Confession time: I’m a Beer Knurd, which is the official moniker of members of the UFO Club of The Flying Saucer. The Flying Saucer of course is the most excellent beer emporium with locations across the country, one of which is located directly across the street from ALPHA. How great is that! That short stroll to the Saucer is one of the unsung pleasures of working at ALPHA and I try to make the most of it. Especially whenever clients are willing to follow an afternoon working session with a few pints of what have you (ALPHA clients, if you haven’t done this yet take note and let’s set this up asap).
The Saucer’s motto is “More Beer,” as in more beer than any place else, available on tap and in bottles. Beer Knurds are encouraged to try new beers every time they visit and indeed are rewarded with free pints, hats and even a specially engraved plate on the wall in the Ring of Honor when a Knurd has quaffed 200 unique pints of the Saucer’s wares. (Maximum three pints per visit apply. See rules for details.)
In any event, and for this story to make sense to someone who has never been to The Flying Saucer, here’s how Knurds and Saucer management keep score of what beers each Knurd has sampled over time. Knurds are provided their own red plastic UFO membership card with a magnetic stripe. When a Knurd goes into the Saucer, the first thing they do is walk up to the kiosk near the entrance and swipe their card to pull up their personal member page showing how many beers they’ve drunk to date, how many beers they need to drink to make it into the Ring of Honor, and what beers the Knurd has not yet tried but are available today.
There are literally hundreds of beers to choose from, arranged alphabetically, or by country, or by style, or drafts only, or bottles only. Once our Knurd finds a beer to try, he or she clicks the print button and a small thermal printer prints out a description of the beer, the Knurd’s name on the top and a bar code on the bottom. That slip of paper needs to be scanned in upon payment to record what’s been consumed and move our Knurd one step closer to their place in the Ring of Honor.
Yes it’s as complicated as it sounds. But I have an idea.
One day after work I decided to decompress with a beer over at the Saucer. So I went to the kiosk, scanned my card, printed out my selection, and soon was sitting at the bar quaffing down Mother Earth Sisters of the Moon, an IPA draft that had just landed (“just landed” is a Knurdism for a new keg that’s just arrived). As I savored my beer, I noticed that several people must have had the same idea as me and that a line of eight to 10 people was starting to form at the kiosk. Someone was spending a little too long pondering what beer they wanted to drink. This happens a lot. Feeling sorry for the guy at the end of the line, I looked at my watch and noted the time. It took the poor Knurd at the end a full six minutes just to get to the kiosk – six minutes. I looked at my beer. I was practically half done.
To be honest, waiting in line isn’t a deal breaker, but it got me thinking…
The Flying Saucer definitely needs a mobile app for the Knurds of the UFO Club. How hard would it be to build something that cool? When you launch your UFO app, it would check to see what beers are on offer, including beers that have just landed, before sharing the same user interface and menu that appears at the kiosk. At your leisure you could then select your beers, store them for “next visit,” and simply print them via a Bluetooth-enabled thermal printer when you arrive, or even print at home/work to bring your selection with you – just like you can print out your airline boarding card to check in the night before. The app would analyze what beers you’ve been drinking and make recommendations for your next visit. There would be the opportunity to vote for your favorite Beer Goddess (Knurdism for waitress), participate in beer trivia, build your knowledge to earn points toward free beer, and order merchandise right from your phone. You could also dive deeper into the history and background of the beer you are drinking than the few sentences that currently appear on the thermal printout of the kiosk, which would be a great way to build really deep Knurd Knowledge.
Would it be worth it? Absolutely. The Flying Saucer has thousands of Knurds nationwide. The app would be provided as a paid-for download, so it would pay for itself over time. And it would be worth it for me certainly. So I’ve decided this is a really good idea and I’m going to e-mail a link to the manager at the Saucer and see what he thinks. Maybe if we build them an app they’ll name a beer after us. ALPHA Ale has a nice ring to it I think. Onward!
