Bank Street Brewhouse’s Executive Chef, Matt Weirich, reports on the entrants in the field, and reveals his culinary contribution.

Roger A. Baylor, NABC

The competition in addition to Bank Street Brewhouse was Proof on Main, Hammerheads, Eiderdown, The Silver Dollar, Feast BBQ, Zanzabar, Whole Foods, and The Blind Pig. It is a great group to be associated with. Approximately 1,200 people showed, and we ended up making at least 800 of our Tongue-in-Cheek Tacos. People were continuously coming back for repeats.

Tongue-in-Cheek Tacos:
House Made Jowl Bacon Jam
Braised Pork
Sous-Vide Pork Tongue
Pickled Red Onions
Micro Cilantro

Photos are up at LVAA’s FB page: here, here and here.

Meanwhile, largely ignored, a familiar chain brewpub is slated to open downtown — and yes, they’ll actually be brewing some of their beers there: Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant to open May 21 in Louisville’s Fourth Street Live! (Steve Coomes; Insider Louisville)

Other prime Louisville locations for better beer appreciation get a look-see at Hoosier Beer Geek in “The Louisville Beer Trail,” with proper emphasis on the role of localism hereabouts.

Are you “Building International Coalitions Through Beer and Pavement?” If so, I was happy to be interviewed there, and the results are here: Indie-Craft Interview #8: New Albanian’s Roger Baylor.

From humble beginnings as an offshoot of Alltech, the Lexington (KY) Brewing and Distilling Company sees its Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale going national, international and even lunar.

Last, perhaps the clearest explication ever of the reason why macro vs. craft is in fact an evolutionary/revolutionary struggle, one that demands we espouse principled positions and just plain take sides, is offered by the author David Sirota. Unfortunately, some beer geeks are choosing to focus on Sirota’s simplified  descriptions of flavor components rather than accepting the veracity of the larger argument. It’s the forest, guys — not the trees.

Roger A. Baylor, NABC
 

Can beer save America? The redemption of the economy may start with the type of brew you keep in your fridge, by David Sirota (Salon)

 … Nowhere, though, is the battle between the low-price/quantity business model and the higher-price/quality business model more clear than in the world of beer. In the fevered battle between the macrobrew behemoths and the craftbrew insurgents, both sides are digging in for an epic confrontation …

… A Macrobrew Economy — a high-volume, low-price model — asks us to compete with other such economies throughout the world, and the problem is that countries like China will always have lower-priced labor, more lax environmental regulations and lower production standards to win a battle that rewards more and cheaper for more’s and cheaper’s sake. By contrast, a Craft Brew Economy — a high-quality, lower-volume model — is a different proposition. It follows the German model, which, as Time magazine notes, is all about being “committed to making the sort of high-quality, high-performance, innovative products for which the world will pay extra.”

Once again this year, NABC participated in the Taste of Derby Festival, which was held on Wednesday, April 25th at Louisville Slugger Field. This year’s award winners and photos can be found here. NABC’s Director of Brewing Operations, David Pierce, tells about it:
 

Josh Hill and Jeremy Kenedy set up, manned and tore-down the beer side of the event. We served Black and Blue Grass, Hoptimus, Beak’s Best and Bob’s Old 15B. The crowd loved our TV set taps, and we blew both Black and Blue Grass and Hoptimus completely, as well as most of the Beak’s and 15B. It was a great, sold-out crowd. We were stationed inside this year which made for a steamy event.

Chef Matt, Mark, Tonya and Mrs. Chef ran the BSB food venue. They blew through the whole batch of 15B Chocolate Mousse before the half-way point. BSB’s second dish was BBQ served on crustinis. All in all, between 400 and 500 guests were served.

Completing NABC’s trifecta of events on the third weekend in May, 2012, is the fourth edition of the Buy Local First Fair, a celebration of local artisans and businesses, on Sunday, May 20.

Kentuckiana craft brewers will be on hand, although at this precise moment, I’m unsure which ones will be pouring apart from NABC. Here’s the lowdown.

Roger A. Baylor, NABC
 

Buy Local First Fair

Sponsors: Louisville Independent Business Alliance, Grasshoppers Distributing and the Louisville Visual Art Association

When: Sunday, May 20, 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Where: The Water Tower, 3005 River Road in Louisville KY

More information: rebecca(at)keeplouisvilleweird(dot)com

Description: The Buy Local First Fair, a celebration of locally owned/operated boutiques/shops, galleries, restaurants, breweries and much more. There will be farmers market booths, local art, handmade treasures, a variety of delicious food, live music, “Top Chef” competition, a kids area, craft beer and raffle. Please note: Pets are not allowed at the event.

Louisville Loves Mountains returns Friday, May 18

Louisville Loves Mountains returns on Friday evening, May 18. A block-long stretch of Longest Avenue will be cordoned off from where it meets Bardstown Road, in front of Carmichael’s Bookstore and Heine Brothers’ Coffee. Craft beer will be provided by Against the Grain, BBC and NABC. Here’s the rest of the story from the Louisville Loves Mountains event page at Facebook.

Roger A. Baylor, NABC

A popular community festival by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, Heine Brothers’ Coffee, and Carmichael’s Bookstore to raise awareness about mountain top removal mining..

MUSIC, FOOD, BEER, and JUSTICE!

4:00: Festival Start
4:30: Americana Community Center Drum & Dance Crew
5:00: Potluck Ramblers
5:45: Our Earth Now: Connect the Dots Presentation
6:00: KEYNOTE: Erik Reece, author of Lost Mountain
6:15: Bopper Minton from The Amazing Race (Current Season)
6:25: River City Drum Corps
6:40: Sugar Tree
7:15: Appalatin
8:00: Joan Shelley and the June Brides
9:00: The 23 String Band
10:00 Festival End

BEER BY New Albanian Brewing Company, Against The Grain, and Bluegrass Brewing Company (cash beer bar)

FOOD BY Ramsi’s Cafe, Grind Gourmet Burgers, and Morel’s

A percentage of sales from beer and food will go to support KFTC’s work.

LIVE BLOGGING by Laura Marie Read

In the event of rain the festival will move to THE MONKEY WRENCH

For the seventh year in a row, NABC is delighted to occupy the beer vending stations at the RiverRoots Music and Folk Arts Festival in Madison, Indiana, formerly known as the Ohio River Valley Folk Festival.

The festival kicks off on Friday, May 18, at 5: 00 p.m., resumes on Saturday the 19th at 11:00 a.m., and concludes with a Sunday (May 20) session that begins at 12:30 p.m.

Musical headliners this year include The Band of Heathens (Friday), Hayes Carll (Saturday) and The Black Lillies (Sunday). Over the Rhine also will perform on Saturday night. Complete listings are at the web site, with more information available at the RiverRoots page at Facebook.

As we have since the festival’s inception, NABC will share beer vending duties with our friends from Upland Brewing Company (Bloomington IN). There’ll also be draft beer from Great Crescent Brewing in Aurora and Madison’s own Mobreki Brewing, as well as the first-ever appearance by Sun King out of Indianapolis. Currently we’re all huddling to formulate a beer lineup, which I will post when decided.

There’s also a first annual “RiverRoots Brew-Off” homebrewing competition on Sunday afternoon. It’s open to all home-brewers, and the deadline for entries is May 14, so you are sitting on some IPA (the featured style), you still have time to be a part of it. Complete competition information is here.

Roger A. Baylor, NABC

Although I’ll be in Madison, Indiana to man the taps at RiverRoots, NABC is looking forward to working with Against the Grain (and perhaps Bluegrass Brewing Company?) and Heine Brothers again this year at Louisville Loves Mountains on May 18, an event in support of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth. As before, Longest Avenue will be closed at its intersection with Bardstown Road, and a very good cause will be served along with beer and food.

Roger A. Baylor, NABC
 

Local Beer and Organic, Biodynamic Wine available at select Heine Bros locations

For years we have had customers request that we add beer and wine to our menu – saying that they love the atmosphere at Heine Brothers, and would love a reason to come in during the evening to meet with friends and unwind (without caffeine). We’ve thought about it over and over again, and due to our lack of experience with alcoholic beverages, never took the first step. Lucky for us, through our merger with the locally-owned VINT Coffee, we now have people with the experience to make it happen!

Roger A. Baylor, NABC

When it comes to preaching the gospel of real beer, the truth can be revealed to you in the unlikeliest of places … and by the least expected of messengers.

Stone Old Guardian
Stone Old Guardian Belgo

Cheers,

Eric Grey, Cellarman

Bottle Specials:

De Dolle Extra Export
Sierra Nevada Ovila Saison
Stone 2011 Double Bastard

Previously

NABC’s 2011 collaboration with De Struise and Louisville Beer Store will be brewed a second time, with a twist: Angela Rees, the beer buyer for Louisville’s Whole Foods Market (and a former “Here’s to Beer” student of mine), will be bringing a crew of her staff to Bank Street Brewhouse to help NABC on Naughty Girl brew day.

We forecast a Naughty Girl 2012 release circa May 23, and invite readers to stay tuned.

Roger A. Baylor, NABC