Life of Brian's | The Glory Days of Dollar Beer Nights

FULLERTON, Calif. - Every end of August, when I begin to see post after post from friends on Facebook and Twitter about the start of a new school year at Cal State Fullerton, I feel a twinge of nostalgia and a slight yearning for the "glory days." Now two years removed from college, I still have a hard time coming to terms with not being a student anymore. After all, I didn't feel like I was in college until about my third year, when I started making new friends, rooting for Fullerton at sporting events, and when I became a regular at Brian's Beer & Billiards, an off-campus pub frequented by CSUF students, alumni and Fullerton locals.

When I walked into Brian's for the first time on a "Dollar Beer Night" Wednesday with two friends, I was just some rookie who couldn't finish a beer before it got warm. I was uptight and uncomfortable with myself. I was a spazz at the bar and at parties during drinking games. I recall once throwing beer at my own face the first time I played "flip cup" and then fumbling at the edge of the table while the opposing side went down their entire line (I never was good at team sports). I was quite the awkward uncool kid, especially when drinking socially.

I'm not sure when this changed. I can't pinpoint exactly when I began to loosen up, or when I started to appreciate the taste of a cold beer on my lips. But I am positive that the experience of claiming space in this crowded bar with my friends every Wednesday night, the bouncing of quarters into cups, and the drunken sing-alongs to Neil Diamond and Bon Jovi bar anthems all had something to do with it. "Dollar Beer Night" was a constant in my social life, and it doesn't shame me to say that my attendance record at this weekly beerfest was flawless some semesters. If only I could have taken it for credit. BEER-101 W 10 p.m. Sign me up.

For the most part, Brian's today is almost exactly as I left it the last time I raised a plastic cup there two years ago to celebrate the final final exam of my undergrad. The walls are decked in Cal State Fullerton sports memorabilia, the shuffleboard is always sanded and occupied, and the same soundtrack blasts through the speakers. They have even returned to their method of selling poker chips at the door, each redeemable for any of the featured dollar beers (Bud, Bud Light, Amber Bock and PBR), a system that predates my days as a regular there.

I made a return visit on a recent Wednesday night. A small group of my friends who still live in that area have remained faithful to this bar and can be found there any given Wednesday. From their table, I observed a younger crop of students who had picked up where my friends and I had left off. It was like watching "Saved By the Bell: The New Class." Familiar story lines, same dialogue, but the characters were faceless to me. I'm sure previous generations of this watering hole's 30-year history must have watched us with the same sentiment when we were there. I'm sure many of them, like me, watched their younger successors running amok with stacks of emptied cups and thought to themselves, "I remember my first time at dollar beer night" with a snobby attitude. I guess it's all a part of accepting adulthood.

I don't know what I was in search of when I paid my visit to Brian's. In my assignments as a writer for a nightlife magazine, I'm often asked to write about what's new and hip, places that are upscale and sexy, places that aren't necessarily me. It was nice to come back to a place that was familiar, even if I can't necessarily say that this place is still me. In the very least, getting a good buzz for under $10 is not a bad way to spend a Wednesday night.

More information on Brian's here.
Please drink responsibly.