Beer lovers won't defy Gravity
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By SUSAN REIGLER • March 6, 2004 snipped-for-privacy@courier-journal.com The Courier-Journal The Dish
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's fair warning to all beer lightweights: Gravity Head is coming to Rich O's Public House, 3312 Plaza Drive in New Albany, for a month or so, starting Friday.
Photo by PAM SPAULDING There may not be another celebration of strong lagers and ales like this anywhere. For the sixth time, proprietor Roger Baylor has assembled an international collection of beers with alcohol by volume measurements well above the usual 4 percent to 5 percent for most beers. This, of course, means that most will be served in half-pint, rather than imperial-pint, portions. The point of Gravity Head is to drink both wisely and well.
Almost 50 kegs will be coming from as far away as California, Great Britain, Germany and Belgium and from as close to home as Baylor's own New Albanian Brewing Co. and Louisville's microbreweries, Bluegrass Brewing Co. and Browning's Brew Pub. The offering will rotate through the taps over the next three or four weeks.
For a sneak preview of Gravity Head VI, you can stop by Browning's, 401 E. Main St., and sample brewster Eileen Martin's "strong old ale" dubbed Hercules, that weighs in at about 7.65% abv. It's a warming brew that goes down all-too-smoothly, thanks to the nutty sweetness of the 2-row caramel and roast barley malts. A half-pint is $2.25.
Browning's is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. The phone number is (502) 515-0174.
Other local beers to be featured during Gravity Head are Bearded Pat's Barley Wine 2002, Mephistopheles Metamorphosis from the Bluegrass Brewing Co. and New Albanian Brewing Co.'s Solidarity Baltic Porter.
Some of the beers coming from the West Coast are Rogue's Imperial Pilsner, Imperial Stout and Old Crustacean Barley Wine 2003; Double Bastard Ale 2003, Old Guard Barley Wine, Ruination Ale and Imperial Stout from Stone; and Bigfoot Barley Wine from Sierra Nevada.
International entries include Gale's Prize Old Ale 1998 and cask-conditioned J.W. Lees Vintage Harvest Ale 2003 from England; De Dolle Dulle Teve, Golden Carolus and Vapeur Cochonne from Belgium; and Aventinus Eisbock and Schelenkerla Rauchbier Ur-Bock from Germany.
Rich O's hours are Monday through Thursday from 3 p.m. to midnight and Friday and Saturday from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. The phone number is (812) 949-2804. For more information about Gravity Head VI, go to
Restaurant critic Susan Reigler's "Drink" columns and "Dining" reviews run Saturdays. Her restaurant-news column, "The Dish," runs in Friday's Weekend EXTRA. You can call her at (502) 582-7078, fax her at (502) 582-4665 or e-mail her at snipped-for-privacy@courier-journal.com.
Online: Find past restaurant reviews, search our Dining Directory or ask Susan a question at courier-journal.com/dining