I hate to admit it, even to myself, how long I have been killing brain cells at the Saucer. Back in 1996, when the Flying Saucer opened, I was fresh out of college and a fledgling beer snob. My idea of a craft beer was a Newcastle Brown Ale, or perhaps a Guinness; I had no idea that Belgium even had beer. But the first time I passed through the doors, shortly after opening, and saw the jaw dropping array of beers being served it was like an epiphany. "Holy crap", I thought to myself, "There must be a hundred beers here! My new goal in life is to try them all"! In retrospect, I should have recognized that was an impossible goal due to the ever changing line-up, but my incredibly stubborn nature has me still reading that list and ordering something new.Now to be completely honest, the beer available in those days was quite a bit different than those being offered these days. As that the craft beer movement was still in it's infancy, the majority of the beers being served at the Saucer were corporate beers, and imports, of course. That's not to say that there was not any craft beer in the DFW area. Hoffbrau, Yegua Creek, Rock Bottom, Routh Street Brewing, Copper Tank Brewing (which won several medals at the GABF) and several others were cranking out some great suds. And the Snobs were there. But none of these quality brewers had what we really wanted .... selection. Quantities of beer were more important to us in those days than quality, which was (and still is the problem here in north Texas) why the Saucer came into existence. All of those fine breweries are now just footnotes in our collective history and fading memories of good times enjoyed a generation ago. We are now enjoying a thriving craft beer scene in north Texas that follows along with the national trend, and many of these fine beers can be found at our favorite watering hole.
But the Flying Saucer was there. The ever changing flow of faces of the servers and the bartenders have changed, people that we always counted as friends, tour guides if you will, leading us along our journey of discovery, but the ambiance, the soul of the place, is still there.
So we invite you to join us this weekend in celebrating the 21st anniversary of the Flying Saucer in Addison. Think back fondly of those days when you could still see your feet over that belly, or when your ass actually fit into those jeans. Sunday is an all day event with rare beer tappings, games and cake (with ice cream, of course).The craft beer bubble will pop, sooner or later, but the Saucer will remain, and we will be there at the end of the bar. Or just look up, we are enshrined up there with the other fans. Cheers, Bon.
The Flying Saucer is located at: 14999 Montfort Drive, Dallas.
www.beerknurd.com
