BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse

Right, so BJ's isn't technically a brewpub. But here in the Great State of Texas, BJ's contracts brewing their beer out to Saint Arnold Brewing Company in Houston. So for our purpose we'll consider it a Texas beer.

There's a BJ'S near my wife and I in North Texas, which we frequent often enough to order without looking at a menu — that includes their tasty beers for me. The other weekend we went to Austin while our carpets were supposed to be cleaned — damn things never were that weekend because of a miscommunication on account of our apartment complex. My brother wanted to get together while we were down and have dinner out, spouses included, so I suggested North by Northwest Brewpub (NXNW); in addition to having an awesome hefeweizen with great banana notes, their garlic fries and gourmet fire grilled pizzas are nothing short of robust. Unfortunately, the wait was just over an hour. Fortunately, BJ'S was just one mile away and the wait was only forty minutes. Plus, my brother and his wife had never been to one.

Yep, that's me on the left y'all, my brother on the right.

While we waited for a table, we boys realized that our throats had suddenly gone dry. Since he is more of a light bodied beer drinker, I suggested the Blonde ale and I was going to start the night off with their Jeremiah Red when I saw, "IT" — (512) Pecan Porter. (512), to my knowledge, only carries their beer in kegs at Central Texas locales. And if it's not on the beer list or on tap, demand that they begin carrying it! Needless to say, it's the cat's meow when it comes to specialty beers. The pecans really come through with slightly roasted malt notes along with a hint of comforting caramel, and each sip begs for another. You won't be disappointed.

Back to the story at hand, we enjoyed our pints in the lobby while we shot the breeze about their baby on the way and some of my recent brews — cream ale and a coconut coffee porter. Once we were seated, we ordered another round. He got the Piranha Pale Ale and I ordered the Jeremiah Red I was initially going to get. Our waiter brought us both the pale ale, which wasn't a bad thing since I enjoy it, too — it just meant that I was ordering a third pint.

When our meal came I ordered the red, we joined hands, and I gave an audible prayer that went something like this, "Thank you God for this food that we're about to receive. Beer is good. Amen. Oh yes! Thank you again for tasty beer."

Maybe He has a sense of humor. Maybe not. Who knows? I sure as Hell hope He does or I'm screwed for sure. Either way, everyone at the table got a kick out of it.

Once we finished our dinner, we continued the night at my brother's place. Showing up at his place was Shiner Blonde and Saint Arnold's newest addition, Santo. It's a self described "black Kolsch” and it's pretty damn smooth. The dark malt adds a background note of bitterness, and the beer rounds out to be quite refreshing.

After a joyful evening, and at times rather obnoxious, we ended the night with hugs and farewells. I urge you to take a trip to BJ’s with your friends and relations. And don’t forget to meander over to the bar. You might just be surprised at the local treasures you’ll find.

Cheers!