BJ's at Jantzen Beach in Portland had a fantastic brewer in Vasilios Gletsos. Alas, the brewery is no more.
In fact they had a wake last night at Belmont Station.
Quote:
TONIGHT (WED APR 23) 6-9PM DRAININ' VASILI'S CELLAR.
Join BJs final Portland brewer, Vasilios Gletsos, and enjoy, for the final time, his great beers: Here's what's on tap tonight, with tasting notes from Vasili himself
Redrum (7.2%abv, 25IBUs): This beer Debuted at Portland’s Cheers To Belgian Beers 2008. Made with wort from the Jeremiah Red and the famed “La Chouffe” yeast strain. Nice and spicy with dark fruity flavors.
Grand Cru 2008 (10%abv): A spiced tripel, modeled after our champion Belgian strong ale from 2002. This batch fermented faster than any beer I’ve ever brewed, but without the “higher alcohols” known for causing headaches.
Enfant Terrible (~7.8%abv): This brew began life as an unblended base beer from our 2007 OBF entry which was racked into clean whiskey barrels and fermented with a lambic yeast/bacteria blend. It’s well attenuated and has become quite funky over the last year.
IPA (~7%abv): I like to make drastically different IPA’s every chance I get, and this is the most recent experiment. A classic northwest-style IPA, loaded with local hops. I made this for my wife who loves red, bitter beers.
Comet (9%abv): Crafted using a one year old pale barleywine as the base, this beer was “built” with additions from our Jeremiah Red, IPA, and just a touch of Chocolate Stout. This hoppy winter warmer debuted at the 2007 Holiday Ale Festival.
Chocolate Stout (5.5%abv): A delicious stout made with a couple additions of organic dark cocoa nibs. It’s silky and smooth, with dark chocolate aromas and a great body.
They will be missed. Hopefully Vasili will pop up somewhere else in town.
Terrible food, and well the food was so bad I did not even give there beer a chance. Ill never go back, also was some of the worse service I have ever had at a restaurant.
Oatmeal stout was awesome last month! We usually get The Great White Pizza.
Last time I had the Fish and Chips its was good. Beer is made by the good folks at St. Arniolds Brewery. The kids like the pan of brownie with ice cream on top.
Jeremiah Red is usually my go to there.
BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery
Chandler 10% off Food & Merchandise (Dine-in/In-store Only, not valid during Happy Hour)& $2 Off Admission to BJ's Beer Events (except where prohibited) BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse
Mesa, Pheonix, Tucson 10% off Food & Merchandise (Dine-in/In-store Only, not valid during Happy Hour)& $2 Off Admission to BJ's Beer Events (except where prohibited) BJ’s Pizza & Grill
Huntington Beach, La Jolla, Laguna Beach, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Newport
Beach 10% off Food & Merchandise (Dine-in/ In-store Only, not valid during Happy Hour)& $2 Off Admission to BJ's Beer Events (except where prohibited) BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery
Brea, Laguna Hills, Oxnard, Roseville, West Covina, Woodland Hills 10% off Food & Merchandise (Dine-in/ In-store Only, not valid during Happy Hour)& $2 Off Admission to BJ's Beer Events (except where prohibited) BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse
Arcadia, Burbank, Cerritos, Corona, Cupertino, Elk Grove, Folsom, Fresno, Huntington Beach, Irvine, La Mesa, Moreno Valley, Rancho Cucamonga,
Sacramento, San Bernardino,
San Bruno, San Jose, San Mateo, Thousand Oaks, Vacaville, Valencia 10% off Food & Merchandise (Dine-in/ In-store Only, not valid during Happy Hour)& $2 Off Admission to BJ's Beer Events (except where prohibited)
When I'm away on business I look for a BJs as a fallback to a city not having any better place. We have a BJs in Austin but I tend to go to other favorite beer haunts like and Opal Divine's, Draught House, and now Flying Saucer.
Food at BJs is very good, atmosphere is open and there are sports screens at the bar. I like NW hops so their brews, which tendsto be somewhat malty and European hops, is nothing special for me. They do have some microbrew bottles on hand though. It's much more geared to the restaurant side and staff not really well educated on beer (generally!). One of the better BJ's I visited was in Oxnard, CA. However, I'm sure good timing and great staff on hand is all transient.
The BJ's in Valencia is really good. Very Popular. Chilis doesn't hold a candle to them. Excellent food. The Pihrana Red is the best they have, followed by the nutty brunette.
__________________ Primary:Black Friday Pale Secondary: Bottled: Founder's Breakfast Stout, Preto Branco (Black Orchard clone) Kegged:Brown, WCIPA, orange cascade, Amber, Vanilla Porter On Deck: APA, RyeIPA, Kolsch
I went there last night and I got their "7 sampler." It's 5 or 6 ounces of each of their 7 standard beers. Here's my reviews:
BJ's Brewhouse Blonde - A decent, yet unimpressive kolsch lager. For fans of lighter beers this might be alright, but I am clearly biased so I didn't particularly care for this beer.
Harvest Hefeweizen - Call me a beer noob, but I've never had a hefeweizen this clovey before. The bavarian style hefe's that I've tried have all been on the banana side of the spectrum, or a balanced combination between the two. This must be fermented at a colder temperature because the clove taste is strong. I enjoyed this beer, but I secretly wished it was a bit more balanced. However, I could be biased toward what I am already familiar with. I need to give this one another shot.
Piranha Pale Ale - Delicious. This beer is similar in style to Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, however it is noticeably crisper with a more hoppy aftertaste. It also finishes drier than SNPA. I loved it.
BJ's Jeremiah Red - A good irish red. Very true to its style. No big surprises... just a very drinkable beer. Well, I guess there is one surprise... a 7.3% alcohol level. This is kinda high for a red ale but it doesn't taste very alcoholic at all.
BJ's P.M Porter - Delicious as well. This may very well be my favorite out of the 7. Extremely smooth flavor, not too bitter, bold but not too bold, and a nice balance as well.
Tatonka Stout - Their "big beer." This is a typical imperial stout. Although this is a heavier beer than I'm currently used to, I really enjoyed it. It was strong, but it wasn't completely overpowering like some stouts I've tried. It was both malty and hoppy, and it had a very dry finish. The aftertaste will stay with you long after the beer is gone, but thankfully, it is a good aftertaste. I liked the porter a lot more, but this is still a good beer.
Nutty Brewnette - The last was their brown ale. This beer tasted a lot like Newcastle, except that it was quite a bit drier. Imagine a more hoppy Newcastle and you'll have an idea of what this beer tastes like. Pretty good, but not one of their best.
Overall, I really liked the Pale Ale, the Red, and the Porter. I'd say the porter was my favorite just because of the great balance and flavor. I'll order that exclusively the next time I go.
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