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COMING SOON!
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Scenes
from the |
 Now that's the way to drink a firkin! |
 signs at the Mini RAF |
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 programs and tasting glasses |
 The firkins on top of JD barrels |
 Festivities start as Dan and Joan hand out the shwag |
 Sweet nectar of the gods |
 Chef Martin pulls the pork |
 A pulled pork sandwich in the making |
 Meat of the gods |
 Chf and Joan taking care of business |
 Is that a Chef Oscar sighting? |
 A thing of beuaty: firkin row |
 A couple of locals can't keep their hands off each other |
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For
yet more photos, these by Mark Pansing...
 ...click on his photo |
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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.
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: 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:
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! |
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