Bonus: BJ's Brewery Holiday Beer Dinner

There are many things this get this hombre in a holiday mood - searching Amazon wish lists, over-priced gingerbread lattes (kidding), putting up blinking lights only to find that half the string is out... But what really gets my goose cooking are the seasonal holiday brews. Pumpkin ale is a popular one, but BJ's Brewery had more to share at their Holiday Beer Dinner last week. Let's check it out!

BJ's Brewery website

They do this $30 prix fixe meal every couple of months and this time's theme was the holiday. Parking at the Cupertino BJ's is like parking on Black Friday. Get there way early to get a nearby spot. The Apple campus is right there and it's a busy place. The dinner started at 7pm, so we arrived early and sat at the bar.

The dinner was four courses served with seven beers or "four courses and 7 beers ago". Each diner got a cool etched glass like the one on the cover of the menu. The warm up beer was Sam Adams Winter Lager and it was very good.

The first course was Fritos Nachos paired with Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale. This spiced ale was bold and intense with citrus and woody aromas. A nice counter to the savory and salty nachos. This was a great way to start off!

Next up was a Thai Chicken Mango Salad paired with Woodchuck Winter Chill Cider and this was her favorite. She's a fan of fruit ciders and this one fit the bill. It had a rich apple flavor with hints of vanilla and Oak. The salad wasn't dressed very well and the chicken was sort of bland. Oh well, drink up!

After a palate cleanser of Rogue's Yellow Snow IPA (not made with real yellow snow, happily), the main course of Grilled Pork Chop, White Cheddar Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans was served. The Annual Grand Cru brew from BJ's Brewery was paired with it. We both liked it very much as it wasn't too heavy with some fruit and spice flavors. The chop was a bit overcooked, but still tasty. The star of the plate was the mashed potatoes - who doesn't love those?

After yet another palate cleanser, you can never be thirsty here, the dessert was a Triple Chocolate Pizookie with Ghiradelli ice cream. The palate cleanser was Green Flash's Green Bullet, which was too hoppy for my tastes. But the pairing with the pizookie was Stone Coffee Milk Stout and it was perfect. You need to like stout, which is a very strong flavor, but with this rich chocolate dessert, it was great. The triple chocolate was the cookie dough (1), the chocolate chips (2) and the ice cream (3). Needless to say, we were glad to each have our own one!

I'm not going to rate each course, but overall it was a equisite night of eating and drinking. The tastings were not too much to make us loopy and we were quite full by the end. The waitstaff were all knowledgable about what they were serving and seemed happy to be working this special event. We will be looking for that cider and stout at the stores back home.

The next beer dinners are in February and March - check out their website: www.bjsrestaurants.com/beerdinners