A Close Encounter of the “Beery” Kind
I desperately tried earlier to post this blog in real time during my abduction episode, but my PDA’s browser somehow let me down. (Or was it an electro-magnetic force field of some kind?) I feel like Roy Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I have been tormented the last few days by an unrelenting “signal” from afar. It beckons to me, occupying my thoughts and certainly influenced some planning for a recent business trip.
My current business travel requires me to visit Charlotte, NC, and as always, before I go anywhere, I check the Beerfly on www.beeradvocate.com. I always come away with some good ideas for my evenings on the road. This time I will seek a close encounter of the beery kind. This should be interesting since North Carolina recently “modernized” its beer laws, which now allows the sale of some of the best beers in the world. I can only hope West Virginia will do the same someday soon.
I will rendezvous with a spacecraft that serves some of the best beers available in the universe, The Flying Saucer Beer Emporium near the UNCC campus. I am pleased to find that one of the finest beer-bar chains has a location near UNCC; although it does not surprise me due to the fact that they seem to always locate near a university. The Flying Saucer now operates 11 locations from Texas to North Carolina.
The Flying Saucer is not a perfect beer-bar. There are many smaller independents that really do it better, but we are talking “chain” here. The typical location features over 60 beer taps and a good selection of bottles, to boot. TFS serves all the beer too cold, but they do have a sign that proclaims loudly: “Amateurs request a frosted glass”. The staff provides good service but are not typically very knowledgeable about craft beer. Yet the fact remains they have been able to continually expand and remain successful after five years in the business. Being in the land of “King Tobacco,” this location allows smoking. I defend a business’s right to operate the way it sees fit, but as a patron, I would tend to avoid smoking establishments if given the choice. But this is the Saucer, so “Beam me Up”!
The night I’m there (Monday) is $2.50 pint night, which is a really good deal at today’s beer prices. This includes almost all of the draft selection. After my chicken sandwich, I quaffed a couple of pints, but I could not be satiated. I migrated towards the specialty section of the menu. I also helped a few college students pick a tasty pint. After my Rochefort 10 and my Bush (oops!) Scaldis 12 (both strong Belgian ales), it was time to come back down to earth.
If you are in an area that is served by a Flying Saucer location, I urge you to give them a try. Even a Beer Snob like me awards points for effort…
Suds: Great beer selection, Always serve with a clean glass, Wine list, Pub food, Friendly and earnest staff.
Duds: Smoking, Beer is served too cold,
Website: www.beerknurd.com (locations listing)
