Damn, I was good in my prime. The following dates to 2006 (cover art credit: Anthony Beard) and is self-explanatory. Shortly thereafter, we got wise and moved the start back to “Black Friday,” which made a lot more sense overall. Gravity Head may have been the “greatest hit,” but Saturnalia was the song I never tired of playing.
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BONA SATURNALIA! COME UNLEASH YOUR INNER PAGAN AS WE PRESENT “SATURNALIA MMVI,” A WINTER SOLSTICE DRAFT BEER FESTIVAL BEGINNING DECEMBER 15.
In pre-Christian Rome, Saturnalia was the annual winter solstice celebration that originally coincided with the feast days for Saturn (god of sowing and the harvest), Consus (god of the storage bin) and Opa (goddess of plenty).
Many of our contemporary winter holiday traditions derive from Saturnalia’s pagan roots, including the hanging of wreaths and garlands, donations to the needy, prayers for peace on earth, time away from work to be enjoyed with family, and of course eating, drinking and merriment.
On Friday, December 15, Rich O’s Public House and Sportstime Pizza pays tribute to these ancient pagan origins with the kick-off of Saturnalia, a draft beer festival scheduled to last past Christmas and New Year’s into January of 2007.
For NABC’s third Saturnalia celebration, I’ve gathered more than 40 special kegs of beer – some rare, some seasonal and others just innately festive – from America and around the world (see complete list below). Some of these hard-to-find beers will be appearing in draft form for the first time ever in metropolitan Louisville.
When the doors open at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, December 15, the first 17 sacrificial Saturnalia selections for MMVI will be revealed, tapped in a ritualistic manner … and the hedonistic pleasure will begin. The remaining kegs will be tapped as needed as the first wave depletes … and so it will proceed past New Year’s into January, 2007.
THE BEERS.
Pricing and portion sizes vary according to alcohol content and style. Selections marked with an asterisk * are appearing on draft for the first time at Rich O’s Public House and Sportstime Pizza. There will more than 40 draft beers in all, with 17 to be tapped on December 15, and the remaining ones following in due course as openings occur. This will take several weeks. During the festival’s run, information and updates will appear on these web sites:
Publicanista!
Potable Curmudgeon
NABC (under reconstruction)
Veterans observers of the process involved with procurement will recall that none of my festival...Read more
