From Harry Potter to the Kardashian family, the Blackwater Draw Brewing Co. Trivia night will test even the most seasoned trivia buff’s knowledge.
On Wednesday nights at 7 p.m., trivia players from across Bryan-College Station come to enjoy good music, great beer and even better trivia questions. With sister bar O’Bannon’s Taphouse trivia night also on Wednesdays and growing in popularity, Blackwater Draw started hosting its own — proving to be just as popular.
Taproom Manager Javier Weingart watched the Wednesday night trivia grow since its start over a year ago.
“It’s been extremely popular,” Weingart said. “Thursdays used to be our most popular nights, but now everybody comes on Wednesdays to do the trivia.”
The four rounds of trivia questions last until around 9:30 p.m. with 10-minute breaks in between each round for players to refill their beer and refuel on food, Weingart said.
“We give away prizes at the end,” Weingart said. “The winning team gets 12 free beer tokens. That way, they can redeem them anytime.”
With the rise in trivia popularity, Blackwater Draw has acquired multiple Wednesday night regulars, including Amber Collier.
“I love how comfortable it is for anybody,” Collier said. “Different ages come and you can participate in different things and just have a great time.”
With growing crowd numbers, Blackwater Draw had to expand from its sister bar, O’Bannon’s.
“There’s a few teams that always come out but then we always acquire new folks every week,” Weignart said. “It’s the same trivia as O’Bannon’s, just a different crowd. Here, [it] is more diverse. We get a lot of post-grads and adults from around the area. If you don’t want it to be as packed, if you need more space or if you want good food, this is the best option.”
The first round of the night is advertised as the easiest, Weignart said. Players are given five to six questions and asked to name the person from a picture, recall their age or explain what they do.
The second round is more serious with 12 questions about a remote place, a broad history question or naming a picture. The third round involves all things music. Five to six songs are played for the audience and players are asked to name the artist or recall lyrics from memory. The final round is categories with themes for the questions, which gives players a clue on how to answer, Weingart said.
“It’s completely free for anybody to play,” Weignart said. “House rule is no more than seven people per team, but if you have more than seven that’s fine. We just subtract three points for each team over seven. Whenever we first got super popular, we had tables of 12 or 20 people. It makes it impossible for anyone to win, and we want everyone to have a chance and to have fun.”
Blackwater Draw doesn’t just offer trivia as its only source of entertainment for customers. On every first Friday of the month, there is live music outside along with food trucks, according to its Instagram. Its beer menu is also constantly expanding and changing. Returning regular Jamie Troester said she came to enjoy the brews and ended up getting hooked on trivia nights.
“I love to win but I also love how laid back and chill the night is,” Troester said. “I love the open-air venue and everything they have on tap. My favorite right now is Bordertown.”
Blackwater Draw offers a wide variety of different beers that even the most picky beer drinker can enjoy, Weingart said.
“We have a coffee porter which used to be our most popular,” Weingart said. “We started making Hazy Lady a few years ago, and now that’s the number one seller. Hazy Lady is a [New England style] hazy IPA which got really popular really quick in Brazos County.”
Blackwater Draw offers something different for every type of beer drinker, including German Lagers, fruit beers, sours, Belgians and more. One, or sometimes even three new beers are featured on every first Friday of the month, as well as seasonal favorites like Octoberfest.
Blackwater Draw is open Tuesday-Saturday at noon and Sundays at 1 p.m. with ranging hours for close. Head to the Blackwater Draw Brewing Co. website or find them on Instagram for more information.
