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.

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.

FINALLY, they decided to release some of the cellar….. Jake and Asa have been holding back mountains of great beer for a LONG time and it looks like they’ve planned a fun week around Valentine’s Day. So, mark your calendars and come try some exceptional vintage beers. See the line up below which includes Real Ale Sysphus ’07,  Stone ’08 Double Bastard & Sierra’s Ken & Jack’s Big Barleywine which most of you know is a collaboration between Ken Grossman – owner of Sierra & Jack McAuliffe – who started (New Albion Brewery in 1976 – dude was a pioneer of American Craft Beer for certain.

Jim Koch  (founder of Boston Beer Company) will be in H-town (downtown) this Thursday 8/18 – NOON – 1:30 PM

Jake has arranged for our Beerknurds to have a chance to meet a legend in the craft beer world. His is the largest craft brewery in the US and he showed the world sothat there is a market for hand crafted beers that could compete with the mega breweries. We’ll be pouring some of his latest brews along with some rare juice. Those who come out early will have the chance to sip on the vintage 2009 Utopias. We will be selling this by the ounce so more of you can try some. Also, its rumored that he will release a log or two of the Wee Heavy he’s been saving for Eleventeen! (The Saucer’s 11th Anniversary of selling beer in Downtown Houston)

Bring your memorabilia for him to sign. We are honored to having him come by again.

Hope to see you there……

The Flying Saucer in Houston has been through a lot in Ten Years. We opened the doors just prior to construction of the Light Rail downtown at Capital and Main. A number of our neighbors had to close shop while this major construction was going on. The Saucer held strong which says a lot for good beer. Since then, we’ve seen the Super Bowl, All Stars games and plenty of concerts to rev up business downtown.

The Saucer is now a thriving beer joint and we owe our success to a fantastic team headed up by the one and only Jake Rainey AND a incredibly loyal group of Beerknurds. Thanks to everyone for Ten years of pouring great beers.

To celebrate, Jake and his gang have come up with a fun filled day of rare beer tappings. The scoop:

SUNDAY AUGUST 22nd

Help us celebrate a

Decade of Draught

Rare beers will tapped every hour on the hour starting around NOON and below are a few sneak previews:

• Avery Cask Ale – Adam promises some Firkin good beer
• Southern Star Smoked Porter with Chioptle (Cask)
• Dogfish Head (Secret)
• Stone’s Vertical Epic 090909
• Breckenridge SummerBright aged in Cabernet Barrels (WTH?)
• 2 surprise Belgian ales – Jake won’t tell (or he doesn’t know yet)

Also – live Acoustic Music from Rob & Shawn (from the Four Wisemen)

Raffles to win some sweet brewery prizes throughout the day

Jake “the snake”, our beer guru in Houston is making an effort to educate his audience on the nuances of cellared beer.

Stoned for 6 days is a collaborative effort that he conceived with his bros at Petrol Station across town. Read more about this by clicking here.

Houston is home of the ever popular Saint Arnold Brewing Company owned by Brock Wagner. Their beers have grown in popularity over the years and we’ve found many that we just cannot live without. One of my personal favorites is the Elissa IPA, which is a common find at most grocery stores that are in the know. Whole Foods, HEB and Central Market will have most of their line-up on any given day.

When it comes to their Divine series, it can be more of a challenge to get your hands on the juice. This year’s style is a Scotch Ale that comes in just above 9% abv. To read more about it, check out this link sent in by Jake Rainey of our Houston Saucer – Divine Reserve No. 8.

He’ll be tapping the keg at 4 pm this Sunday, which of course is appropriate since that his our day of tribute to the Local Breweries. The weather is supposed to be fine and the big screen will be down for some NFL. Hussle down and get some fresh draught while it lasts.

We are proudly serving cask-conditioned ale in Houston, thanks to our friend Adam with Avery Brewing Company www.averybrewing.com.

Our first offering is their India Pale Ale. If you like the draught version, you are going love this! It pours a nice dark cloudy orange with a full bouquet of floral hoppiness. The head is amazing – pillowy white and it lasts awhile. I think the unfiltered version has more flavor and would be my first choice if I were craving a hoppy American IPA.

Our system is fairly simple and we use CO2 (1# of pressure only – just to keep the oxygen out) to operate this cylinderless hand pump. Ideally, we would have firkins with old school hand pumps, but that would limit us to only a few breweries. Another issue would possibly be spoilage. A cask will only last a few days with a vacuum pump.  Most European pubs that I have visited sell primarily cask-conditioned ales. With limited offerings, they can really move through them quickly. The Flying Saucer has 80 plus taps and would be hard pressed to move a firkin every 2 – 3 days. We should be able to keep a keg for up to a week. So far, the beer has been well received and we will be seeking other breweries to participate.

Austin and Fort Worth will have Cask Ale at their Fall Beer Festivals in early October. Live Oak dry-hopped IPA and Real Ale Shade Grown Coffee Porter will both be on cask for each event. We will kick off the festivals with either a Cask of Dunkel Roggen or Oaktoberfest.