Capt Keith's Beer Blog

Wednesday 8/26 – I will be having lunch with Hans Peter Drexler – notorious brewmaster from Schneider and Sons, located in Kelheim, Germany. You are welcome to come and say hello and shake the hand of the man responsible for Aventinus, Edel-Weisse & the Weisse beer we love so much. Soon the Saucer will be carrying Hopfen-Weisse on draught. Of course, it will be in limited supply. We’ll let you all know when it arrives.

Later…… at Brewery Nite – 7 PM

Brad Farbstein – President of Real Ale Brewing Company – AKA “Distractor” is personally coming out to see the new place and to support his beer during Wendesday’s Brewery Night. Our featured beer is his Fireman #4. I encourage all of the Beerknurds in the area to come out and show him support. It is a real pleasure to have such a great local brewery in the area.

So, I am at the Lake Saucer yesterday during lunch. I see a couple at the bar and I ask how they are and what brings them to the Saucer. They’d never been to a FS, but saw our website and while scanning the beer list – came across the Green Flash IPA on tap. They drove to the Saucer for that one beer they found on the menu.

I love that stuff.

It made me laugh a little though… We were only able to snag 2 kegs due to the high demand of the product. It has been on tap for 16 days and we still have 1.25 kegs left. In most markets, this beer would have lasted only a day or so.

While we have some very savvy beer enthusiasts in the new market, we are working hard to convert the others. From what I can tell so far, Garland and Rockwall enjoy good beer and good times. Give us some time and they’ll all be drinking the good juice.

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!