Capt Keith's Beer Blog

Often, I get requests – as do the managers – for us to bring on beers that cannot be distributed to us. One beer that comes to mind is Alaskan Brewing Company’s Smoke Porter. In fact, I have been getting requests for the porter and the amber for 14 years. It’s that good – I know – I’ve had it several times and would stock it in a heartbeat, but still no luck……

A few reasons we can’t stock EVERY beer. 1 – a brewery is too small and it does not make sense for them to venture too far from home. (quality control and logistics) and 2 – it is not imported to the US (most good Australian beers are not) or 3 – the ABC has restricted it or a distributor does not want it. Seems odd that a distributor may not want a unique and wonderful beer, but remember main stream consumers still drink fizzy yellow beer and distributors want VOLUME. (We are blessed with some very good distributors that “get it” and are on board with this craft beer movement.)

The Saucer does not franchise for a reason. Our seasoned managers know beer – some more than others, but we certainly focus on beer as el numero uno. It takes passion to run a beer joint – passion for good beer. So, we focus on breweries that make a difference and we make friends with brewers from all over the world. We seek out rare liquid to satisfy your palate AND ours.

We will always work hard to scour the market in search of interesting, unique and fantastic beers. That is our commitment to you and to the Beer Movement that we have emersed ourselves into.

Cheers!

This was my second trip to Belize. My first time was a few years back with my wife and some friends. It’s an easy place to get to and very laid back – just how I like it.

This time, it was a fishing trip with some good friends. This was my first time to ever fly fish and we were hunting for Bone Fish and Permit. Niether of these are easy fish to find or catch – so we hired the best guides in Placencia. Ewart and his brothers.

The trip started well enough, with 1st class to Belize City. However, the plane was late enough that we missed our connecting puddle jumper to Placencia. The only driver that would take us on this THREE HOUR journey (45 minutes by plane) was driving a 1980 station wagon that was not really big enough to accomodate the four of us properly. Three hours seemed like a long haul from my perspective – in the trunk of the wagon.

The 3 Hour Cab Ride

If you have ever been to Belize, you know the roads are not great.  I kept thinking of my 8 year old on a road trip with his constant questioning – “are we there yet.” I almost channeled him. I watched Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou on my i-pod, twice….. Bill Murray could quite possibly be the funniest man on the planet.

Fishing the flats was our goal and from where we were staying, it was a 27 mile boat ride. We took two boats and at one point, the swells were so big, that we were unable to see the other boat just 20 yards away. Our guides were “surfing” the waves with these pongas. It was kind of a beating and I’m glad we had capable captains.

Our first day was almost a bust. The wind was so strong that it made fly fishing almost impossible. If you’ve done it, you’ll know what I mean. Casting into 20 mph winds is not easy, especially when you are site fishing and concerned about presentation of the fly on the end of your leader. Of course, the guide showed us how he can cast 50 feet straight into the wind. “It’s all mental”, he said. Yeah, whatever. But hey, we all caught some fish that day and headed back to the mainland.

Our accommodations were stellar. We got the hookup in Belize. Check out the house below. I highly recommend the restaurant at Turtle Inn just down the road. I had stayed there on my first visit and it is fantastic.

Fishing Cabin

Mildly sore, but rested, we set out the next day – crack of dawn – to really catch some bone fish. This time we headed to the Sapodilla Caye District, near Honduras. The water is so blue and clear that it is absolutely amazing. It is, however, quite alarming to see the amount of trash in the waters. Our guides say that a few of their neighboring countries simply throw their trash into the ocean. If you check out this link Science Daily you will see that this is certainly not an isolated problem.

This time the ride was easy because the wind had subsided and the front had moved through. We were all pretty excited about the day’s prospects. We certainly were not disappointed either, because all of us caught plenty.

Camera had wrong date….

The fish were almost too easy to catch, so we decided to stay on an  island in the area so we could wake up and hunt permit EARLY. Permit are hard to find and are much more skittish than the Bone.

Remember, that house we had in Belize? The island accommodations were the exact opposite! Our guide’s mom – Sandra – owns a deserted island that has a few “cabins”.  Picture this – no running water, no electricity, no a/c and no bathrooms. WTH? Our two buds bailed quickly and took the big boat back to the big casa.

Sandra makes sure we are okay with our room. She prepares dinner – Conch and pasta. A bit nervous, I ask if she has any beer…… “Of course, I’ve got some chilling for you.” Dooooood - Belikin lager never tasted so good and never will again! Happily, I took my pale lager and just listened to the waves crash on the beach. Dark, quite and alone – that beer was pretty damn good.

Belikin Lager

People ask me often: “what is your favorite beer?” Well – at this moment, it was definitely Belikin. There is certainly a beer for every mood and moment and when all you got is a pale lager, its fantastic.

That’s Sandra – and bless that woman for thinking ahead!

I slept like a pup and had dreams of Stone Ruination…………..

Woke up before the crack of dawn and hunted the permit. Found them but could not cast to them. We boated over 70 miles for some face-time and left with a big goose egg.

Would I do it again. In a heartbeat.

Slabo out!

We are very proud & fortunate to be a part of the American Craft Beer Movement. June 5th will mark our 14th Anniversary as your beer destination. We have seen some amazing changes in the beer industry during this time. Today, the American Craft Beer Culture is stronger than ever – thanks to you, for seeking out quality beer and understanding them.

I hope you will take a moment and watch this brief video.

“I Am A Craft Brewer” is a collaborative video representing the camaraderie, character and integrity of the American Craft Brewing movement. Created by Greg Koch, CEO of the Stone Brewing Co. and Chris & Jared of Redtail Media…and more than 35 amazing craft brewers from all over the country. The video was shown to a packed audience of 1700 craft brewers and industry members at the 2009 Craft Brewers Conference as an introduction to Greg’s Keynote Speech entitled “Be Remarkable: Collaboration Ethics Camaraderie Passion.” As is tradition for the CBC Keynote, a toast to the audience was offered. This time, the beers offered for the toast were all collaboratively brewed craft beers including Isabella Proximus, Collaboration Not Litigation, AleSmith/Mikkeller/Stone Belgian Style Triple, Jolly Pumpkin/Nøgne-Ø/Stone Special Holiday Ale, and 2009 Symposium Ale “Audacity of Hops.”

A re-cut version will be posted as soon as possible, and a program is in development to include even more of America’s amazing craft brewers. Please stay tuned!

Emmanuel “Manu” De Landsheer, owner of Malheur told me the story behind his small, artisanal brewery. His family has been brewing beer since  the 1600’s in Bougenhout, Belgium near Dentermonde. The original brewery was called Sun Brewery. In the brewery’s tasting room, the walls are adorn with historic photographs of each family member working in the brewery or the hop fields.

All of their beers were living ales – sour ales.  They grew their own hops, they used the well water and their yeast was of the wild atmospheric sort. Over the years, the well water became contaminated with nitrates and the landscape changed as well. The beer was not the same, so they halted brewing and began bottling for others. Today, they are no longer bottling but they do maintain a distribution company as well as an import-export company. In fact, they are the #1 exporter for Westmalle Trappist.

Manu resurrected the brewery and called it Malheur, which produced its first beer in 1997. It was Malheur 4 and it was 5% abv. Malheur is a French word that translates to “misfortune” – maybe that is a strange name for a brewery – maybe not. Apparently, students from the University gave this name as a class project & Manu described it as “hard times or positive disaster” It could be fitting, since it took almost 400 years to evolve into what it is today – through a series of disasters that turned out a positively unique artisanal brewery.

The US imports the 10, 12, Brut and Dark Brut from Malheur. 2000 saw the birth of 12, which is a terrific Dark Belgian Ale (Quadruple). I think Manu called it a brown ale. I tasted it on draft at the brewery and it will rival St Bernardus Abt 12. It’s THAT good.

In 2001, Malheur’s first Brut beer was made. This fantastic beer endures 3 months of bottle fermentation at cave temperatures. After the first three months, they angle the bottles in specially designed racks while turning the bottle clockwise over the course of two weeks – called method champenoise.  When all the yeast settles, they freeze the top portion of the bottle and the extra cO2 built up from secondary fermentation blows this sediment out of the bottle. Afterwards, they cork it, add the wire cage and glue the foil on by hand.

The ingredients are pure and no shortcuts are taken. No sugar or adjuncts are added. The beer quality speaks for itself and if you haven’t tried one yet, most Flying Saucers have Malheur. Bring a friend and share a bottle – this will ease the sting of this high end beer’s price tag.

Lucas, Manu, Sam & me – with a 12 in hand.

  DON’T MISS THIS ONE!!!

The Dogfish Head guys will be in town starting March 31st, so we decided to pair up and do a fun vertical tasting of some of their beers. Vertical tastings include different years of the same recipe compared side by side. These are big beers so we will present them in 4 oz portions and pair them with hors d’oeuvres to compliment each style.

This event will include:

2006 Immort Ale vs 2008 Immort Ale

2006 120 Minute IPA vs 2009 120 Minute IPA

2005 Burton Baton vs 2008 Burton Baton

2006 Fort vs 2008 Fort

It is time to get a little Off-Centered so book your space NOW.

Fort Worth event 7 PM – Tuesday March 31st in Half Acre Hall

Addison event 8 PM – Wednesday April 1st

$35 for UFO Club Members and $40 to non-members

The event will be held upstairs in Half Acre Hall and will be hosted by Lagunitas’ “beer weasel” Ron Lindenbusch. Six of Lagunitas’ beers will be paired with a specially selected five-course menu. Featured pairings include the Dog Town Pale Ale with a salad of mixed greens and goat cheese; the India Pale Ale with a filet of salmon with tarragon chive sauce; the Maximus Imperial IPA with peanut- and spice-rubbed chicken satay with curried rice pilaf; the Cruising with Ruben & The Jets Stout with artisan sausages over beer-braised cabbage; the Old Gnarly Wine as stand-alone feature; and the Brown Shugga with molten chocolate lava cake à la mode with raspberry drizzle.

Ron is expected to bring a vintage Brown Shugga for a vertical sampling. It is a rare opportunity for us to have someone like Ron come and speak to our loyal beerknurds. We are saving space for only 45 people to make it more informative and interactive for those who attend.

Since we picked up the HopSlam, we have moved 7 kegs and are now forced to hold back the rest of the stock for the March 4th Brewery night with Bells.

Matt has a treat for those of you who plan to attend.  A Cask of HopSlam that will be tapped at 7 PM SHARP. Mark your calendars – it will not last long! This beer is a Double or Imperial IPA with over 100 IBU’s and just at 10 % abv. Go easy, it goes down easier than you’d think.

Comments : I would just like to say thank you for showing me what a beer bar really should be. I am overwhelmed with every single aspect of the experience of your bar. In an instant, it became my beer mecca. I only wish I had one nearby. I will have to visit my father in law more often!

Thank you,
-Andrew Sean Killilea

Andrew – Thank you for the kind words. I love to see this type of e-mail because I know all of us work hard to present each beer at its very best. We appreciate you and the rest of the customers that frequent the Saucer.

Capt Keith – FUBA

Okay, my friends, Rob Tod will be with us at the Flying Saucer in Austin for a little meet and greet on Thursday, February 26th from 5 – 7 PM.

As many of you know, Rob was scheduled to speak at a tutored tasting on Groundhog Day, but he has a mishap in Maine that prevented him from coming.

He will be on hand to discuss beer and to help us distribute some special brew to those of you who attended. Hell, even if you didn’t attend, come out to shake his hand and drink some world-class beer.