BJ's Brewhouse - Beer Tasting & Dinner Review

Last night the BJ's in Baton Rouge held their first ever 'beer appreciation dinner' and despite a little skepticism I decided to give it a shot. I must say I was thoroughly impressed, with both the food and the beer, but I'm here to tell you about the beer. There were seven offerings, focusing primarily on Winter seasonals... hope you all enjoy the long read:


The tasting started off with a Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. This is a seasonal IPA from the popular California brewery, weighing in at 6.8% abv. I've never personally been a huge fan of Sierra Nevada... I usually feel they overhop their beer instead of creating a good balance, but I see how people could really like them. This offering was no different, strong hops throughout the aroma and each sip, and while I still consider it an above average beer, it was the weakest of the tasting, in my opinion. This is one of the few that is likely to be available in the BR area, check Calandro's on Seigen as they usually carry the Sierra Nevada seasonals.


I was excited about the second offering, a hard to find beer from Brasserie Fantôme called Fantôme Saison D'Erezée - Hiver, stepping up to 8% abv from the Sierra Nevada. And you're goddamn right I copied and pasted that name. The brewery is a small, relatively new, craft brewery located in the small town of Soy in Southern Belgium. This one is their winter variation on their Saison beer, which changes recipe from season to season. Light and refreshing, this was an easy drinking beer that surprised me for a winter seasonal. If any of you can get your hand on some Fantome beers, I highly recommend it.


The third beer was a Dupont Avec Les Bon Voeux saison style ale. This translates from French to 'with good wishes' and it was originally the Christmas ale the brewers would put out and give as gifts to their friends, family, and colleagues. After hearing BEAUXREGARD gush early and often about the Saison Dupont - their regular lineup saison - I was thrilled with this one on the list as well. It reminded me a lot of the Fantome selection, with good reason as they are of the same style, but the Dupont had a higher alcohol content at 9.5% and the same fantastic spiced taste. I have no idea if this one can be found in the Baton Rouge area, but it's another to grab if you get the chance!


Beer number 4 was a 12% abv alcohol bomb known as Scaldis Noël or Bush De Noël from
Brasserie Dubuisson Frères sprl, yet another brewery out of Belgium. This one is considered a Belgian Strong Dark Ale and I'd say they got it right. The alcohol presence is strong, but just barely kept from being overpowering. Once the alcohol taste passes by there is a delicious malty caramel flavor that really comes across well. They toed the line, but in the end didn't quite cross it.


For the fifth beer BJ's broke out one of their own... the seasonal 2009 BJ's Grand Cru. I felt it was bold of BJ's to put one of theirs up against some highly rated Belgian and German beers, but I've gotta admit, they held their own. This one was described by the beer host as a 10.5% alcohol belgian-style strong ale, and aside from the classification on here of 'dark ale' I think that's dead on. If anything it struck me more as a Strong Pale Ale. A bit lighter in color, golden really... and an aroma of fruits and spice. Very light on the tongue and super easy to knock back. This one could be dangerous sitting up at the bar! For any readers that go to BJ's occasionally, check this one out before it's too late.


Beer number 6 was the only one I've had before, the Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock. When I put together my top 10 list a few weeks back this one was a solid choice for the top 5 and nothing has changed. It's only 6.7% abv (sorry Bham, you lose again!) but that won't matter. The aroma reminds me of rich maple syrup... thick, sweet, delicious. The taste is more of the same, goes down smooth despite the rich flavors. And some good news, this one is definitely available in the Baton Rouge area... check out Martin Wine Cellar on Perkins, and I'm sure other stores in the area carry it as well.


To finish off the night we had the strongest beer I can remember drinking... the 14% abv Samichlaus Bier from Brewery Castle Eggenberg in Austria. This beer was originally brewed in Switzerland, but when the brewery there closed, the Austrians picked it up with help from the original brewmasters. It's a good thing for all of us that they did. Even still, they brew one back of this per year, on December 6th, and bottle it after aging for 10 months, ending up with one of the more rare beers in commercial production. The beer is technically a doppelbock, making it the strongest lager beer in the world. Enough history and trivia though, the Samichlaus had a definite hint of raisins and other fruit, but was well balanced with the malt. I know that might sounds like an odd combination, but believe me, it worked. Like the rest, if any of you see some of these on the shelves anywhere, don't pass them up.


Props to BJ's for pulling this off. I felt it went smoothly enough for the first time, although they definitely need to work on their timing issues between the beer and the food. At $30 plus a tip, for 5 courses (better than expected) and 7 servings of fantastic beer, I left more than satisfied. I'd highly recommend any beer lovers check it out the next time they put one of these on!




And for a quick summary...
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale -- 6.8% -- California -- B+
Fantôme Saison D'Erezée - Hiver -- 8.0% -- Belgium -- A
Dupont Avec Les Bon Voeux -- 9.5% -- Belgium -- A
Scaldis Noël -- 12.0% -- Belgium -- A-
BJ's Grand Cru -- 10.5% -- California -- A-
Ayinger Celebrator -- 6.7% -- Germany -- A+
Samichlaus Bier -- 14.0% -- Austria -- A