Best wishes to Susan Kerber, as "Bridge Liquors in New Albany has new owner."

We considered this topic just a few months back, and I still can't locate the previous discussion in which we tried to determine the downtown New Albany food and drink establishment which has been in business the longest. Chains don't count; indies only.

Sorry, White Castle.

As for package sales, Bridge Liquors is 56 years old (1963). It isn't downtown, but comfortably inside the beltway (110 Knable Lane). The current Sunset Spirits on Spring Street might have commenced as Gaslight Liquors as early as 1959 -- the year before I was born.

For food, Sam's is around 35 years old, but it's no longer situated within New Albany city limits. NABC's original location Grant Line Road began in 1987, making it 32. Who am I missing?

This time maybe we should try making a complete list.

In terms of a bar, at 51 years of age surely Hugh E. Bir's Cafe predates all the rest, although Hitching Post also might be in the running. Has Vic's been in continuous operation?

I distinctly recall trying (and failing) to get served at Bridge Liquors when I was about 17, circa 1977, in route to the old New Albany Drive-In just down the street. Bridge Liquors was located in a frame house, and the open land was just yielding to the sprawl inhabiting it now.

GREAT JOB, GUYS. That's endurance. Now have some fun without having to reply to the alarm at 4:00 a.m. when a stray moth activated the sensor.

Bridge Liquors in New Albany has new owner, by Chris Morris (Hanson's Folly)

Business had been in same family for 55 years

NEW ALBANY — Susan Kerber admits driving down State Street will seem a little weird in the future.

Kerber, who has worked and managed Bridge Liquors for the past 40 years, will soon leave the business she helped grow and expand. The liquor store, as well as the nearby car wash, recently sold. The new owners take possession Dec. 19.

"It's bittersweet," she said of selling the family-owned business.

Four generations of Kerber's family have owned and worked at the liquor store, located at 110 Knable Lane, just off State Street, in New Albany. The current building was built 27 years ago and that is when Kerber took over as manager. It has been remodeled three times, she said, and currently has yearly sales of $2.5 million.

"I am proud of the job we did," she said ...

BEER WITH A SOCIALIST: Kings & Convicts, Ballast Point, and beer writer Josh Noel's excellent analysis.

Once upon a time, Ballast Point Brewing was purchased by Constellation Brands for a cool billion, and now the latter has unloaded its costly toy for considerably less, although the exact figure has yet to be released.

The beneficiary of the fire sale is a two-year-old Chicago brewery called Kings & Convicts -- and no, I'd never heard of it prior to the recent headlines.

The Chicago Tribune's Josh Noel explores the Ballast Point deal at greater length here: Unlikely Ballast Point brewery sale executed with help of unidentified wine industry magnate.

How very tiring.

Noel is a fine beer writer. Check him out on Twitter and at his web site, and enjoy this commentary about all that money.

Ranking the craft brewery sales that have made us say UH HOLY WHAT THE F***, by Josh Noel

I was finishing a deadline article for the Chicago Tribune Tuesday afternoon when an email arrived from someone who also writes about the beer industry. The subject line: “who the heck is king's and convicts?”

I opened the email. It said: “no. but really....”

I hadn’t heard the news yet, and wondered why this person was asking about a tiny suburban Chicago brewery that’s so tiny, most Chicagoans haven’t even heard of it. Moments later, a press release popped up in my email. It said that the tiny brewery had bought the iconic Ballast Point Brewing.

I hammered out a reply to that fellow journalist: “UH HOLY WHAT THE F***”

(Yes, it was all caps, and no, there were no asterisks.)

His response: “precisely this.”

All this is to say, during this fevered era of brewery acquisitions that began with Goose Island’s sale to Anheuser-Busch in 2011, there have been dozens of deals. Some have caused barely a flutter: Revolver Brewing selling to MillerCoors, Karbach Brewing selling to Anheuser-Busch and Three Weavers Brewing selling to Canarchy elicited mostly shrugs beyond their home markets.

Others have changed the industry. They have made our jaws drop. They have made us say, UH HOLY WHAT THE F***.

But the most stunning deals haven’t all possessed equal UH HOLY WHAT THE F***NESS (yes, now an official craft beer industry term). Here are the Top 10 most UH HOLY WHAT THE F*** craft brewery acquisitions since Goose Island’s sale, ranked in terms of UH HOLY WHAT THE F***NESS ...

THE BEER BEAT: BrewDog's private equity $$$ bonanza: "Not bad for ten years of being rude about the rest of the UK brewing industry."

For those who are unaware, Martyn Cornell's web page is a great source of beer information from a British perspective.

"I am sure Alastair Hook and the guys at Meantime, whose beers BrewDog withdrew from its bars after the Greenwich brewer was bought by SAB Miller, are smiling sardonically."

BrewDog's antics have entertained me for a long time. The company's success reminds us that while P.T. Barnum may have been an American, hucksterism never has been confined to just one country. I hope the founders of BrewDog make a mint, whether in dollars, Euros or pounds sterling.

I'll be at a local establishment somewhere, drinking myself to sleep.

The REAL story behind BrewDog’s ‘sellout’ is that crowdfunding will only get you so far, by Martyn Cornell (Zythophile)

The real story behind the news that BrewDog is copping more than £200 million from the private equity firm that also part-owns Pabst Blue Ribbon, is not, despite the howls of “hypocrisy!”, that nobody can resist a big juicy cheque, no matter how punk they claim to be. It is, rather more sadly, that crowdfunding will only get you so far, and if you have really big ambitions, you’re going to have to get in bed eventually with The Man.

The deal with TSG Consumer Partners, the $5bn 30-year-old San Francisco-based private equity sees TSG acquire “approximately” 22 per cent of BrewDog for what the Sunday Times says is £213 million, split between a £100 million investment in the firm and £113 million paid to existing shareholders.

Of the two founders, James Watt is seeing his stake in the firm drop from 35 per cent to 25 per cent and Martin Dickie’s slice goes down from 30 per cent to 22. It’s not clear (to me, anyway) if that dilution is because the pair are selling 18 per cent of the firm between them to TSG, or some of the fall in their percentage ownership comes from new shares being issued: the Sunday Times says one of the motions passed at last month’s BrewDog AGM in Aberdeen saw the creation of a new class of preferred shares, which would guarantee TSG a minimum compound annual return of 18 per cent if the company is bought or floated. There’s a fair bit of dilution, I reckon, or the figures for how much existing shareholders are getting out of the deal don’t add up.

But even so, I’d say James is receiving north of £50 million and Martin more than £40 million. Not bad for ten years of being rude about the rest of the UK brewing industry and winding up the Portman Group. Looks like Dr Johnson’s comment more than 230 years ago about selling a brewery being the way to become rich beyond the dreams of avarice is still true ...

Have a look at Vinod Gupta's Discounted IN Properties.

Earlier in March, the newspaper reported the redevelopment commissions's Lancaster's deal.

NEW ALBANY — After sitting vacant, blighted and vandalized for years, New Albany’s Redevelopment Commission approved the purchase of all six parcels of the former Tommy Lancaster restaurant at 1629 E. Market St.

This week, the commission approved the purchase of the parcels — which included the building and the area around it — for $78,840.

It turns out that the Floridian seller, Vinod Gupta, is a big-time dealer in "discounted" properties (thanks to T for the link).

Vinod Gupta's Discounted IN Properties

Discounted Indiana Properties provides homes, land, or investment property throughout the state of Indiana. Discounted Indiana Properties provides contracts for those who are want to invest but looking for alternative financing options.

The owner, Vinod Gupta, has been investing in properties for over 20 years and has found a way to provide a product for those individuals who are looking for alternative financing solutions when purchasing investment properties, a new home, or recreational property.

Prices are subject to change at any time due to improvements. All homes are purchased in bulk and the owner (Vinod Gupta) has never lived in the property and all parcels are sold "as is" and all inspections, surveys, appraisals or title search are at the expense of the buyer. No property is warranted and all properties are offered as a Quit Claim Deed only unless expressly written and agreed between owner Vinod Gupta and buyer.

Vinod Gupta is not a bank or financial institution and does not claim to provide the services of such. Vinod Gupta offers homes at 10 % down with 12% interest and no prepayment penalty.

It makes one wonder if Gupta's customary sales routine was modified to suit a municipal buyer. What's next for Gupta Land?

We cringed and had a look:

Coming soon: The Gupta Vincennes Revitalization Project, built to Caesar-surface glam standards.

The Rudyard Kipling may have found a buyer, and so the Pyles can retire.

Talk about fighting the good fight; Ken and Sheila Pyle have been doing it for decades, and now it appears that a win-win has materialized with the prospective sale of the Rudyard Kipling to buyers who vow to keep the establishment substantially as it is. Words like "legend" are overused, but in this case entirely appropriate. The Pyles are legendary, held in high esteem by just about everyone in the business, and fully worthy of the opportunity to retire to beers in New Albany. Kudos to them. Let's hope this works out.

The Rudyard Kipling finally finds a buyer, by Kevin Gibson

The Rudyard Kipling website, for many years, has had a “Buy a Landmark” button in its main navigation. Finally, Old Louisville’s time-tested destination for food, music and theater has found a buyer.