I rarely critique a non-brewery establishment, but I was duped by Google Maps. I despise Google for hundreds of reasons, but I digress. So, I searched for breweries and The Flying Saucer showed up. Great! I love flying saucers and they served food. I ventured into downtown Raleigh and suffered the frustration of one way streets, traffic, masses of people and having to pay for stupid parking. The place was on a corner with an outside and covered patio. It was 80 degrees and my son wanted to sit inside, where it was dark and cooler. We sat ourselves in the back and I did my best old guy routine of using the flashlight on my phone to view the menu. Did I mention it was dark in there? I looked closely and could not find any of their own beers, which I must try, if it was a brewery. So, I asked and was unhappy to hear they were not a brewery. I felt stupid for a second. Then, just dealt with it.
There are 12 Flying Saucer locations, but they appear to not be a franchise and don't want to franchise. They just expand when they feel the time is right. The ceiling and walls of the place are covered in saucers. There was a wall with porcelain plates on it, but mostly saucers as you can see in my picture above. They all have names on it, so I figured you had to be part of a club or donate money or something. It turns out there are a lot of drunks out there. Once you join the club and have 200 beers, you join the ring of honor and get your saucer. They have a ceremony for you and everything. One guy had five saucers. That's 1,000 beers. That's only 2.7 beers a day for one year. Nineteen per week. Eighty-three per month. Somewhere around $7,000 to $8,000 a year. Hmmm.
Anyway, I found one that intrigued me from the jump. It was the Highland Gaelic Ale. The Flying Saucer claims to have North Carolina's best beer all on one tap wall restaurant with hundreds of beers on tap. I believe them. Their selection was world class. Speaking of world class, the Highland Gaelic Ale is one of the best beers I have tried in years and years. Falling into the American Amber Red Ale category, it tasted and smelled unbelievable. According to www.beeradvocate.com, it scores an 86 or Very Good rating. It has an IBU of 30, but you'd think it was less as I found it incredibly balanced. A delicious looking deep amber color with malty, spice aroma, I gave out an audible gasp after my first sip. It had enough sweetness that it dulled any bitterness and was just plain delicious. It left a ring of froth around the glass at top and was the full bodied kind of beer that I crave. It's made with Chinook, Cascade and Williamette hops. The original name was Celtic Ale, but another brewery had trademarked that name, so it was changed. Highland Brewing is out of Asheville, North Carolina and interestingly enough, was the first brewery in Asheville since Prohibition. Opened in 1994, they are now the largest native brewery in North Carolina. As I am writing this, I am ordering some online. Even more interesting to me is that the Gaelic Ale was their first beer. Not bad when you hit a homerun with your first beer. Apparently, it was voted best all-around beer in Western North Carolina from 2015 to 2022. I'm late to the party on this one, but wow, what a beer. I don't even remember what I ate or anything else that happened there, but visions of Gaelic Ales danced in my head. There's a reason this beer is on Flying Saucer's Transcendent Drafts list.
Ok, that's not fair. The food was good. I had the Kick-Ass Chicken sandwich, which had a jalapeno-pesto mayo on it. It was pretty good. I tried a Lonerider Sweet Josie Brown Ale next. This beer is also made in North Carolina and was exceptional. Chocolate malts and some bitterness, it is an English Ale and it smelled like one. I love that English Ale smell. Lonerider is in Raleigh and this was another top notch beer. I would drink this one any time too and I have to tip my hat to North Carolina. A vibrant brewery scene that was a little unexpected by me. I highlandly recommend trying these beers and even though the Flying Saucer Draught Emporium is not a brewery, it serves the beer community well. Maybe a 1,000 beers isn't crazy.
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