(It annoys me as necessary to post a disclaimer, as it should be obvious that a diary entry is coming from me as an individual, and has nothing to do with my employment.)
I stopped by New Albanian Brewing Company Pizzeria & Public House yesterday afternoon for a beer with my friend Terry. My choice was brewer Lizzie Minton’s Winged Hussar, a fine Vienna-style lager.
Have I mentioned lately that interns of continuous production, NABC (independently and locally operated since 1987) is now the 8th-oldest brewery in Indiana, dating to 2002?
Or that the existence of four other breweries in New Albany testifies to NABC’s pioneering work?
Speaking of history, it matters, and absent any real chance of being refuted, one can say that the beer list/beer selection at NABC has been unquestionably among the best in New Albany from 1992 through 2026.
Honestly, it has been the best, by consistent acclamation.
Until relatively recently, there simple were no challengers. However, nowadays we’re ensconced within the post-truth era. I’ve made one slight change to this pertinent definition.
Post-truth refers to a situation whereby facts have lost their currency in contemporary political and public debate. The concept is not so much used to suggest that the truth does not exist, but that facts have become secondary to our political marketing point of view.
When I was managing the beer program at Pints&union from 2018 – 2023, I’d have contested the “best beer list” title, but the strength of NABC’s drafts (house and guest) likely would have prevailed. My bottles and cans were pretty damn good, though, and you just might never see anything like it again in this town.
I’d have been quite happy to finish second in any objective rendering.
I left NABC in stages from 2015 through 2018. Even before departing, others came aboard to look after the beer program, and this is the point: after me, from Mike through Eric to Jeff (R.I.P.) and now Stephen, NABC has promoted and sustained a culture of excellence, with its own house-brewed beers, and guest crafts, and guest imports.
It’s like coaching a team over time. You organize both drafts and package according to a defined culture, and although I’ve been gone a good while, it is gratifying to see the traditions continue.
What I saw yesterday at NABC was a draft list...Read more
