Rogue John John Dead Guy now on tap, plus Kelso Recessionator.

As you might expect, we could resist this beer, based solely on its name, but it's damn good too:

Rogue John John Dead Guy Ale (Newport, OR; $6/ 16 oz). The John John series is a collaboration between Rogue’s brewmaster John Maier and Rogue’s master distiller John Couchot. For this release, they’ve taken the award-winning Dead Guy Ale and matured it in Dead Guy whiskey barrels for three months. The result is a German-style Maibock, deep malt aroma and a caramel, vanilla, and oak finish. 6.5% ABV.

We also have Kelso Recessionator back for a very limited time:

Kelso Recessionator (Brooklyn, NY; $7/12 oz). This Double Bock, a limited release from Kelso, is a very complex brew, with hints of dried fruit, alcohol, and even some coffee. This might be the last batch that gets made, so get it while you can. 8.2% ABV.

It's a good time to check out the bar, in other words.

Chin Music poetry returns on February 11 at 7 pm!

Please join us for our 2010 Winter/Spring season opener with three fine poets: Jean Hartig, Maya Funaro, and Noel Sikorski. Other poets to be featured this season include Elizabeth Arnold, David Baker, Elaine Bleakney, Aaron Baker, Aaron Balkan, John Burnside, Henri Cole, Ishion Hutchinson, Major Jackson, Steven Karl, Alison Moncrief, Geoffrey Nutter, Matthew Rohrer, and Page Starzinger. Series curated by Colin Cheney.

FEATURED WRITERS

Jean Hartig's chapbook AVE, MATERIA was published last year by the Poetry Society of America as winner of the New York City Chapbook Fellowship competition judged by Fanny Howe. Jean's work has also appeared in Storyscape, Pax Americana, and Sink Review. She had her MFA experience at Sarah Lawrence and is an editor at Poets & Writers Magazine.

Maya Funaro's chapbook SETTING IN MOTION was released in 2009 by Fox Point Press. She completed her MFA in poetry at Hunter College in May of 2008. Her poems have appeared in Ekleksographia and Ology. She holds a B.A. in Visual Art from Brown University and has studied printmaking, bookbinding and letterpress printing in Providence, Bologna and New York. Born and raised in South Jersey, she currently makes her home in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

Noel Sikorski has published poems in the American Poet, Painted Bride Quarterly, and The Bellevue Literary Review. She teaches in the Expository Writing Program at New York University and lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Sorry everyone

For weeks Cal has said the Cal-OSU game would be televised "nationally" on CBS. Apparently "nationally" means "on the West Coast". So we can't show the game today--a different game is playing on CBS out here. Thank you Cal Athletics and/or CBS for deceiving us (not sure whose responsible for this mix-up). The good news is almost all the Cal games coming up will be televised.

As you might think

there will be no pub quiz on Super Bowl Sunday, February 7. Instead, we'll have the, well, Super Bowl, on both of our big projection screens. Come by to watch; it starts at 6:30, theoretically, though God knows what pregame shenanigans there will be.

And even sooner

we'll have a Flying Dog event at 7 pm on February 11. It'll be the New York City release of their brand-new Raging Bitch, their 20th anniversary beer, and we'll have a few choice other Flying Dog selections, like the Double Dog Double Pale Ale and the Garde Dog farmhouse ale. Flying Dog has collected a bunch of accolades recently, including being named the 2009 Mid-Size Brewing Company of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival, and garnering three gold medals and one silver medal for their beers. The details on Raging Bitch:

Flying Dog Raging Bitch Belgian IPA (Denver, CO; $6/12 oz). Bitches come in a variety of forms, but there's never been something as sassy as Raging Bitch Belgian IPA. An American IPA augmented with Belgian El Diablo yeast, Flying Dog's 20th anniversary beer jumps out of the glass and nips at your taste buds with its delicate hop bitterness. 8.3% ABV.

As usual, we'll put all the Flying Dog beers on special and give away some stuff. Katie from Flying Dog will be here, too.

Mark your calendars--

on March 25, we'll be having a North Coast Brewing event, with rarely seen classics like Brother Thelonious and Le Merle, plus some very cool giveaway items that we'll raffle off (shirts! CDs!), and folks from the brewery. More details as the date approaches; just wanted to give you folks out in the ether a heads-up.

Our comedy series is back on February 10!

Here are the details on the first installment of our brand-spanking-new comedy night:

TITLE: The Wade Wilson Experience
DATE: February 10th, 2009 (Wednesday)
LOCATION: Pacific Standard, 82 4th Avenue, Brooklyn
TIME: 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM
COST: FREE

This variety showcase features comedians and musicians at the top of
their game bringing their best back to Brooklyn.

Hosted by Calvin Cato (Game Show Network, Comix, PIT's Naked Comedy
Show) and Justin Murray (Underground Comedy Show, Finalist in Astoria
Comedy Competition)

With comedy by:
Rachael Parenta (Comix's Please Someone Kill Me, Vox Pop Comedy
Showcase, Portland Comedy Festival)
Pat Rigby (Gotham Comedy Club, opened for Dave Chapelle)
Luna (New York Comedy Club)
Pat O'Shea (Ed Sullivan On Acid, Boston Comedy Festival)
Debbie Shea (Comedy Central's Premium Blend)

And music by:
Kathryn Zimmer (Heard on WPKN, Radio Crystal Blue Top Artist)

Some great pictures of the bar

from Christian, our excellent logo designer:

Monday secret specials starting next week.

Just because we're bored and kind, for the duration of January and February, we'll be doing some super-secret Monday specials. We'll notify you folks in the in crowd of the special in the weekly mailing list e-mail, and on our blog/Twitter/Facebook accounts. Specials will vary with our whims, and are all only while supplies last.

Our first special is a nice one: come in on Monday the 18th, have two beers, mention the special to the bartender, and get 5 handsome Pacific Standard logo coasters to take home for all your drink moisture needs. They're made of sturdy cardboard and are quite durable, if not completely bulletproof.

Stay tuned for more specials--we have some pretty fancy stuff up our sleeves. In fact, we might need bigger sleeves.

And another

fantastic and rare new bottled beer from Florida, Cigar City Winter Warmer:

Cigar City Warmer Winter Winter Warmer (Tampa, FL; $12/25.4 oz). This English-style old ale uses American hops and has a dark caramel and toffee sweetness balanced by a citrus dryness. 10%.

Three new bottled beers and more Deschutes Black Butte.

We just stocked up on our most-loved bottled beer, Deschutes Black Butte Porter, and added a few amazing new ones, the ridiculously good Ninkasi Tricerahops, the Grand Teton Bitch Creek ESB, and the Alaskan Smoked Porter. The details:

Grand Teton Bitch Creek ESB (Victor, ID; $7/12 oz). Bitch Creek balances big malt sweetness and robust hop flavor in a full-bodied, satisfying mahogany ale. Like the stream for which it is named, Bitch Creek ESB is full of character. 6.5%.

Ninkasi Tricerahops Double IPA (Eugene, OR; $9/$22 oz). Hops, hops, and more hops combine with enough malt to make this a balanced double IPA. Tricerahops has a dry-hopped aroma, but the taste is floral and smooth. 8.8%.

Alaskan Smoked Porter (Juneau, AK; $12/22 oz). The dark, robust body and pronounced smoky flavor of this beer give it an adventuresome taste. Alaskan Smoked Porter is produced in limited "vintages" each year, and is one of the most award-winning beers in the history of the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup. 6.5%.

Deschutes Black Butte Porter (Bend, OR; $7/12 oz). Black Butte Porter uses chocolate and crystal malts, crafting a rich yet easy-to-drink dark beer. 5.2%.

Meet Speakeasy on January 29!

On Friday the 29th we shall have the unique pleasure of a visit from Meg of San Francisco's fantastic Speakeasy brewery. We'll also have four awesome Speakeasy beers on tap, including a few only rarely seen in these eastern parts. The lineup:

Speakeasy Winter Spice Ale (San Francisco, CA; $6/16 oz). Winter Spice is an aromatic and malty brown ale infused with subtle notes of allspice, clove, and ginger. It's very easy-drinking for a winter ale, but nicely complex. 6.5% ABV.
Speakeasy Brewer’s Reserve Old Godfather (San Francisco, CA; $7/12 oz). This barleywine pours a dark reddish-brown and smells of caramel malts, cherries, raisins, and its hefty alcohol content. The taste is pleasantly dry for the style, with a warming finish. 13.7% ABV.
Speakeasy Big Daddy IPA (San Francisco, CA; $6/16 oz). Big Daddy pours a pale color, with strong hop aromas. The taste is dry and crisp, with the emphasis on the bountiful additions of Pacific Northwest hops, though there's a subtle pale malt presence in the background. 6.5% ABV.
Speakeasy Untouchable Pale Ale (San Francisco, CA; $6/16 oz). Untouchable does justice to the American pale ale style, enforcing a strict balance between an arresting hop flavor and a smooth maltiness that operates undercover. 5.5% ABV.

We'll have specials on all four beers, and we'll be giving away some Speakeasy and Pacific Standard schwag as well.

2009 Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

is now on, replacing our much-loved cellared 2008 keg. But we think you'll find the 2009 edition of Bourbon County Stout quite pleasing as well. The details:

Goose Island Bourbon County Stout (Chicago, IL; $8/8 oz). Goose Island has been releasing this highly anticipated beer once every year for the last seventeen years. The 2009 batch kicks things up a notch; it's aged for ten months in sixteen-year-old bourbon barrels. This process allows the liquid to pick up its intense charred oak, chocolate, vanilla, caramel, and smoke flavors. 13.0% ABV.