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.

Allagash Brewing Company on Monday, Feb. 2 from 7:30 to 9 p.m.

The event will be hosted by brewery president and founder Rob Tod and will pair five of Allagash’s beers with small plates. Featured beers will include classic Allagash brews the White and the Tripel, as well as the barrel-aged Curieux, Odyssey and Musette.

Since its founding, Allagash has built its reputation on brewing great Belgian-style beers, and we are happy to give you the opportunity to try so many of their beers in one sitting. Is there a better way to spend Groundhog Day? Just checking……

Tickets are available at The Flying Saucer and are $40 for the general public and $35 for U.F.O. Club members. Space is limited, so purchasing tickets in advance is recommended.

Allagash Brewing Company sold its first batch of beer in the summer of 1995 – the same year the Flying Saucer in FW opened. From the very beginning, Allagash has strived to produce the finest Belgian-style and experimental ales this side of the Atlantic. It began as New England’s original Belgian-style brewery and has grown into one of the industry’s most distinguished and well-respected brands. Following the time-tested brewing traditions of ancient Belgium, Allagash now produces a broad-ranging portfolio of artisanal beers with uncompromising quality. For more information, visit www.allagash.com.

This was our first time to attempt live music and Los Flames kept a good vibe. Those guys are really talented and we appreciate them coming to help liven things up. A special thanks to Ruben Ramos.

You will most likely never see Sierra Nevada Anniversary ale on tap for a buck a pint again, so I hope you got your fill. That was Ted’s special treat to say thank you for choosing the Saucer to supply  your thirst for good beer.

We deliberately held back the 120 Minute IPA for the last tapping. That’s a good thing because it would have blown your palate. Live Oak Primus Cask lasted almost an hour. Real Ale cask Rye was a nice treat from the boys in Blanco. Midas Touch was on most of the day with 2 kegs. Brasserie de Rocs made it all night which was surprising. The Bigfoot is still on tap – we had plenty.

Thanks to Blue Note Bakery for the cake.

Next event will be on Groundhog Day when Rob Tod from Allagash will host a beer dinner.

We hope everyone can come and be a part of the festivities. We will have very special Keg Tappings throughout the day to give our loyal beerknurds a chance to taste some rare beers.

• Dogfish Head 120 – it’s been aging for a few months

• Dogfish Head Midas Touch

• 2007 Sierra Bigfoot – last year’s barely wine is just getting better

• Brasserie des rocs Tripel Imperiale

• Piraat Belgian IPA – so good when it hits your lips

• Barbar’s Winter Bok

LIVE MUSIC by Los Flames starts at 8 PM

No Cover, just come and have fun.

Noon – 10 PM

The Austin Saucer hosted it’s 1st Annual Fall Beer Festival in the triangle. We set up 5 tents with 22 draught beers including 3 live ales. The Festival was set up like a tasting in the grass park (center of the Triangle). Those who came bought a tasting card with a commemorative glass upon arrival and could taste 10 beers per card. Pints were available in each tent as well.

This was our first major beer event outside of the Saucer and over 1500 people attended. Next year we will make a few changes, but remain focused on beer, education and good times.

The beer line up had some interesting seasonal beers from the local boys; Live Oak, Saint Arnold, Independence & Real Ale:

Real Ale caskDunkle Roggenbier

Real Ale cask Shade Grown Coffee Porter – and this was the 1st release of the Porter for 2008.

Live Oak Cask Dry-hopped IPA -one of my favorites, but almost too carbonated.

Live Oak Cask Oaktoberfest

Others included – Dogfish Head Punkin, Avery Kaiser, Sierra Nevada Harvest, St Arnold Divine #7 (Weizenbock), Stone Smoked Porter, Ayinger Oktoberfest, Victory Storm King Imperial Stout, Delirium Tremens and Nocturnum, St Bernardus Abt 12, Tripel Karmeliet and several more exceptional beers.

Our friends at Disc Nation hosted a Disc Golf putting competition with many prizes awarded throughout the day. Check out www.discnation.com to learn more about Frisbee golf.

The charity organization,  Us TOO was there to support their cause. They recently launched an awareness campaing called Pints for Prostates. A booth was set up to educate our audience about their cause and to help raise money to create awareness.