June 2nd, 2009: Beer Dinner at BJs

BJs Restaurant in Roseville hosted their first of a series of beer dinners on Tuesday, June 2nd. The theme of the night featured "The Beers of Flanders." That's Flanders, Belgium, not to be confused with a friendly neighbor that lives on Evergreen Terrace.

As I walked into BJs, I noticed a huge line for general seating. Ironically, the hostesses directed my party to sit on the north side of the restaurant, where there were about 100 seats with about half of them empty. Sitting at each table was a menu and pairings consisting of seven beers and five courses. All this for about $30, why didn't this event sell out!?

We sat down and the waitress brought out an apertif beer named Brugse Zot from the Brouwerif de Halve Maan. A Belgian blonde, with a slight tartness, sour Belgian esters, and a welcome grassy bouquet (hence the name Zot?). This would be a great beer on a warm summer afternoon. We were also offered second helpings of the apertif, which I gladly consumed.

The wait staff brought out course 1: Thai Shrimp Lettuce Wraps paired with BJs Nit Wit. The lettuce wraps were a new item at BJs that they tested for this event. Very spicy, but well balanced. Really good. I was rather surprised about the Nit Wit. Lemony esters, coupled with a quaff of coriander and faint notes of mandarin. Really refreshing. It paired well with the wraps too.

Next up, was Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour Ale (Brouwerij Van Steenberge) paired with a Sesame Chicken Salad. The chicken salad was refreshing and light, but rather plain. BJs may have aimed the salad for their clientele: Fairly simple and not overpowering. The sour brown ale had a light brett taste with sour apples. A good introduction into the world of sour ales.

Before the third course, we enjoyed a palate cleanser: Petrus Aged Pale (Brouwerij Bavik). The Petrus was aged for over 2 years, had tons of brett and masked most of the oak flavor. Fairly similar to Russian River's Sanctification and Ommegang's Ommegeddon.

Course 3 consisted of Popperings Hommel (Brouwerij Van Eecke) coupled with BJs new Southwestern Pizza. The pizza was delightful. It contained chicken, chiles, and southwestern spices. The Hommel is a Belgian hopped Ale with a bouquet of rose and flowers, and cloying breadiness and dark Belgian candi sugars on the palate. The hops were not as powerful in the taste, but the beer was still very satisfying.

Course 4 paired Gulden Draak (Brouwerij Van Steenberge) with BJs Old-Fashioned Pot Roast. The pot roast was served with steamed celery and carrots, and potatoes and gravy. The pot roast was good as it had enough fat to carry flavor throughout each bite. Gulden Draak is a favorite beer of mine. Loads of Belgian dark sugars, with a light taste of apple. The beer was slightly too tart to pair with the pot roast though. It paired much better with the dessert (you already knew I'd take second helpings of this beer, as the wait staff left us a bottle).

The last course combined Troubadour Obscura (Brouwerij de Musketiers) and a White-Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pizookie. The Troubadour is a very hearty stout with lots of smoke flavor and saaz (spicy) hops. This beer would have paired better with the pot roast, but was good none the less. The pizookie was delicious as well.

BJs Beer Dinner was a great experience, 5 courses and 7 beers was great. I also appreciated the service from the wait staff. They repoured beers upon request and were very happy to be serving us. Once word gets out about this dinner, I doubt seating will be half full in September.