Capt Keith's Beer Blog

Today is the second annual Stout Day, (or Tempranillo Day, for the oenophile) and people all over the country have their smart phone in one hand and their pint glass in the other.  Just like IPA Day, Stout Day is a social media driven beer holiday and is focused on not only drinking a stout, but celebrating the stout and spreading its good word.  We have teamed up with Untappd to produce a special badge for those that use their great beer tracking app.  All you have to do is check into the Saucer and a Stout Beer and the badge is yours.  Our Saucers and Moth are all celebrating in different ways, and some are taking it to the next level by celebrating Stout Week and even Stout Month.  Check in with your local spot, everyone has great things planned.

Many people are getting fed up with these “National” holidays (eg. Talk Like a Pirate Day, National Cheeseburger Day, and plenty other even more rediculous made up holidays) but since our little Craft Beer thing represents barely over 5% of the national market, it is up to us to spread the word and get “Lite” Beer drinkers to drop their Macro products and pick up a craft beer.  The stout and the IPA are two of the most misunderstood styles, so to me it makes sense for these two styles to be the first to earn their own day.  How many times have you heard someone say “I don’t like dark beers” only to find out they have never even tried one?  So many people are too quick to judge books by their cover and don’t understand the versatility the stout can have.  Watching someones eyes light up the first time they sip a Milk Stout sweetened with unfermentable lactose, or even a thick and chewy Imperial Stout, perhaps aged in bourbon barrels or on a bed of cocoa nibs never gets old to me. That’s half the fun of craft beer.  Sharing our knowledge and understanding of this craft along with a couple ounces of our favorite beer we might have smuggled back from a vacation wrapped in a sweater we took to the beach simply for the padding.  There are so many people out there who do not understand what we hold so dear, and in some cases take for granted.

Remember, today is not only about the stout (or generating web traffic for the various websites built around capitalizing on this opportunity, most of which I think are spreading the good word for the greater cause) but is also about sharing.  Invite someone from your office who doesn’t drink good beer to your favorite beer joint for Happy Hour today.  Spread the word through your social media outlets that you live the good life and enjoy beer made by hands and not machines.  Proudly exclaim what you’re drinking, who your drinking it with, and where. Open the door for another to become as enlightened as you are.  Help those who are drinking rice/corn beer loaded with chemicals to find out there is more out there.  And as always, tip your server well for letting you have all the fun.

We had a blast with our Summer Beer FEAST out on Lake Ray Hubbard, but now it is time to gear up for our Fall Festivals and this year we are adding one to the list.

Tickets are on sale now: Click the link below to buy your tickets today.

• Nashville – September 22nd. (This will be our 3rd annual festival here and we are doubling the beer offering)
• Austin – September 29th
• Fort Worth – October 13th  

Each of our festivals will have at least 60 brews to choose from and at the Nashville fest you will be allowed unlimited sampling from 1-6pm.    There are still a few VIP tickets remaining for the Nashville fest that include:

• Early admission by one hour
• A sweet BeerFEAST T shirt
• VIP brew caddy taster glass lanyard
• One food voucher for any one of the available food trucks
• Most importantly you will have access to the VIP only line for early access to the rare tappings.

Unfortunately we have to play by a different rule book at our Festivals in Texas since State Law prohibits us from giving more than 24 ozs of beer for one price. We will be selling additional tasting cards for (12) two ounce samples for only $6 inside the Fest, to allow you to sample even more of our delicious offerings at a reduced price. We’ve been collecting these brews for some time now and are looking forward to sharing them with you. Spread the good word. Space will be limited.

Sugar Land will also be joining in on the fun with their inaugural festival on October 27th, but their tickets are not on sale quite yet.  Keep an eye on their Twitter account @SaucerSugarLand for updates on VIP and General Admission ticket releases within the next two weeks.  And as always, the Twitter savvy can follow me @Schlabs, or my right hand man @SaucerSam as well as @SaucerFeast for a peak behind the scenes.

Last year we had some great success with a few #IPAday celebrations and this year we are getting behind it full force.  Every Saucer will be having some really great, and unique, IPA day experiences.  Tons of special tappings, casks, and of course discounts on India Pale Ales on draught and in bottle.  Come out and see us today and help celebrate the India Pale Ale.

We are also teaming up with Untappd, a web based social beer app that helps you track and share your beers with your friends.  Last year the Austin Flying Saucer had the most Untappd IPA Check Ins of any #IPAday celebration in the world and this year we want to fill up the top ten with Flying Saucers!  If you use Untappd, help us accomplish our goals by checking in a getting a special “IPADay: Saucer Style” badge as well as your IPA Day 2012 badge.

One of our favorite breweries is having a landmark birthday this year.  The mascot of Brasserie D’Achouffe is a little gnome that graces the packaging of all their brands and has quite an interesting back story. Chouffe actually can be translated as gnome from the Waloon dialect of the Belgian Ardennes region.  According to local legend, there was a goblin brewery nestled in the woods that produced a river of beer that satisfied all of Belgium.  The goblin brewery went dry and the river began to run only with water, but that is the water that is used by the Brasserie to this day!  Austin and Addison celebrated this anniversary already, but keep your eyes open for another opportunity to drink in a gnome hat!

The crew down in Austin have another beer week starting up this week.  This time they are unveiling a plethora of Barleywines for central Texas’ drinking pleasure.  Each day they will be tapping a new big Barleywine, some of which have been cellaring for quite some time.  Austin’s General Manager Ted Rowell (and his team Sam, Joe and Andi) are not afraid to lay kegs down for months and often years to make sure the brews are in their prime when they are tapped.

On Monday they kicked things off with Great Divide from Denver, CO.  Their Barleywine, Old Ruffian, is a an American Style interpretation with big doses citrus hop additions that sometimes lead to the beer being called “over hopped”, if there is such a thing.  The keg being tapped is of the 2008 vintage, so the hops should have faded a bit to let the caramel sweetness of the malts catch up.  As of today they still had plenty left, so head on by to see what you missed.

Tuesday’s tapping is Brooklyn Brewery’s Monster Ale.  Garret Oliver decided to take his Barleywine in a more traditional direction, so this one is an English Style Barleywine.  This brew can have quite a bit of alcohol heat in the nose, but that disappears when you take a sip.  This malt forward recipe results in molasses and berry flavors with very little hop flavors or aromas.  They have 2007 and 2011 kegs to tap, but they are only 5 gallons so they are sure to go quickly.

Wednesday will host Sierra Nevada’s Bigfoot.  Probably the definition of American Style Barleywine, this brew is a big hoppy monster.  Chinook, Cascade and Centennial hops come together to give Bigfoot its wonderful hoppiness.  They will tap a 2007 for tasting and a fresh one to be poured into the Brewery Night Glass.

Stone Brewing Co. will be represented by Old Guardian, another American Style Barleywine on Thursday.  Commonly referred to as the “OG”, this bad boy is from the 2010 vintage, so be ready for tons of flavors, both from the grains and the malts, to fight for dominance in your mouth.  The Hop recipe for this brew can change from year to year, and sometimes from batch to batch, but it never disappoints.

Friday’s tapping is one of my favorites, Avery Samaels 2010.  Technically this one is an English Style Strong Ale, but it fits right in with the Barleywines.  Caramel, Raisins and Molasses all come together in the aroma as well as the flavor and let the hops take a back seat.  Be careful, this one clocks in over 14% ABV!!!

On Saturday Harpoon Brewing Co. will contribute with their Leviathan Barleywine, not to be confused with their Barleywine from the 100 Barrel Series.  This beer calls itself an English Style Barleywine, but it has enough hops to put it somewhere between English and American Style.  The malt bill is nice and complex with enough hops to bring it all into balance.

Sunday is the day of $3 Texas Pints so why not tap a Texas made Barleywine on Sunday?  It will not be included in their special, but this is a great local barleywine.  Old Tree Hugger considers itself an American Style Barleywine, but has the malt complexity to compete with those of the English Style.  Plenty of caramel flavors and dark fruits, this 13.5% ABV brew hides its alcohol well so watch out!

There are plenty of Barleywines to be had down in Austin this week, and many of them will be available beyond their tapping days as these big beers are served in small pours.  So if you are able to make it by don’t be afraid to ask about some of the previous days tappings.  Enjoy!

Fall is in the air, and that means its time for our Beer Festivals all over the country. Matt up in Kansas City had one in September, Marc and his crew in Fort Worth had theirs on October 2nd, Ted and team in Austin are kicking theirs off THIS SATURDAY OCTOBER 16th and Brandy in Nashville hosts one the next week on the 23rd.

Every year each of these beer festivals get bigger and better! Thanks to YOU. This year Austin’s fest will have more than 50 beers from 30 breweries. Austin is experiencing a boom with breweries opening up and we will be able to feature many of these new breweries at Saturday’s Festival. Thirsty Planet and Jester King are some of the newest to hit the scene, and we are looking forward to sharing their brews with you. Ranger Creek down in San Antonio, led by brewmaster Rob Landerman who used to manage for us in San Antonio and Austin, will hopefully get their licensing in order in time for the fest, but time is getting short.

We will be serving food from Austins finest food trucks. Peached Tortilla is one that I am looking forward to trying out.

Looks good to me!

Come and get it!

They will have full pint station as well as sample tents. Admission is free, and tasting cards will be $12 for twelve 2oz samples. While Fort Worth had tents with beers broken down by region, Austin will simply have two long tents, with all the beers grouped by brewery. All the best will be there, especially beers from our friends at Avery, Deschutes, Boulevard, Stone, Allagash, Victory, Dogfish Head, North Coast, Harpoon, Green Flash, New Belgium, Lagunitas, Brooklyn, Ommegang, Breckenridge, Anchor, Sierra Nevada, Belhaven, Timmermans, Schneider and Sohns, Rogue, Ska, and Left Hand. Of course they will have their local staples as well, with beers from Live Oak, (512), St Arnold, and Real Ale.

What am I looking forward too? Here goes….

Sierra Nevada will be pouring Blackbird IPA, a beer that our very own Sam Wynne made at beer camp out in Chico. It’s a Black Double IPA that is right up there with Edge of Darkness, the Double Brown Ale that I brewed at Beer Camp a few years ago. Lagunitas has their Sumpin Wild out right now, Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale, fermented with Westmalle yeast. We have had it at The Moth and its tasty. Dogfish Head will have Raison D’Etra, North Coast will have draught Old Stock Barleywine, Ommegang has Three Philosphers on tap, and Brooklyn will hopefully have their Blast IPA ready to pour. Anchor is unveiling their Christmas Ale 2010 a little early for us. Of course there will be plenty more, these are just a few highlights.

Hope you all can make it, and if so, I’ll see you in Austin!

Finally heard back from the boys that went up to Denver for the fest and it sounds like they had a blast.  Sam put together quite a weekend for our beerknruds.  They all met up on Friday morning to head on out to Avery Brewing in Colorado.  Ted Whitney, Avery Sales Manager and friend of the Saucer, set us up with a party bus to get everyone to Boulder and back safely.  They call this mythical bus “Hop 1″.

Stretching their legs after climbing out of Hop 1

From there they began a VIP tour of the brewery that started things off in the Barrel Room where the wildest of Avery’s brews spend most of their time.  Whiskey, Wine and Rum barrels from all over the flock to this room and wait patiently to be filled with tasty beer.

Beautiful barrels

Augustus raises his glass...

Whats a barrel room without drinkable beer?

From there the tour proceeded to the rest of the brewery where the beer is actually made.  Avery is growing so fast they are about to bust out of their building.  Fermenters have taken up alot of the parking and more parking is going to be cannibalized soon to add even more.

Glycol jacketed fermenters

New canning line

They have started to can beers for Colorado, hopefully we will see them in our neck of the woods soon.

Tanks squeezed in everywhere there is a spot

Then on to the taproom tor drink more beer!  I’ve heard about lots of exciting brewpub-only releases, the highlights being Beast from the Wood (Oak Aged Beast), Missionary Man (Reverend Quadrupel with Guava Puree) and a Brettanomyces finished IPA.  There were lots of beers to choose from and some of the happiest bartenders alive.

Back on Hop 1 to get back to Denver for the fest.

Party on the bus!

All the cool kids sat in the back on the floor

After the day trip to Boulder it was time for the fest!

Austin, Charlotte, and Memphis/Cordova ready for the fest!

1oz Tasting glasses ready to be filled

People with beer as far as the eye can see

There were many beer celebrities pouring brews and taking pictures and Sam was lucky enough to snap some pics with some of my favorite beer folks.

Sam Wynne in the front and Sam Calagione (Dogfish Head) in the back

Steve Grossman (Sierra Nevada) and Matt from Raleigh

Garrett Oliver (Brooklyn) with the traveling beer bandit Augustus

Charlie Papazian, founder of GABF and American Homebrew Association

Matt with Kevin Brand, brewmaster of Austin's (512) Brewery

Cheers!

That's Amos in the middle, assistant brewmaster for Texas' only Gold Medal winning brewery in 2009, Uncle Billy's - Austin, TX

The bear left his wallet inside the fest

The next morning, still alive, the gang made its way to see  Todd Usry at Breckenridge by the ball park where he hosts his annual Saturday Brewers’ Breakfast.  Just great food made with Breckenridge beer, and best of all, free beer!

Saturday morning at Breckenridge Brewers Breakfast

Today GABF kicks off in Denver.  This fest has come along way since its inception in 1982 in Boulder with only 22 breweries representing a mere 40 beers.  (reminds me of our upcoming Austin Beer Festival 10/16) Ten years later 7,000 fans of craft beer descended upon the Denver Merchandise Mart with 150 breweries and 500 beers.  Over the next few days an expected 49,000 people will be able to sample from 455 breweries.

Look for this big blue bear peering into the window and you will know you’re there. Also look for Sam Wynne – he’s my Flying Saucer Ambassador. 

Look for Sam Wynne (photo taken in Bruges enjoying some Moule Frites & Westmalle Tripel)

This year Flying Saucer began a new reward program for our faithful BeerKnurds who make multiple trips around the Ring of Honor and we are sending 19 of them with 10 plates or more (and a friend) to Denver to choose from over 2,200 beers at the festival, the largest selection of American Craft Beer ever assembled.  Sam Wynne, my assistant Beer Guru and Certified Cicerone, will be traveling with BeerKnurds from Fort Worth, Raleigh, Memphis, Charlotte, Addison, Columbia and his home store Austin while they attend the king of beer festivals.

Not only can you visit massive beer festival, but Denver Beer Week has a host of special events that began September 10th and will continue to continue until Sunday the 19th. Why can’t all beer weeks last 10 days?  There is an open house at Great Divide and Sam also set up a brewery tour at the Avery Brewery in Boulder on Friday to warm up for the fest that night. On Saturday Breckenridge Brewery’s Blake Street location opens their doors for their famous Brewers Breakfast that is always a blast.  It will be a fun filled weekend for all 40 of these faithful BeerKnurds , and I look forward to hearing their stories. (SAM – take pictures!!)

I raise my glass to Charlie Papazian, creator of GABF,  and to all those who have paved the way for the advancement of craft beer. Every day, those of you who chose to drink better beer help us carry the torch for the craft beer movement and for that – I thank you.

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.