BJ's Brewhouse

I ate at BJ's Brewhouse for the first time tonight. Seven beers on tap and only two worth drinking. Harvest HefeWeizen and Piranha Pale Ale were pretty good. I thought that the pale ale was more like a IPA except for the ABV%. Overall I thought the 20 min trip was not worth it. Anyone else every been? What did you think?

Ours isn't even a BrewHouse. The beers are shipped in from a Texas location.

Been a couple times and always get the sampler. Last time I went 4 out of 7 had strong notes of diacetyle and their Pils had DMS.

Blech!

I used to be a regular at the Burbank, CA location. After being there a while we (me and my roommate Dave) realised that the people that ran the company were Illuminati and High Ranking Free Masons (based on all the symbology used in their labels, posted, and tabs) and they treat their employees like ****. After they fired one of the bartenders for giving away a free drink (he was by the book and never gave a free drink away before...ever, he just, that time, happened to forget to put the drink on the tab because they were busy and that person turned out to be a corperate secret shopper) and they fired him a week before Christmas, without a warning and he had to return all of his the presents he had gotten for his kids that year.

Really a sad thing, but like I said, Illuminati and High Ranking free Masons so they don't care about people anyways. Coupled with that and the fact that they were installing hidden cameras in the new tvs they were putting up (to not be pointed at the cash register, but instead at the patrins at the bar) me and my roommate (who had been regulars for 3 years, going 3-4 times a week) decided to boycott that place of business.

I've only been back there twice in the past 2.5 years, which is a shame b/c I liked their beers for the most part. Yes, the Hefe was great, so was the Jaramiah Red and I also liked the Stout (I think it was a stout). In 2005 their Grand Cru was just amazing and the 2003 edition of their Pumpkin Ale is what turned me onto Pumpkin Ales (unfortunitly they never got it right after that year for that particular brew).

I've been a couple times, The beer was OK but it's been a while. The food was good though. Supposedly they're going to put one down in Chico,Ca. Good luck to them competing with Sierra Nevada, which will pretty much be across the street. But we'll see if it ever happens, especially now with economy so far in the tank.

I've been to the Houston and San Antonio locations a couple of times. Neither of these locations brew on-site. Instead, they subcontract it out (I believe St. Arnold's has the current contract).

Their beers are decent, nothing to write home about. I think their red ale is the best of the lot and they've won a couple of awards for it a while back. But ya, their food is definitely better than their beer.

We have a couple here in the Bay area one about 5 minutes from my house (Citrus Park) and one about 5 minutes from where I work (Pinellas Park). Neither brew on premise - a fact that I am sure to point out to the clueless college aged servers who state "we brew our own beer here" whenever anyone in the party I'm with at the time asks what they have for beers. The beers are OK - better than the usual BMC selection at most restaurants but none of them had any wow to them. The pale ale and the red are what I get when I go there. The food however is consistently very good and since it made my wife's "list of approved resaurants" I will continue to go on occasion.

lamarguy said:

I've been to the Houston and San Antonio locations a couple of times. Neither of these locations brew on-site. Instead, they subcontract it out (I believe St. Arnold's has the current contract).

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Ditto on the St Arnolds brewing the stuff for Dallas.

Well the one here in San Antonio, I've got to say the food is awesome. The beer, well I have heard the Heffe is really nice, but the Tatonka stout I had was worse than my first stour brew ever. I will go back for the food, after all I am a homebrewer, and I should be loyal to well... my beer. Now the waitress did say that they are thinking of putting another one in over by Fiesta Texas (also in SA) , and if so , they will actually brew beer there. Do any of the other locations brew on site?

JesseRC said:

Now the waitress did say that they are thinking of putting another one in over by Fiesta Texas (also in SA) , and if so , they will actually brew beer there.

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Ya, we met the bar manager the last time we were there (at a swanky art show sponsored by the property management group) and he mentioned the possibility of a new location at The Rim. Which, is good for me because it's closer to my house.

I asked about brewing on-site and he indicated that wasn't going to happen. Apparently, they've found it to be less expensive if they subcontract out the brewing. Besides, that might detract from the appeal of true microbreweries in the area - Freetail and Blue Star.

imaguitargod said:

the people that ran the company were Illuminati and High Ranking Free Masons (based on all the symbology used in their labels, posted, and tabs) and they treat their employees like ****.

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IF .... they treated their employees like **** .... then they were not practicing Freemasons. Freemasonry is about faith, hope and charity. Shriner hospitals are not free because they want to treat children and their families like ****. We raise alot of money each year for our local food pantry cause we we are bad people or treat people like crap ???? We buy up to 8 bicycles each school year to give to the children that read the most books cause we're ****ty people??

Sorry for the Highjack .... I will not comment again in this thread about this. It just bugs me when people accuse a groups motivations based on hearsay and not the facts. imaguitargod .... I will always drink with you...and have no grudge. If you want to continue this conversation ..please feel free to PM me or start another thread. Thanks and sorry again for the highjack.


......... we now return you to your regularly scheduled thread already in progress .............

imaguitargod said:

I used to be a regular at the Burbank, CA location. After being there a while we (me and my roommate Dave) realised that the people that ran the company were Illuminati and High Ranking Free Masons (based on all the symbology used in their labels, posted, and tabs) and they treat their employees like ****.

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LOL. I always have to laugh about this kind of garbage. Especially from people who are not a member of ... in case case Masons. Same crap when ppl talk garbage about Greek at colleges but have no clue what they actually talking about. </>

imaguitargod said:

After they fired one of the bartenders for giving away a free drink (he was by the book and never gave a free drink away before...ever, he just, that time, happened to forget to put the drink on the tab because they were busy and that person turned out to be a corperate secret shopper) and they fired him a week before Christmas, without a warning and he had to return all of his the presents he had gotten for his kids that year.

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These kinda things are always relative! First time ever-right and then gets fired right on the scene. Not so sure about that. I'm sure even by the CEO himself. :cross: Maybe that Burbank location is run not as decent as others. </>

I visit the Orlando location every once in a while and can't complain. Service has always been great. Food is decent, too. While Orlando is not a brewing location either, the beer seems ok. Some are betters than others, but overall alright. Targeting more the BMC drinker than the craft brew fan IMO, but that's what you get for going to chains for the most part.

Sorry.... could not help myself.

"Well its a well known fact Sonny Jim, that theres a secret society of the 5 wealthiest people in the world known as the Pentaverate...who run everything in the world including the newspapers and meet triannually at a country mansion in Colorado known as The Meadows."

"So Whos in this Pentaverate?"

"The Queen, The Vatican, The Gettys, The Rothchildes, AND Colonel Sanders before he went tits up. Ahh hated the Colonel with his wee beady eyes and that smug look onhis face...ooooh your gonna buy my chicken oooh!"

I went there last week. The food is really good and the beer is decent. I liked the Jeremiah Red and the porter they had on the nitro tap. The Piranha Pale, on the other hand, was way too harsh for my taste and I consider myself a Hophead! Lots of biting Cascade flavor in there and not much else. I had a sip of my friend's Blonde and it didn't do it for me, but it might win over a BMC drinker.

I used to work at the brewery here in Reno, actually. It's the biggest one in the chain as it ships to many other locations.

I am actually a fan of all the beers except the "PM Porter." The Jeremiah Red is nice and strong and flavorful, definitely my favorite.

Also, if you ever get a chance, try the seasonal brews, the specialty brews and (if you have them at your location) room-temp. casked beers... deeeelicious!

imaguitargod said:

the people that ran the company were Illuminati and High Ranking Free Masons

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damn. On my next visit, I will have to ask for the discount then.

thataintchicken said:

damn. On my next visit, I will have to ask for the discount then.

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Ha...Funny you mention it, I believe they offer a 10% discount on food (not beer) to AHA members.

There's a few of them around here as well. I like the Piranha Pale and Jeremiah Red. I don't really care for their food though. There's WAAAY better pizza elsewhere and the rest of the menu isn't much to speak of.

I've been going there recently. I hate their beers, but the food is good, and they have Gumballhead and Stone IPA on draft. Score!

Here in Dallas their beers are actually very good the three or four times I have been. I usually start out with the sampler to find out which ones are at their prime or have no issues (rarely do the beers all taste the same every time). Food is "ok", I really go there for the microbrews.

I usually settle on the IPA, but the wheat is very good most of the time.

boogyman said:

There's a few of them around here as well. I like the Piranha Pale and Jeremiah Red. I don't really care for their food though. There's WAAAY better pizza elsewhere and the rest of the menu isn't much to speak of.

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Yeah you're right, everyone's else is lying about there food. Sure there's better pizza to style, but darnit... there food is good.

boogyman said:

I don't really care for their food though. There's WAAAY better pizza elsewhere and the rest of the menu isn't much to speak of.

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I second that on the food and pizza. Waaaayyy too much cheese and the dough is raised too much.

The only thing I liked on their menu was the clam chowdah and the moooozerlla sticks.

imaguitargod said:

Waaaayyy too much cheese....The only thing I liked on their menu was....the moooozerlla sticks.

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Ha...Sorry, couldn't resist myself.

I like their APA and their amber, the rest are mediocre to terrible. I typically go for the guest taps. Last time I was there it was Arrogant Bastard, SN IPA and SN Celebration.

They do have very good food though, and the 10% AHA discount is nice.

imaguitargod said:

Waaaayyy too much cheese

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Yeah... that's gross too much cheese. Who like cheese anyway, and the beer is horrible, its made with malt and hops! bleh

But seriously , there avacodo eggrolls are awesome!

What I ment was too much cheese on a pizza causes the dough not to be cooked throughly. Should have gone a little more in depth, sorry.

I love their pizza! I've only ever gotten their specialty pizzas though: Sticky Pig (Hawaiian), Buffalo Chicken (favorite), and Bacon Cheeseburger (pickles on pizza rock :rockin

My favorite food their is their bruchetta. Mmmmm..............

Went to the one in Arlington, and had those 2 beers myself and absolutly loved the pale ale.

ugh. I hate BJs (the restaurant) about as much as one can hate a restaurant. The food is terrible. You guys must have different menus than the ones I've been to, because the ones here are terrible.

I use to eat their on a regular basis up until about a year ago (kids will do that). I loved their stout, but it seemed like everytime I got the hefe it had a really strong banana taste, almost like it was to warm. Anyways, their meatloaf sammy is the bomb, especially after 3 stouts.

P.S. bj's is the only place that has "cut me off" after 5 beers... WTF!!! I am a hefty dude, I'm pretty sure I can hang your wife and screw your pictures after 5 beers!

Runyank said:

I use to eat their on a regular basis up until about a year ago (kids will do that). I loved their stout, but it seemed like everytime I got the hefe it had a really strong banana taste, almost like it was to warm. Anyways, their meatloaf sammy is the bomb, especially after 3 stouts.

P.S. bj's is the only place that has "cut me off" after 5 beers... WTF!!! I am a hefty dude, I'm pretty sure I can hang your wife and screw your pictures after 5 beers!

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Yeah - they used to give samples of all their beers - now they will only give you three! I asked why and the waitress told me it is too much beer. I told her samples of every beer on tap only equates to about 2 pints - so would they cut me off at two pints? She said no - so I couldn't figure out why the cut off on their samplers.

But - it was like arguing with with a brick wall GRRRRR!

DD2000GT said:

But - it was like arguing with with a brick wall GRRRRR!

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Was it an attractive or unattractive brick wall? Just saying, probably makes a difference...

lamarguy said:

Was it an attractive or unattractive brick wall? Just saying, probably makes a difference...

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Attractive - she was not hired for her brains...

DD2000GT said:

Yeah - they used to give samples of all their beers - now they will only give you three! I asked why and the waitress told me it is too much beer. I told her samples of every beer on tap only equates to about 2 pints - so would they cut me off at two pints? She said no - so I couldn't figure out why the cut off on their samplers.

But - it was like arguing with with a brick wall GRRRRR!

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Now that would be a lifetime story...."hey you remember the time I got trashed off sample shots of beer" haha I think all those brewpubs are the same; BJ's, Humperdinks, Two Rows, i swear, go to BJ's, get a Hefe, then drive to humperdinks and two rows, they all taste the same.

chri5 said:

ugh. I hate BJs (the restaurant) about as much as one can hate a restaurant. The food is terrible. You guys must have different menus than the ones I've been to, because the ones here are terrible.

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I'm actually in Folsom as well. I stand by my original comment. There's other restaurants around here that are much better. Maybe the one here in Folsom just isn't that good.