THE BEER BEAT: Thanks to Mesa (A Collaborative Kitchen) for a great inaugural beer night.

Photo credit: Jonathan Morones.

Already there was a palpable nervousness (in me, not the paying customers) -- and then Jeff Gillenwater showed up.

THE BEER BEAT: Read about my "Beer Night" at Mesa next Wednesday (August 23) with Chef Ruben Freibert's appetizers.

I was a tad rusty, and a few synapses failed to fire, but overall last evening's gingerly dipped toe of a first-time-in-two-years beer sampling went fairly well. Thanks to everyone who turned out; to Chef Ruben Freibert for his nibbles (and our borrowed server Brett); and to the whole crew at Mesa.

We briefly surveyed the basics of the brewing process, local brewing history and the meaning of beer styles. There were great questions, and most importantly, it seemed that the attending samplers had a good time.

As I've written previously, lately I'm choosing to emulate the timeless wisdom of the hedgehog as I inch down the comeback trail, confining myself to one big idea rather than an array of smaller ones.

This big idea goes something like this: “In terms of better beer, there still is a market for what I know how to do – and correspondingly, what I know how to do is undervalued in today’s beer marketplace.”

This pertains to the future pub project in development, and also to my talk last night. What I know how to do is educate and entertain in comfortable confines, and what I’ve learned not to do is try conquering the world. I’m hoping that accumulated insights will help me avoid previous missteps. Wednesday evening was important to me as an opening experiment to test the hypothesis, which goes something like this:

What we were doing at the Public House 25 years ago was a process of deep acclimatization borne of incessant education – and such efforts seem to have gone completely by the wayside. Hardly anyone has the patience for it these days, and our collective shrinkage of attention spans has led to marketing by electronic flash card. Everyone knows a little bit, but their knowledge is a mile wide and a hop pellet deep. 

I think many beer drinkers would still appreciate the facts, and this is something I can do. We're way past the point of being able to know all of the beers. Better, perhaps, to have a more intimate and rewarding relationship with just a few of them -- at a time.

I'll probably be doing another tasting at Mesa in October, and someone from World Class Beverage will be there in September. Mesa's a comfy spot for a beer tasting, so I'll try to keep readers posted.

Finally, Jeff and I stopped at Match (147 E. Main) for a beer afterward. Be advised that Match is keeping the excellent Founders Porter on tap, among others. It really hit the spot on a comfortable, old-fashioned August night.

Phil Collins is back. Deal with it.

That's Phil in the middle.

I remain a defiant, unreconstructed and resolute fan of Phil Collins, both as a member of the band Genesis and as a solo performer.

In the open air with Genesis and U2, 1987.

Then again, I've never been one to dismiss the value of "pop" in popular music. It can be done well or badly, just as in every other style of music. When Collins was "pop," it was generally done well, although as followers of Brand X might note, he could perform jazz/fusion, too.

No hating on Phil here, folks.

Why the World is right to fall in love with Phil Collins again, by Chris Roberts (Team Rock)

For years Phil Collins has been the butt of every joke, but his comeback has been greeted by an enormous wave of affection. This is why he deserves to bask in that warmth ...

Taxation thread at Facebook, and a newspaper columnist vacancy.

It probably will not surprise you to learn that my attitude toward Facebook has been one of highly personalized agitprop. Yesterday, I linked to my Thursday column, and wrote this:

‎Jeff Gillenwater wants to bid secessionists farewell. I believe secessionists should follow their own advice (to me) and move elsewhere. In Europe, secessionists want out of their countries, but not the EU. Clearly, we're all secessionists now.

Every now and then, a good discussion breaks out, and such was the case yesterday. As sometimes occurs, the topic shifted, in this instance to taxation, tax rates and tax reform. The thread still is going as Friday breaks: http://www.facebook.com/roger.a.baylor/posts/293759810724531?comment_id=1344041&notif_t=share_comment

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Speaking of columns, Debbie Harbeson has written her last essay for the News and Tribune.

Ending my current relationship with this paper does not mean I will stop writing though, particularly since writing helps me learn and grow. I will probably be writing for more specific audiences — people who already understand and share similar underlying philosophies.

Well, it's the perfect timing for a Beer Money (2009-2011) newspaper column comeback. Never have the troglodytes been more annoyed as during my tenure crafting weekly impenetrable satire. Coach K, too.

I'm tanned, rested, ready and completely rehabbed: No PEDs, EPOs and HGHs are to be found in my urine sample ... though IPA, well, that's another matter.