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mini REAL ALE FEST
A FIRKIN SUCCESS
You
came out in droves, and sampled the best ales that sentral Ohio
had to offer that day. Nearly 400 enthusiastic beer geeks showed
up to our biggest mini yet.
Seventeen
ales, stouts and barley wine, most all in cask or firkin, were consumed.
Whole hog mini pulled pork sandwiches were assembled to order right
off the carcass. Guest taps, including oak barrel aged Yeti imperial
stout and Pilgrim's Dole wheatwine were downed at the bar. The patio
was packed on a glorious afternoon.

Sara
dispenses some Mother Earth Anniversay Ale while the crowd talks
amongst itself
It's
all history now. Check out the photos on the right, and you can
see
more pix here by Mark Pansing. Thanks to all of you who help
keep real ale alive not only in our fair city, but in the nation
and world. We'll keep doing our best to showcase the best we can
get our hands on. Cheers!
Barley's
Bombshell Blonde on Tap Now!

Just
in time for spring, we've landed a new beer. It's a true bombshell
of a Helles-style lager, and we call it Barley's Bombshell Blonde.
If you think that when you've had one pilsner, you've had them all,
this one's for you. More
details here...
Barley's
Nitro: Mindola's Granola Oatmeal Stout
This
was yet another feature of the mini. Unfortunately for those of
you who weren't here, it's all gone now. We introduced nitros this
past winter, and it looks like you dig it.
We
infuse nitrogen into the cask, replacing much of the sharp carbon
dioxide. The result is a creamy smooth ale, unlike anything else.
Fear not, though. Check back to find out when our next nitro will
be available, possibly Pint O Joe.
Barley's
Hoptopus on Now on Tap
Last
year at this time, we introduced a new imperial pale wheat we call
The Hoptopus. Refreshing, yet loaded with Amarillo hops, this ale
has abundant citrus and pine notes for the hophead with spring fever.
We tapped it again this year, the day before our 6th annual mini
REAL ALE FEST. It should be around until late May. More
details here...
THE
PATIO IS NOW OPEN
Our
patio is in full swing now. You can enjoy your favorite pint, along
with our mouth-watering barbecue outside, either in the shade, under
cover, or in the sun.

We've
got full service outside, so all you have to do is show up with
your crowd, land we'll take car of you. (Of course, we're open inside
as well!)

HAPPY
HOUR OFFERINGS
Happy Hour is better than ever at the 'House.
Happy Hour is from 4-7:00 PM, Monday thru Friday, and we offer $3.25
pints on Barley's ales from the tower (with a few exclusions). We've
still got discounted prices on mixed drinks, bottled beer and wine.
You
can see our daily food features for the entire
week here. Pack Up Your Blues. See you at
the 'House!
THE
'HOUSE IN HI DEF
Our
installation of HDTVs is complete. We now have nine plasma screens,
wide screen projection and HD receivers. What better way to watch
a leisurely baseball game this summer than with your mates, drinking
Barley's real ale?
You're
assured of a great view from just about anywhere now. If you haven't
seen what we're up to, stop by (and don't forget to buy your ticket
to the 6th Annual Mini Real
Ale Fest!)

Your Game. Your Beer. Our Place. Game on!
SCOTCH,
EXPORT ALE & READINGS GALORE:
NINTH ANNUAL ROBERT BURNS DINNER A SMASH!
Cold
enough for you? It's colder than... well, you see the caption above.
Last Saturday, though, it was toasty as heck--several toasts, in
fact. The venue was our ninth annual Robert Burns Dinner and Scottish
Export Ale Tapping.
It
was all for Robert Burns' 249th birthday. We piped in the haggis,
we toasted to Burns' immortal memory and we feasted on some pretty
darned tasty grub. Chef Martin ground his own venison sausage, which
he smoked to perfection. Scotch egg, traditional shortcake with
house-made chocolate truffle, and yes, wonderful haggis. As we've
done every year, our haggis was custom made for us by a Scottish
exptriate now living in the distant state of Washington.
Hmm... haggis.

Many
of us felt compelled to recite some poetry, and we heard many for
the first time this year. Later that evening, we moved to an R-rating
and finally to X, as we heard some of Rabbie's more ribbald classics.
You
can see some of the festivities in the photos to your right, and
you can enjoy a few more shots, courtesy of Mark Pansing, who uploaded
them for
your viewing pleasure.
We
concluded the evening with an enthusiatic, if a bit off-key rendition
of Auld Lange Syne, perhaps the best known poem (and song) by Robert
Burns.
Mark
your calendars for next year as we bring you our tenth annual Robert
Burns Dinner, as we celebrate what would have been his quarter-of-a-millenium
birthday. It'll be held about the same time of year then.
Thanks
to all for making this the best Burns celebration to date!
TOP
TEN BEER COMMERCIALS
While
we know you love Barley's ales, we don't do commercials. We leave
that to the big boys. A website called CamelTap has compiled the
top ten. As you quaff a pint of ours from
your growler at home, enjoy
a few commercials from them. Cheers!
BREWING
AND THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
Who
knew you had to have both an economics AND a political science degree
just to brew beer?
As
we enter 2008, here at Barley's, we're facing challenges we've never
seen before. Rest assured, though, that we're working hard to ensure
you feel minimal impact.
First,
our planet is simply out of hops. Hops are grown thorughout the
world, but principally in Great Britain, Germany, Australia, and
here at home, in the Pacific northwest.
Harvest
time for hops is generally in late summer and early autumn. At that
point, this finite supply of hops is warehoused for use throughout
the year. The larger breweries (do we have to name them?) contract
for their needs at the beginning of the year, and commonly, for
longer periods.
We
craft brewers scramble for the rest. During our history, that's
worked out just fine. Until a few months ago.
We
are faced with a worse situation than a hop shortage. We cant get
hops. Four reasons:
- A
warehouse fire in California last fall took out a 1,000,000 pound
supply of hops for the coming year;
- Over
the last ten years, hop production has slowly fallen as farmers
planted crops that might fetch them more dollars;
- Poor
hop crops due to weather, particularly in Germany and Australia;
and
- The
US initiative to step up production of ethanol had many hop farmers
plow under their vines to grow corn instead. Did you know that
a year ago, corn sold for $2 a bushel, and now fetches $4? The
ethanol industry in the US consumed one third of the entire worldwide
corn supply! That explains why food costs you more at the grocery
store, but we digress. For us, it means fewer hops are being grown.
We've
scrambled, and continue to look for hops anywhere we can get them.
Right now, we've got at least a six month supply. We'll continue
to accumilate as we can. Right now, we're waiting to hear if we
can get Cascade hops from Argentina, of all places.
Right
now, we've got you covered. It's not without cost, though. Hop prices
have doubled, and in some cases, nearly tripled.
Grain
is another story. You know we import our grain from Great Britain.
We know it makes a difference in our beer, and we'll continue to
use it. However, with the US dollar as weak as it is, we're paying
dearly for using non-domestic grain. When the US Dollar buys less
Euros, we feel the impact. In the past six months, our British grain
cost is up 50% or more.
We
let you know all of this for two reasons. First, we hope you understand
that the price of your pint will cost you a bit more now. We don't
like to raise prices any more than you like to pay them, but we're
bumping a pint up just a quarter. We trust you understand.
Second,
we feel that we've got a great opportunity here. As we find that
we can't brew some of the beers you've grown fond of, we will be
coming up with new recipes that reflect the raw materials we find
as we search the planet. We'll brew the best we can with what we
have. This may mean entirely new beers that you've never had before.
A
new Pale Ale and India Pale Ale are the first results of our efforts.
They will be on tap within the next two weeks. More details soon.
Life's
an adventure, and we'll be taking this trip together. We thank you
for your support all these years, and we hope you stop in to experience
the results of the changes in the wind.
Here's
to a great 2008!
That's
it until next week. If you have any questions, comments or concerns,
write to me.
Cheers!
Brewdood
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