NABC Beers and Brewing

…  is out and about

NABC’s signature Black Lager is on tap at both Bank Street Brewhouse and the Pizzeria & Public House for consumption in-house, or carry-out sales in growlers and bottles. The first 22-oz bomber shipments have gone out to wholesalers in Indiana and Kentucky. A very limited amount of draft will be made available to outside accounts.

Bonfire of the Valkyries is NABC’s full-bodied and clean Black Lager with medium smokiness. It is the ideal accompaniment to all smoked meats, oysters on the half shell, cabbage soup, kielbasa and freshwater trout. Or, just have a few glasses while you’re burning away the hours until Ragnarok. It won’t last long, so get some.

Roger A. Baylor, NABC

NABC ConeSmoker is coming soon

Once again, the annual batch of ConeSmoker has been brewed by Ben Minton at NABC’s original R & D Brewery, and in a few weeks, it should be ready for release.

The inspiration for ConeSmoker dates to the late 1990’s. One night I poured BBC American Pale Ale into a glass used previously for Bavarian-style Schlenkerla Rauchbier, or maybe the other way around, and an idea for Smoked APA was born.

Roger A. Baylor, NABC

There have been more than a few variations over the years, but lately, we’ve been sticking to the template below.

Malts: Weyermann Rauch, Vienna, and CaraHell malts; Rahr Pale and Simpson Dark Crystal

Hops: Summit and Nugget for bittering, Cascade and Nugget for flavor and aroma

Yeast: House Ale

IBU: 65

OG: 16 Plato

ABV: 6.8%

Color: 13 SRM

Coming in March

On Tuesday and Wednesday, all that was missing in NABC’s R & D Brewery at the Pizzeria & Public House were heaping platters of succulent Schweinehaxe, as Ben Minton was busy brewing our first-ever Bavarian model Doppelbock, formulated with an enticing whiff of smoked malt as a knowing nod to the Franconian tradition. Think Bambergator.

The fermentation will be slow and easy, so the release of Propagator Doppelbock will not come until March. Maybe we can arrange pork knuckles by then, or rinds, or something from a hog. As we wait, here are the specs.

Roger A. Baylor, NABC

Malts: Weyermann BoHo Pils, Melanoidin, Rauch, CaraFoam and Simpson’s Coffee (brown) malt

Hops: German Hallertauer Magnum

Yeast: Andechs Lager

IBU: 20

OG: 18.5

ABV: TBD, but expect 7.5% – 7.9%

Color: 11.8 degree SRM

You can view and print the 2012 NABC beer release schedule PDF here or download it here.  

… is returning in 2012

One of the major themes of my year in beer was a growing preference for session-strength pints.

“Session” is a topic that has been discussed here many times in the past, and I always like to follow the trail backwards in time to Lew Bryson’s pioneering advocacy: The Session Beer Project.

Hence, the gorgeous specimen pictured above: NABC Smoked Abzug. I hasten to add that currently, the only place on the planet where this beer is on tap is the keg box in my home garage, so don’t get any ideas.

Former NABC brewer Jared Williamson originally formulated Abzug as a low-gravity lager (California Common yeast) with a short maturation curve; it was our first attempt to produce a session-strength golden lager for serving at our two on-premise locations. We’ve since started using Bavarian yeast to brew Bat Out of Helles, which will be the inheritor of the Abzug notion.

Later, Jared came up with the idea of lightly “smoking” his Abzug, thereby creating a lower gravity version of something resembling Bamberg’s Spezial. The last keg of it is in the garage, and with around nine months of down time, the liquid is now a brilliant “bright” amber, and as MASH’s late and lamented Colonel Potter might have said, there aren’t enough O’s in smOOth to describe it. The Weyermann smoked malt is beginning to fade in intensity, but it’s still present. The flavor is clean and delicious, and at less than 4% abv, you can have a few without hitting the floor.

Look for the next batch of Smoked Abzug in October of 2012. It will be available on draft at the Pizzeria & Public House, Bank Street Brewhouse, my garage, and selected Cavalier Distributing accounts in Indiana that opt for NABC’s forthcoming “session tap” program. As always, stay tuned.

Roger A. Baylor, NABC

Earlier, I announced NABC's release schedule for 2012, and among other projects, we'll be resurrecting three beers from the Michael Borchers era as part of a 10th anniversary series. Similarly, the primitive artwork derives from the pre-Tony (Beard) era, as conceived by the Publican (me) and actualized with stunted graphics capabilities. David Pierce, NABC's director of brewing operations, has spent the past few days poring over wrinkled old legal pads and labored scrawlings on the back of Kroger receipts, attempting to crack the seemingly forgotten codes so he can formulate these revivals. This will be fun. There'll be better art in the end, too.

Roger A. Baylor, NABC

Bourbondaddy
“Go forth and proceed”

Haggisdaddy, as aged in Woodford Reserve barrels in 2003 and 2004. At the time, we said that, “Batches (are) released periodically so we can gauge the progress of the experiment.”
6.5% abv

Stumble Bus

Along with Bourbondaddy, surely the most fondly remembered ale by NABC’s founding brewer, Michael Borchers. Was it Imperial IPA, or was it Barleywine? Brewed with English malt, and hopped with Galena, Cascade, East Kent Golding, Amarillo and Hallertau hops. Stumble Bus was dry-hopped with East Kent Golding and Cascade. 1056 (Chico) American yeast was used (OG 1.100).
10% abv

Turbo Hog
The finest malt liquor yet devised by man

Bush Hog’s logical culmination, sans paper bags. Augmented with corn, boosted in strength, and refashioned as a malt liquor, it was a briefly invigorating experiment. There was Bush Hog, then Turbo Hog. Boss Hog was planned, but never brewed.
9.2% abv