today list of top RateBeer brewpubs.

I knew about this USA Today article only because the reporter e-mailed me last week for information, but whatever my personal views about the newspaper, make no mistake: Localism's the object, but it's always a pleasure to have one's business mentioned in a national publication. Moreover, the manner of this topic's framing is wonderful.

In an odd sort of way, given that the newspaper's source is a vast and detailed on-line beer ratings aggregator, the tiny details are less significant than the broad generality, and the heading itself undoubtedly makes the central point for those who may not have been aware of such a phenomenon as a brew pub: "Brewpubs offer great beer, good food and local flavor."

That's right.

Using the word "local" in this context absolutely makes my day.

At USA TODAY's request, (Joe "Rate Beer") Tucker chose 20 favorite brewpubs or taprooms for beer quality and 18 favorites where the food stood out. He chose only brewpubs that serve food and their own brand of beer.

"Unlike traditional restaurants, these are social establishments that are places to relax, sample the local flavors and enjoy some conversation," Tucker says.

The West and the Midwest are tied at seven for the most brewpubs or taprooms on Tucker's list of favorites for beer quality.

Does it surprise you that the Midwest ranks highly? It shouldn't.

You'll note that among Indiana breweries, our world-renowned friends at Three Floyds in Munster rightfully merit inclusion in the "Where the (best) beers are" category, while NABC makes the "Tucker's best brew pubs/taprooms for food quality" list.

Our inclusion is based on the Pizzeria & Public House's perennially solid ratings, for which I thank all of our patrons. Note that NABC's original location shares a significant trait with the Three Floyds brewpub, in that our own beers are dispensed side by side with high quality guests drafts. You can get away with that only if your own beers are quite good.

Brewpubs offer great beer, good food and local flavor, by Gary Stoller, USA TODAY

Peter Krein heads to local brewpubs during his free time on business trips, and "there are literally hundreds of places" he can recommend.

Among his favorites are The Church Brew Works in Pittsburgh, Omaha's Upstream Brewing Company and Elevator Brewery and Draught Haus in Columbus, Ohio.

Brewpubs often have "outstanding food, so, when I arrive in a new town, I seek them for food and a great, new beer," says Krein of Carlsbad, Calif., who works in the medical device industry and spent about 175 nights away from home on business trips last year. "Every city has great beer makers, and, if their brewpubs are suitable, I sometimes entertain clients there."

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.

Rocking RateBeer's list.

(Gravity Head returns ... Friday, February 24)

RateBeer.com's list of "Best Beer Bars 2012" has NABC's original Public House in fourth place, nationwide.

An accompanying "Best Beer Retailers 2012" places Keg Liquors (Clarksville/New Albany) at 44th.

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 is reward enough for me. I've always felt we deserve to at least be mentioned, and I'll leave the exact numbers to others.

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

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

In 2012, we mark 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.

Previously: Thanks to LEO Readers' Choice voters for thinking of NABC.

An accolade for Rich O's Public House: RateBeer's Best Beer Bar list "gold" for 2007.

Something akin to a press release ...

Rich O’s Public House has achieved gold status for the second consecutive year in RateBeer’s annual list of Best Beer Bars. According to the popular web site’s 2007 rankings, we finished in sixth place out of 93 establishments worldwide that were awarded gold certification.

I'm a realist, and grains of salt always come in handy at times like this, but it's very flattering just the same, and we’re sincerely appreciative of the honor. The list in its entirety can be viewed here: Best Beer Bars 2007. I've been to some of the other gold-medal beer bars mentioned, and they're high-powered, indeed.

For those just tuning in:

Rich O’s Public House, founded in 1990, is the pub arm of the New Albanian Brewing Company, which also incorporates Sportstime Pizza, which predates the Public House by three years and will be celebrating its 20th anniversary later this summer on July 14. The pub and pizzeria offer 34 taps pouring NABC house beers and rotating guest beers from America and around the world; 650+ beers have been on tap at one time or another since 1987. The bottle list includes 225+ hand-selected brands of beer, cider and mead. Our food menu specializes in pizza, lasagna, sandwiches and salads.

RateBeer is an on-line forum for beer drinkers to exchange information and share opinions of beer. In addition, users can write opinions of cider, mead and sake. RateBeer has more than 1,112,000 ratings, lists nearly 60,000 beers from 7,270 breweries, and has grown to become the largest beer information web site in the world in addition to serving as a forum for discussions about the craft brewing industry (the preceding is courtesy of Wikipedia).

Thanks to Steve Hall for tipping me. Crossposted at the Potable Curmudgeon site.