With enough grit and determination, a person can overcome any handicap, whether he's a blind man climbing Everest, or a one-armed man strangling Harrison Ford's wife. Even more inspiring: The Blind Tiger Ale House, finally serving beer this Thursday.

The Tiger was a West Village standby before their landlord booted them in favor of a Starbucks. BT reopened on Bleecker, but couldn't get a liquor license -- so for months they were forced to operate as a coffee shop, selling muffins and seething in irony. Then last weekend, the SLA granted an unexpected reprieve -- good fortune BT'll celebrate with beer: 28 taps, two casks, and 40 bottles, concentrating on American microbrews and "weird sh*t most people have never heard of". Rarities include the last remaining stash from Jersey's sadly defunct Heavyweight Brewing Company, and irreplaceable, first-batch bottles from Cooperstown's award-winning Ommegang brewery -- like drinking a cold, delicious Dennis Eckersley rookie card.

Of course, since alcoholics are as fickle as the SLA is capricious, you didn't patronize the Tiger while its hardest offerings were lattes. Now's your shot at redemption: forward this write-up to friends, and tell them to hit Thursday's long-awaited reopening -- even if they have to feel their way down there, dragging a lifeless body with their non-plastic hand.


More info at BlindTigerAleHouse.com (site not yet updated)