Beer Forum

**Disclaimer** My observations of BJ's are probably very ignorant. For the most part, I don't know what I don't know. **Disclaimer**

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel a bit of irony with the "small guy" show precluding the BJ's grand opening show?

There was a lot of cheer-leading for the "drink local" movement on the show last week (which I loved), but I found it odd to be contrasted by the topic for this week's show. Every BJ's I've been in doesn't produce beer on premise. If I recall correctly (aka took the internet's word for it), the Northern California locations are stocked with beer made in Reno, NV.

My take on BJ's has always been similar to that of Gordon Bierch Restaurants, to sell the IDEA of the brewhouse/restaurant experience without actually having one. Is the expansion of companies like this crowding out the independently owned joints?

I understand BJ's provides many local jobs, quality product, can promote local breweries and the craft beer industry, etc. I just found the contrast interesting.

I'd love to hear other's take on it, and think the topic would make for interesting radio if discussed on the program. If nothing else, I'd like to be schooled if my observations are incorrect.

-Greg

I can't speak for BJ's but I do know that the beer at the Gordon Biersch closest to me (Atlanta) is brewed on premise. (It's damn good too!) Try the Garlic Fries!

GB beer in Honolulu is brewed on location. BJ's Maui is some splinter group franchisee that does not even serve any BJ's beer at all last time I was there. Maui Brewing Co. is my only local brewery at the moment. Several have tried and failed in the past 10 years.

You make an excellent point in one regard - but at the several BJ's I have visited over the years (except Maui) the beer was very good. If a large pubically traded corporation is making good beer and still growing, I have no complaints. And J has a new "local" place to drink that happens to be owned by a chain.

I used to frequent a BJ's down the street from where I lived before they got into brewing - I knew them as a place for Chicago stlye deep dish pizza in 1985 and they did that with quality before the became a public company on the stock exchange. Their share price is recovering from a deep dip last November if you want to own a piece of BJ's.

The Gordon Biersch here in Rockville, MD brews their beer on premise as well.

One thing that can be said for the brewpub chains like Gordon Biersch and Rock Bottom is that every location works independently. They may have the same house styles at each location, but the brewers do their own thing for a lot of seasonal and/or additional releases. Each individual location enters for the GABF, as well.

It is interesting that the shows will fall back to back, though. I can't speak for BJ's either, but from the BN Army blog and the interview with Mufasa, it seems like they have a lot of local beer on tap so they can promote other breweries. One could argue that they can use their reputation as a widely-known institution to promote local craft beer and be a bridge to get more people into the beer scene.

squirrelpirate wrote:One could argue that they can use their reputation as a widely-known institution to promote local craft beer and be a bridge to get more people into the beer scene.

And if that appetite for local craft beer on tap caught on at Applebee's, Chili's, Olive Garden and all those other places I see on TV but we don't have here and I have never been to - that would not be a bad thing.

squirrelpirate wrote:One thing that can be said for the brewpub chains like Gordon Biersch and Rock Bottom is that every location works independently.

I can agree that the Rock Bottom in downtown Chicago brews great beer. My new Rock Bottom in Milwaukee. Blah! Let's just say that I would rather drink my first few homebrew batches a few years back than that swill.

Hell, even Pyramid doesn't brew at every location. It is what it is. I don't mind. The new BJ's in Concord is promoting craft beer to the uneducated masses here and that's a good thing. I don't go there to drink their beer anyway (which is decent but nothing particularly special, IMHO). I go there because of the excellent guest beer lineup.

I don't think your observations are off Greg. It's a very good point you bring up.

I would just say that supporting your local brewery and appreciating a brewery chain are not mutually exclusive. As much as I love our local products here in Pacheco (hookers and blow) I could never be such a local Nazi that I don't patronize other establishments. I try to balance local products with convenience, price and quality. Sometimes the chains win in the price department. For me, they sometimes win in the quality department as well. But while I was at BJ's last week for lunch, I will be at our local brewery EJ Phair for beer and Halloween fun tonight. They both have value to me and I recognize that neither is in danger of going out of business at this point based on my decisions.

I think it's a tricky topic actually and I'm glad you brought it up for discussion. As for the timing of the show, purely coincidental. Mufasa was booked months ago for another date that got moved to here. The local show came up on us by surprise as a local brewery closed, Rock Art had controversy to talk about and Anat was ready for an interview.

Prost!

J