BJ’s Brewhouse - Piranha Pale Ale

Venue Address

At BJ’s Brewhouse 3200 Expressway 83
McAllen , TX 78501

Type of Beer

Pale Ale

Suggested Food Pairing

Burger

Notes

Today we’re in La Joya and McAllen, TX and on our way back from our shoot, we were ready to relax, have some lunch and a beer. On our way back to the hotel we passed BJ’s Brewhouse in McAllen. We circled around and headed there. When I go to a new brewpub, normally I like to try something unique. However, like most chain brewpubs, the beer menu was pretty safe… so in that case, I usually try the Pale Ale, because if you can’t get this right, I’m not interested in trying your other beers. So, I ordered a Piranha Pale Ale along with my burger melt. The menu said, “Winner of multiple awards, including a Silver Medal in American style Pale Ale at the 2002 Great American Beer Festival. This hoppy ale is dry-hopped with the snappy flavor and bite of Cascade hops… for hopheads only!” The pale ale arrived clear as day and was a nice straw color with a very slight orange hue. It had a nice head on it and it definitely smelled like Cascade hops. The taste did not disappoint as it was crisp and refreshing and had a good hop flavor to it. While the menu said it was “for hopheads only,” it was not an over the top hop flavor. Maybe I’ve just become accustom to better beer, or this note was to warn Bud Light drinkers, but it wasn’t super hoppy. It was just enough to make it refreshing with a good hop flavor, which I really needed after running around in the 95 degree southern Texas heat. The pale ale obviously went...