BJ's Grand Cru, and a Bold Statement?

Throughout the months of January and February all BJ's will have their Grand Cru on tap, which is a Belgian Strong Pale Ale. I had my first one tonight. It was poured into a special BJ's tulip with a gold rim and a fancy "BJ's GC" logo. The beer was a very cloudy yellow. It had the appearance of a hefeweizen, and while on that subject it had a few of the same aroma and taste characteristics as well. It definitely had a strong Belgian yeast aroma and taste- lots of that musty/earthiness to it, but the taste also seemed have some clove to it. There was a bit of sweetness in there as well but overall this beer leans toward the Belgiany earthiness. I enjoyed it and plan on having a couple more glasses before they run out.

I also had a pint of one of my favorite beers, BJ's Piranha Pale Ale. I am declaring this beer "Alpha King West" because it has all that Alpha King offers that I can remember (I've had Alpha King twice). This pale ale is so juicy, pine and citrus hops that are amazingly tasty. Of course nobody would believe me that a chain brewpub like BJ's could make such great beers...