rockymountain(sigh)

2016.04.25

A funny thing happens when you start showing up at the same place every Monday.  Your friends start showing up too!  Tonight I had the pleasure of the company of the Susans.  Susan #1 from a couple of posts ago and Susan #2 who was flying solo tonight because her husband is at a golf tournament.  Susan #2 had arrived first and staked out a spot on the patio.  Great time with great friends.  Eighty degrees today in Big D.  The saucer sits on the edge of the lake so it was a great evening to be outside.

What’s that you say?  Enough about the company, what was on the menu tonight?  I had a Vanilla Oatis, a/k/a Oatmeal Stout with Vanilla from Ninkas Brewing Company, Eugene, OR.  As previously mentioned, you can look at the list of available beers online, so I have just randomly been picking things and printing out my chit ahead of time.  Point being I’m flying blind on what I am actually getting when I order, aside from knowing that it is light or dark.

I got to the Saucer and placed my order.  The waitress came back and said “That bottle is $12, is that okay?”  I said yes because I figure they can’t all be beers I like, nor can they all be on Firesale.  When she brought the bottle, it was ginormous.  A pint plus 6 ounces.  That really needs to be advertised with the disclaimer “serves 2” or “share with a friend”.  Needless to say it was a one brew night.  Tasty.  (thank goodness)

Next week I think I’m going for a brown or red ale.

2016.04.18

Monday.  Solo tonight.  New compadre has thrown her back out and will not be joining me.

Keeping with the one of each strategy.  Started with a Youngs Double Chocolate Stout.  Unbelievable.  I immediately tasted chocolate on the first sip.  Pretty good.  I liked the foam on top that looks like root beer!

Followed that one up with a Blanche De Bruxelles.  There is a reason they serve it with a lemon.  Very citrusy and summery.

In case you are wondering, what about the food?  Yes, they have food.  Tonight’s selections were joined by a beef dip sandwich.

And yet another differently shaped glass.  I will work on finding about the glasses.

2016.04.15

Bonus night.  It’s not a Monday but a Friday.  A co-worker was begging for a ride to the train station where his car was parked.  Not on my way home, but, wait for it……is on the way to the Saucer.  And he has a card to the club.  Of course, I would be happy to give you a ride.

I did it right tonight, one dark & one light.  Both from Lakewood Brewing Co. in Garland, Texas.  The dark one, a Temptress, not a likely repeat for this girl.  But a very popular among my friends.  The light beer is an All Call.  Tasty.

You may have noticed the different glasses.  You may be wondering what the difference is.  Good eye.  Good question.  Not a clue.  Even asked the waitress.  Still not a clue.  So I’ll look into that and get back to you.

Also learned a valuable lesson tonight.  When the very nice, very helpful waitress makes a beer recommendation and says “I’ll go print the chit for you.”  Politely decline and tell her that’s okay, you have to go to the bathroom anyway so you will just get it yourself.  The All Call didn’t make onto the Tasted Brew list in my profile , so now I have a trust issue.

Good night and good company.  Thank you my friend that wanted a ride.

2016.04.11

This is becoming my Monday Night Thing.  The last time I had a routine “thing” I was in my twenties and living in Orange County, CA.  Thursday night was movie night.  I worked in a building at Fashion Island.  I’d go to to dinner and movie.  This was pre-cell phones so everyone learned not to call me on Thursday…..”Oh yeah, it’s your movie night”.

I changed it up a bit this week and went for two dark beers.  Up to this point I have drank things I knew I would like.  These next two, well, I didn’t know what to expect but mixed it up because, you know, I can’t just drink what I know I will like.

I had the 512 Pecan Porter first.  I wouldn’t turn another one down, but I don’t know that I would recommend it either.  Not to someone like me.  Someone with a wheat beer affinity.  But the Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro, that is a different story.  First, it came in a bottle and when the waitress poured it in the glass, it just looked cool.  The Saucer website has a little description about each beer.  This one said “very creamy”.  Yes, it was.  “An easy stout to drink!”  Not gonna argue with that.  I was pleasantly surprised and pleased with the choice.

I recommended the milk stout to my brother.  He lives in beautiful, fantastic, Southern California (can you tell I miss it just a little bit?)  Last time I made a beer suggestion to him he traveled far and wide searching for the brew.  Finally going to what he described as the liquor store in Orange County that has, and I quote, “Everything”.  After telling the clerk what he wanted he got the response “A Texas beer?  Dude, you aren’t going to get that here.”  Maybe he will have better luck with the Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro from Colorado.  I got it in Texas, surely he will find it in California.

Oh and back to this being my Monday night thing, I had company tonight.  A big shout out to my friend Susan for making the trek to the lake and joining me.  I think it might turn into her Monday night thing also.

On the left we have a Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro and on the right a 512 Pecan Porter.

2016.04.04

It’s good to have a mission.  The mission, of course (because I decided to accept it) is to drink 200 different beers.  It is because I have a mission that I went to the Saucer alone.  Never in my life have I went to a bar, alone, for the purpose of drinking.  It’s easier to give yourself permission to get out of your comfort zone when you have a mission.  Plus the saucer is more the atmosphere of a restaurant.

I generally peruse the website before I go to see what I want to try.  This is also helpful because you need to print out a “chit” which has a bar code that the waitress scans so your account gets properly credited.  You can print the chit there, but why not over-achieve when you can?

On the menu tonight was a Breckenridge Ophelia and an Oak Highlands AllGood.  Again, two wheat beers.  And again, advice from my AWESOME brother who said “You can’t drink all the ones you know you will like in the beginning because the end will be hard.”

I picked the Breckenridge Ophelia solely because of the name.  Ophelia.  It made me think of the Vince Gill song Ophelia from the movie Maverick.  “….why would anybody leave so quickly, Ophelia where have you gone?”  The Oak Highlands was a recommendation from the waitress.  “It’s a local” she said.  I’ll have to research that and see how local.

Maybe dark beers next week?

Lake Highlands AllGood

Breckenridge Ophelia

2016.03.28

So, what do you do when you find yourself an Empty Nester with lots of free time on your hands?  You join a beer drinking club of course!

We have a local beer drinking establishment, The Flying Saucer Draught Emporium.  I joined their U.F.O. Club.  I drink 200 different beers and I get a plate (or “saucer”) put on the wall in my honor.  And a party.  I’m easily swayed by the prospect of a party in my honor.

Since I don’t really know what to write about here on this blog, I have decided to document The 200.  I have a preference for wheat, or lighter, beers.  The first beer I tried was a Hacker-Pschorr Dunkel Weisse. The second one, well I can’t tell you.  It did not get logged to my U.F.O. profile.  I guess I will actually be drinking 201 beers to get that sought after recognition.

After the first two beers my brother suggested that I take a picture of each one.  In light of the snafu with beer #2, I thought that was an excellent idea.  Feel free to tag along on this journey.