At 4J we think it is more than just making and drinking beer or running a business. It's about helping the community and using our platform to add some good in the world.

We had two events this summer where we helped raise school supplies for the Spring Branch community. We were so honored to be a part of this and truly hope the kids that received the supplies have a great school year and have everything they need to be successful. Thank you to We Are One Fitness ("WAOF") and Memorial Assistance Ministries ("MAM") for organizing these great events at 4J! 

We also wanted to share a video that the Texas Craft Brewers Guild posted on the anniversary of Harvey. The video illustrates breweries in Texas giving back and helping during Harvey but also throughout the year. We are so proud of this industry and thankful to be a part of a community (brewing and locally) that wants to help others. Together we can do so much and we look forward to the future and accomplishing this with many more events.

Take a look at the videos and pictures below! Cheers -4J 

MAM Back to School Supply Drive - 8/11

MAM hosted a back to school supply drive at 4J in August and it was such a fun time! If guests brought school supplies, their name was entered into a drawing for Astros tickets (tickets provided by Noel Lezama, State Farm Agent) and you got a $1 off your beer. Teachers also received a discount. We also had food by JQ's Tex Mex BBQ and water games for the kids! MAM received bags and boxes full of school supplies to donate to SBISD schools.

MAM is a local non-profit organization that provides emergency financial assistance and other services for families and individuals who find themselves in temporary crisis and in need of assistance to attain self-sufficiency and avoid homelessness. Every year MAM helps thousands of local families stay in their homes and learn valuable skills to become more secure and independent.

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Pictures from Veronica Garcia

In addition to our normal Saturday openings and now Friday openings we had some great June events and activities! Take a look below and read about our time on What's On Tap and our second 4J Ladies event with In The Garden. We can't wait to have more events like this! 

​Cheers! -4J

WHAT'S ON TAP RADIO SHOW
The beginning of the month started with us as a guest on the radio show/podcast What's on Tap. Mom E, Dad E, 2J and 4J headed out for some great food, beers, and good conversation. We recorded the show live at The Backyard Grill off Jones Road with the hilarious hosts "Beer Guru" James Simpson and the "Beer Logic Guy" Chad Pilbeam and in front a great audience. Mom E has been listening to What's On Tap for her brewery news since we decided to open 4J years ago. As corny as it may seem, it was always a dream of ours to be on the show where so many other great Texas breweries have been guests before! 

You can listen to the show on just about any podcast platform or on the radio Sundays 3-5pm on KPRC 950 AM. Mom E is old school so she listens to the show on the radio every Sunday afternoon. She even takes notes and reports back to me and Dad. We mentioned that on the show and lots of other good information and tidbits. Take a listen and follow What's on Tap for all of your brewery news and what's going on in Houston and the state. 

Update: we have received our growlers from Cask Branding so I suppose we can upgrade from our mason jars. (inside joke for the listeners)

Click here to listen to the show.

What's on Tap
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​Photos from 4J, Gale Courtney, and Sam Bulger

Wow! May already? Where has the year gone! We have only been open since March but we have loved every second of it. Thank you for all of your support, encouragement, and feedback. We truly hope that you enjoy your time at 4J and come back to see us again.

When you come to 4J, you come to hang out with our family. We are simple people brewing simple beers. You will usually find mom, dad and sisters - 4J, 3J, and 2J. Unfortunately, 1J lives out of state. We want you to come as you are, bring the whole family including pets, and just relax and drink a beer, or two.

Of course there are a million things on our to do list and improvements that we want to make to the location, taproom, and to our beers. We will get there with time and money. We promise we are working hard to make it happen. This is only the beginning. Our goal is to make changes, small or big, weekly so that every time you come to 4J, something is a little different and better. Also, since we are mostly outside and it is now May, we are definitely working on getting more shade and fans on the patio for the summer.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. We have loved meeting each of you and chatting with you. From the Spring Branch locals and other Houston and surrounding area residents, to the awesome people that venture outside the loop (bless you), to the travelers that have come from College Station or farther, to the brewery checklisters that have visited hundreds of breweries and we made their list, and to the other brewery and bar owners/employees whether established or in planning, THANK YOU. You keep this industry alive and kicking. Without you, thousands of local businesses would be inexistent. You keep us going and give us all affirmation that we are on the right steps and this crazy idea of ours maybe isn't so crazy. We can't wait to have you back at 4J again.

Also, on a personal level, thank you to those that helped get 4J up and running over the last few years. From just an idea to an actual hell yes let's do it, to a waiting on licensing/equipment, to a finally we are open, we had so much help (and beer) along the way. Yes, we are 100% female owned but we could not have done it by ourselves.

Dad started the idea of brewing beer long ago and has helped design and set up the entire brewery, office, and taproom. Without him and his vast knowledge in just about everything, we would have had to spend thousands just to get equipment set up and turned on. To Mom for 1000% standing behind the idea of the company and envisioning the future. To my sisters, Joanna for helping out at 4J weekly since the beginning to Jackie for serving, drinking and for spreading the word and to Jessica for her support and encouragement miles and miles away. To DJ for all of the labor and time spent at 4J building the bar, tables, cooking, painting the building, fixing leaks, helping with beer production, and so much more. To Tanner for taking the brand from 4J ranch and designing the brewery logo, Paige for lending Tanner and all of her support and advice and to Luis for cooking at our 2nd opening and for home brewing with Dad years ago. And to the rest of our friends, family, extended family, neighbors and loved ones, all of the times you asked how it's going and when is the opening it just helped light the fire under our seat to get going and to finally be able to give you a date.

All of you are now a part of our family and we deeply thank you for your love and support. Great, now there's a tear in my beer (good song, rip Hank).

Cheers!

-Jennifer (4J)

Howdy! Well as we [patiently] wait for an opening day, we figured we could do a couple of flashback posts to get everyone up to speed on what we have worked on the last year. In an industry where there is a lot of waiting - waiting on licensing, build out, equipment arrival, beer production, etc., it is nice to go back through pictures over the last year and see that we actually have made progress even when it doesn't feel like it sometimes. The warehouse looks different, the equipment looks different (hooked up), the building looks different, we look different (kinda), and our livers look different. 

Around this time last year, we received our first big shipment of a 2 bbl brite tank and a 2 bbl fermenter (pictures below). Yes, 2 bbl.  To put that into perspective - bbl means barrel, 1 barrel of US beer is 31 gallons. For all of you Oil & Gas guys and gals out there, that is different than a barrel of oil which is 42 gallons. 31 gallons is nearly 250 - 16 oz pours of delicious ale. Honestly, that may not be much for one batch of beer but it's more beer than we had before and we are okay with that.  

We are very, very small. We are women-owned and family run. We are trying to get started somewhere and somehow, even if it means starting small. The good news is we currently have another tank and some bigger brewing equipment on the way, which is what we have been waiting on to open.

This last year has been so crazy but so exciting. Every day is another day closer to opening and sharing our love for beer with y'all. Thank you so much for the support and encouragement many of you have sent our way. It keeps us going and it helps us to try and not drink all the beer and save some for y'all. We will be back around with another flashback blog post.

Hope to see y'all soon -4J 

PS - Mom E is going to be so ticked I posted these pictures of her. Love ya, mom. 

HI BEER DRINKING FRIENDS AND WELCOME TO BEHIND THE FOAM!

One day, many days ago, an old and wise beer drinker said we should start a blog about our progress in opening the brewery. Just kidding...that never happened...well sorta. Anyways, we started a blog! 

None of us have personally written a blog post or even posted something on the internet barely over 150 characters. We aren't one to share our thoughts and feelings to the world so this should be interesting. We also figured we could make an exception for the sake of beer. Nonetheless, please bear with us as we adjust and get used to this new and unknown world. We aren't professional writers, more like beer professional drinkers, so please excuse the grammar, but we will try our best.

What this blog will be is updated information, progress, and results as 4J Brewing Company starts up. We will also try to add in our own sense of humor, beer drinking thoughts and hopefully knowledge, as well as behind the scenes (or behind the foam) pictures and fun. 

We hope you enjoy the posts and enjoy hearing about our journey as much as we have had going through it so far. We can't wait to open our doors and share our love of beer with y'all. Just think -- it is only the beginning! 


Prost!
-4J