I’ll begin with another apology: I’m sorry that it’s taking me so long to publish the next installments of the “40 Years in Beer” series, which now has been 42 years, pointing to an eventual title change when this serialized memoir draws to a conclusion.
However, there’ll soon be a deluge, and I’m confident you’ll approve.
Following is the current working order of installments to come, and they’re probably 75% (or more) complete, which is to say that I’ve finally descended into the basement for the critical banker’s boxes. Let’s put it this way: to cover the years 1993 and 1994, as many as eight (now twelve) separate parts will be necessary, and for the first time ever, I’ve actually plotted them in advance.
I might actually be getting better at this, although I’d advise not betting on it. The first few have appeared, and I’ll return to update this page as chapters are published.
- 40 Years in Beer (Book II) Part 46): 40 Years in Beer (Book II) Part 46: Expansion culminating in espresso and the Red Room in 1993 … Rich O’s overview and remodeling (coffee area, Red Room).
- 40 Years in Beer (Book II) Part 47): 40 Years in Beer (Book II) Part 47: A “special vacation” with Kölsch, Altbier and Roggenbier (1993) … a wedding preceding the “special vacation,” with stops in Cologne, Dusseldorf, Copenhagen and Kosice (1993).
- 40 Years in Beer (Book II, Part 48): F.O.S.S.I.L.S. newsletter antics, Typo’s Brewpub, and True Beer Freedom … Walking the Dog, newsletter of the F.O.S.S.I.L.S. homebrewing and beer appreciation club, came of age in 1993. Aficionados of barbed polemics rejoiced, but WTD wasn’t always well-received in places like Ft. Mitchell KY and St. Louis MO.
- 40 Years in Beer (Book II) Part 49: Bluegrass Brewing Co. — an ideal brewpub? Also, the Lite-Free Zone … Our contemporary era of beer and brewing in Louisville dates to the years 1992 – 1994. Bluegrass Brewing Company was born in late autumn of 1993, and the Lite-Free Zone at Rich O’s came along in January 1994.
- 40 Years in Beer (Book II) Part 50: The famous FOSSILS “Budweiser Versus Budvar” direct mailing campaign and our challenge to Charlie Papazian (1994).
- 40 Years in Beer (Book II) Part 51: Unexpectedly Papazian replied to the FOSSILS challenge. Unsurprisingly his answer was I don’t know, I can’t help, and don’t quote me on that.
- 40 Years in Beer (Book II) Part 52: By 1997, when I visited České Budějovice for the second time, the immediate threat to Budvar was averted, and it was time for a victory lap aimed at the rice paddies in St. Louis — and still Papazian relaxed.
- 40 Years in Beer (Book II) Part 53: 1994 Euro beer travels: “An Afternoon with Santa Claus” (visiting the maker of Samichlaus in Zurich) and an introduction to “Old” Albania.
- 40 Years in Beer (Book II), Part 54: 1994 Euro beer travels, conclusion: Albania.
- 40 Years in Beer (Book II), Part 55: 1994 Euro beer travels: A first experience of Pamplona and the Running of the Bulls (1994).
- 40 Years in Beer (Book II) Part 56: Michael Jackson’s legendary visit to Louisville, part one (1994).
- 40 Years in Beer (Book II) Part 57: Michael Jackson’s legendry visit to Louisville, part two (1994).
All these taken together will comprise somewhere in the vicinity of 25,000 – 30,000 words when finished, and the earliest episodes should be ready for publication (once per week) by the middle of June and run through August, which should get me through the next “all hands on deck” phase of Food & Dining Magazine’s quarterly preparation, during which I customarily have little time and brain space left over for my own life.
Thanks for reading.
I typically avoid hyperbole, but the coming chapters are quite interesting, and I think you’re going to conclude in the end that they were worth the wait.
Beers with a Stoic closes a circle that dates to 1978, when my first college class was “Intro to Philosophy.” Later, philosophy and history were my major and minor, respectively. Stoicism comes to us from ancient Greece, positing that to embrace the virtues of wisdom, courage, justice and moderation, we can attain “ataraxia,” or a sense of inner tranquility and harmony in our own lives, focusing on matters we can control — thoughts, emotions, and actions — while accepting the things we cannot, like the actions of others, or the natural course of events taking place in the world around us. No one is perfect, least of all me. But we all keep trying, pausing here and there for a beer. For more: Stoicism.
