It's All About the Plate

The Flying Saucer---a fabulous joint in downtown Fort Worth where I've learned I like hops. Lots of hops. What are hops, you ask? Something in really good beer.

Okay, so taste in beer is personal. And granted, many people can't stand hops. But not me; I love the hops. And the Stouts. Don't get me wrong---some days are made for a cimple ol' Miller Light or Corona Light. But at the Saucer, I've learned more about what I call "the good stuff."

And the Saucer has this special thing where you get to taste lots of different beers---it's called the UFO club---aka, being a "beer knurd." And yes, I am a card-carrying member of the UFO club.

To be a beer knurd, you sign up (and pay a small fee) for your card and t-shirt. With your card, you keep track (electronically---gotta love the computer age) of all the beers you've tasted. The rules are simple: you cannot count more than three beers in any one day and you cannot count a single type of beer more than once.

Back in 2000 (yes, when I was still in law school), I joined this UFO thing and got my card (and t-shirt). That was when I used to visit my friends in Arlington on Wednesdays at the Flying Saucer there to catch up and throw a few darts. (That Flying Saucer closed, but the one in downtown Fort Worth remains; it has much more character too.) The following fall I even got more people to join; the night I met Rob (aka "the Godfather"), he joined and became a beer knurd too---as have several others of "the Gang."

Anyway, I don't go to the Saucer that often, and what's more, many times I've gone, I've simply not swiped my card, kept track of what I'd tried or not tried, or turned in the slips to get credit for trying a new beer. Needless to say, it is taking me a long time to get to 200.

Yes---200 is the goal. When you've had 200 different beers, you get placed in the "Ring of Honor" with a plate hung on the wall bearing your name and whatever phrase you choose--that will fit on the plate.

Me? After seven years, I'm still under 125. I know. I'm quite slow.

But not my friend James.

I introduced James to the Saucer early last fall, and he loves the joint---and the hops! He promptly joined the UFO club, and this past week, James hit 200. He'd had all the really good hoppy beers, so he let one of the trusted bartenders (our faves are Landon, Brian, Sara, and Judd (yep, Judd---same name as my nephew)) choose his final beer. Here are some pics from the evening:

And what happens when you hit 200? You get the before-mentioned plate-----AND you get a party: the plate party. At the plate party, you're given a substantial tab to use fo you and your invited friends. And yes, but of course James invited me to his plate party next week. WooHoo!

How serious is this UFO thing? Well, when I joined in Arlington, I received my membership card, which is now coveted by all who see it. See, when I joined, I got the original card. The newer cards are relatively plain---with just "UFO" on the front and not much of anything on the back. But back in the day, back when I joined, they printed the following on the backs of the cards (don't be offended, just see the humor):

Our lager, which art in barrels, hallowed be thy drink.

Thy will be drunk, won't drink skunk, at home nor in the tavern.

Give us this day our foamy head, and forgive us our spillages,

As we forgive those who spill against us.

Lead us not to incarceration, but deliver us from hangovers.

For thine is the beer, the bitter and The lager.

Forever and ever, Barmen.

So now, you might be worried---seven years, over one-hundred beers, and now I'm moving?! Oh no! I'll never get the plate!

No fear. Turns out--Memphis has a Flying Saucer! But of course, I might have to return to Fort Worth for my plate party.