An opportunity has arisen to revive something that was lost somewhere along the way, and this makes me happy.
Before explaining the impending comeback, the precise details of which are still being hammered into place, allow me to sketch the back story of my foray into beer-based performance art.
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I can’t remember exactly when the tradition of private beer tastings started at the New Albanian Brewing Company, but at a forgotten juncture I began donating certificates for these tastings to worthy non-profit organizations for their use in fundraising, typically at silent auctions.
By the early 2000s, I was doing them regularly, and some of the organizations were repeat customers, year after year. The total number of certificate redemptions over a period of 15 or more years might have approached 100.
These tastings were a great way of leveraging positive results and I’m proud of them. The certificates cost NABC only a few ounces of beer per attendee, plus breadsticks and my time, anywhere between one hour and three depending on the interest of the particular group. They kept me sharp and on my toes. There was the occasional dud, but my memories are uniformly excellent.
When I stepped away from NABC in 2016 and began buyout negotiations, it didn’t occur to me that my private beer tastings would be no more, at least until the usual calls and e-mails started coming, and I was obliged to be the bearer of bad tidings. I hated to say no, but alas, I no longer could say yes.
Seeing as there wasn’t anyone at NABC who was able (or more accurately, willing) to continue with the tastings, they came to an inglorious halt.
During my subsequent tenure at Pints&union, I managed a few such events, but learned early on that the floor plan at Pints just was not conducive to education; it was too cramped, noisy and chaotic, with nowhere to sequester the group as had been the case at the Public House. Common Haus had exquisite possibilities, but was shuttered so quickly that I had almost no time to explore them.
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Consequently I’m pleased to announce that a resumption of “One Night with the Publican” (or a variant thereof) is in the offing thanks to the good offices of Greg Brown, owner of Harbor & Hops at 3010 Gottbrath Pkwy. in Jeffersonville.
After Greg appeared on an episode of The Pubcast last year, at my cohost Blake Montgomery’s suggestion the two of us began talking about building a regular rotation of beer tastings at his establishment, not structured specifically as charity giveaways (although this element is essential in the sense of a percentage tithed) but organized thematically, and to be held on an ongoing basis.
It sounds like a great deal of fun to me.
I sincerely believe that craft/better/real beer has long since lost the thread when it comes to education, which in my assessment always was the process that instills lasting and genuine appreciation for beer, as opposed to the ephemerality of clickbait photos on Instagram.
Simply stated, beer education is too important to be left to the “brewers” of kumquat chipotle sours.
When I have a schedule to announce, it will appear at the website and on social media. IN the meantime, check our Harbor & Hops. I meet my pal Jerry there on a semi-regular basis for Friday lunch and libations, and have always enjoyed the fare and atmosphere.
