In the past, Flying Saucer has only offered about ten different labels from the cellar at any given time. However, manager Josh Justice looked at bars that consistently have an extensive cellar list available, like ChurchKey in Washington, D.C., and realized that all of the incredible beer he receives shouldn’t just sit in the back for special occasions. Instead, it should be celebrated and enjoyed with friends. For this initial cellar opening, Saucer is releasing 65 of their 200 or so labels, then sitting back to see where this new menu will take them. After almost two decades of business, Josh is excited to be walking into new territory.

Saucer has made it quite easy to explore the new cellar menu. All of the new bottles are on the regular bottle menu, sorted by style. They are mixed in with the everyday bottle selection, so don’t be surprised to see Firestone Walker XVIII near Arrogant Bastard. The hope is that this idea takes off, and Flying Saucer can host a larger cellar menu for everyday purchase. I am seriously excited to see this happen and to see what bottles Flying Saucer will pull out of the cellar next.

A few highlights of the new list: 2008 Avery Mephistopheles, 2013-2015 vertical of Brooklyn  Black OPS, 2008 & 2009 Avery Samael’s, 2013 BFM Abbaye De Saint Bon-Chien Grand Cru Rum Barrel, and more Firestone Walker special release than I could ever hope for.

Check some photos and the full list of beers being released below, then go catch some rare and incredible releases at Flying Saucer!

Full Cellar List:

• Avery Beast (2008)
• Avery Callipygian
• Avery Mephistopheles (2008)
• Avery Old Perserverance
• Avery Rumpkin (2014)
• Avery Rumpkin (2015)
• Avery Samael’s (2008)
• Avery Samael’s (2009)
• Avery Tweak (2014)
• Avery Uncle Jacob’s (2013)
• Avery Uncle Jacob’s (2015)
• BFM Abbaye De Saint Bon-Chien (2013)
• BFM Abbaye De Saint Bon-Chien Grand Cru Sparkling Wine Barrel
• BFM Abbaye De Saint Bon-Chien Grand Cru Rum Barrel
• BFM Square Root 225
• Brooklyn ‘K’ is for Kriek
• Brooklyn Black Ops (2013)
• Brooklyn Black Ops (2014)
• Brooklyn Black Ops (2015)
• Brooklyn Cuvee Noir
• Brooklyn Hand & Seal
• Brooklyn Quintaceratops
• Brooklyn the Discreet Charm of the Framboise
• Brooklyn Wild Streak
• The Bruery Rueuze
• The Bruery Saison Rue
• Cascade Figaro
• Cascade Sang Noir
• Chimay B.A. Grand Reserve
• Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA (2012)
• Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA (2016)
• Dogfish Head Red & White
• Firestone Walker Helldorado (2016)
• Firestone Walker Parabola (2014)
• Firestone Walker Stickee Monkey
• Firestone Walker Sucaba (2016)
• Firestone Walker Velvet Merkin (2013)
• Firestone Walker Velvet Merkin (2015)
• Mikkeller Spontancherryframboos
• New Belgium Le Terroir
• North Coast Old Rasputin XVII
• North Coast Old Stock (2013)
• Oskar Blues B.A. Ten Fidy (2016)
• Prairie Apple Brandy Noir (2016)
• Prairie B.A. Bomb (2016)
• Prairie Birthday Bomb (2016)
• Prairie Pirate Bomb
• Real Ale Sisyphus (2013)
• Real Ale Sisyphus (2014)
• Saint Arnold Bishop’s Barrel 12
• Saint Arnold Bishop’s Barrel 14
• Saint Arnold Divine Reserve 12

The post Flying Saucer Downtown is Opening the Cellar first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Flying Saucer Downtown is Opening the Cellar appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

Ballast Point’s original Victory at Sea is brewed with San Diego’s Caffe Calabria coffee, and has vanilla and dark chocolate notes. Malty and boozy, the bold beer has a slightly bitter, but not acidic, finish. Paired with Shortbread and Thanks-A-Lots, fudge-dipped shortbread cookies, Victory at Sea took on different flavor profiles: the Shortbread cookies made the chocolate notes more apparent, and the Thanks-A-Lots made the porter taste more coffee-forward. The thick breadiness of both cookies soaked up the booziness in a satisfying way; much like shortbread and tea, and made the beer seem less heavy.

Coconut Victory at Sea was paired with Caramel deLites: vanilla cookies covered in caramel, topped with toasted coconut, and striped with chocolate. While apparent in the aroma, the coconut is very faint in the flavor of the beer, which is slightly sweeter than the original Victory at Sea. While the Caramel deLites made the coconut taste more prominent in the porter, I was hoping the pairing would create more than a slight coconut accent in the flavor of the brew.

An instantly recognizable classic, America’s much beloved Thin Mints were paired with Peppermint Victory at Sea, which tastes very strongly of mint. The minty, fudgy-coated chocolate wafers amplified the mint flavor of the already peppermint-forward beer, making it overpowering for my taste.

Finally, Girl Scouts love peanut butter so much that it is a major ingredient in two of their cookies: the chocolate-covered vanilla cookies layered with peanut butter called Peanut Butter Patties, and Peanut Butter Sandwiches, which are crispy oatmeal cookies with a peanut butter filling. Peanut Butter Victory at Sea met my “Goldilocks standard” for flavored beers — the peanut butter was not too strong or too faint — it was just right. A perfect complement to both cookies, the Peanut Butter Victory at Sea is peanut butter forward, but has chocolate and coffee notes in the background. The oatmeal in the Peanut Butter Sandwiches went well with the maltiness of the beer and soaked up the slight bitterness of the coffee. The Peanut Butter Patties brought out more of the peanut butter flavor in the porter, and left a lingering present: a thin coating on the tongue that created a chocolate finish with each sip.

Looking for Houston beers to approximate this tasting? Try Brash Cortado or 8th Wonder Rocket Fuel with Thanks-A-Lots and Shortbread. Clear Lake’s Saloon Door brews a peanut butter and chocolate stout perfect for Peanut Butter Sandwiches and Patties. While we have a dearth of mint porters or stouts in town, Southern Star Buried Hatchet pairs well with Thin Mints. Without a coconut beer available year-round to accompany Caramel deLites, bourbon barrel-aged beers go quite nicely with the caramel, vanilla and coconut flavor combination: try them with Saint Arnold Bishop’s Barrel brews or Karbach Bourbon Barrel Hellfighter when they are available.

Don’t want to stop there? If you’re interested in local beers to pair with the remaining two Girl Scout cookie varieties offered in the Houston area, try Saint Arnold Art Car with Lemonades, a winning citrusy combination; and Buffalo Bayou Rotundone with Cranberry Citrus Crisps: the slight tang and subtle spice of the saison play well off the zesty, whole-grain cookies.

Featured Image from Little Brownie Bakers

The post Have Your Cookie and Drink It, Too first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Have Your Cookie and Drink It, Too appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.

The entrance to Conservatory is located on Prairie Street.

Upon entering Conservatory, one can’t help but be amazed by the stunning marble floors, interesting architectural elements of the building, and industrial and wooden fixtures. The underground beer garden and food hall offers a unique setup and experience to the Houston community. This is the first time a food hall and beer garden concept such as this has been available in Houston. Conservatory offers patrons the opportunity to dine at four different food establishments and choose from 60 beer and cider taps inside the 7,500 sq. foot relaxed space.

For me, the best part of Conservatory are the multiple styles of craft beer offered to customers. Ian Arocha, General Manager of Conservatory, is the mastermind behind the state of the art tap and beer menu system. Ian stated, “There is something for everyone on draft here and it is our goal to keep the beer scene fun and to create a passion in everyone, staff included.” The 60 tap line-up offers a wide variety of styles to cater to every type of beer drinker in Houston.

Conservatory offers nine lighter styles of beer, nine wheat, nine medium/amber, three nitro, twelve hoppy, six Belgian, six sour/sparkling/cider, and six dark styles. The broad selection of beers allow for every type of Houston beer drinker to find something enjoyable on draft. Ian said they clean their draft lines in between each beer and also have their lines deep cleaned by a professional vendor once per month.

The bartenders at Conservatory are friendly and knowledgeable.

The drafts are categorized by style on a menu system that is displayed on large television monitors above the white subway tiled bar area. The television monitors feature the names, style, abv, and the amount of beer left in the keg. This feature is thanks to the software integration offered by a company out of Oregon called Digital Pour. As a consumer, I find this quite helpful as there have been so many times I’ve ordered a beer only to find out that the keg has kicked and there is nothing going on to replace the line.

The menu boards at Conservatory feature the “what’s left” technology from Digital Pour.

The staff at Conservatory are continuously educated about the various beer styles, breweries, and other important items. They are told what beers will be placed on lines as kegs empty, which in turn helps to keep customers informed about beers as they are changing.

Conservatory plans to host a number of interesting events and pint nights. The pint nights are being held every Wednesday and are titled, “Not another pint night.” The overall theme of these will be to host a different brewery each week, have 4-5 styles of beers from the brewery, and pair these with food from the various food court establishments. The beers featured during the pint night cost $2 for a full pour and $1 for a half pour, with a discount on food purchased with the beers paired up with the food. The hope is to feature beers and draw a good crowd to the space. The future beer dinners will offer a fun, moving from one restaurant to another approach. The theme of these will be, “Not a freakin food court.”

In closing, Ian said, “The mission of Conservatory is that we’re not out to change the world, but we’re here to do the best we can at what we are offering.” The staff, ambiance, and overall impression indeed was fun and inviting and the beer community of Houston should be excited to have a place like this in town to enjoy.

For updates, events, and more, visit Conservatory on Facebook and on Twitter.

The post Conservatory: A new food hall and beer garden in downtown Houston first appeared on Houston Beer Guide.

The post Conservatory: A new food hall and beer garden in downtown Houston appeared first on Houston Beer Guide.