Gordon Biersch Winterbock Tapping Recap
Now that the weather is finally cooling down, it’s beginning to feel a lot like winter. Christmas in the Park is in full effect in downtown San Jose and the winter warmers most breweries brew just for this time of the year are out and ready for our consumption. On Tuesday evening, Gordon Biersch added their own offering to the myriad of winter warmers already out there. Appropriately named Winterbock, this winter seasonal is a doppelbock and was designed to keep us all warm and fuzzy on the inside.
Winterbock pours out a very dark brown, with brown highlights and a beige/tan head. The beer wasn’t clear by any means but the cups we had weren’t exactly clear themselves and condensation on the outside may have also impaired how the beer’s clarity would’ve been perceived. The aromas lean toward the malt side of the flavor spectrum. I pick up a sweet, toasty note, low dark fruit esters and slight alcohol. The flavor echos the aromas. This is a sweeter beer without being cloying. The malt character reminds me of toasted bread crusts with low dark fruit character (plum or prunes) and low levels of carmelized malt flavors. I also pick up a slight spicy note to the beer but it’s from the alcohol and not a by-product of the yeast. This beer is medium-high in body with high carbonation and clocks in at 8% ABV.
Overall this is a good tasting beer. Like many other winter warmers, it is higher in alcohol, leans more toward the malt/sweet side of the flavor spectrum. It’s a great way to introduce non-beer drinkers to rich, flavorful beer without having to resort to a stout. In fact, while talking to brewmaster Dan Satterthwaite, two women picked up the beers and basically told Dan that they are not beer drinkers but they really enjoyed this beer.
Another interesting thing to note about these tapping events. I go to the San Jose Gordon Biersch because it’s close to my home. I can’t really remember a time when I’ve gone to one of their tappings and found it sparce. Usually, these are crowded affairs. Using this as a base, I would expect that all the other GB brewpubs would have similar turnouts but according to Dan Satterthwaite, the San Jose GB has the largest turnout of all the brewpubs, nationwide. He said that there are some tapping events with an attendance as low as 15 people! Staring out into the crowded patio area, it’s hard for me to imagine just 15 people at a tapping.
This tapping event was slightly different. Normally, you go, you give up an email address, you get two drink tickets and good times happen. This time, there was a big push for people to sign up for the GB Passport Program. While I don’t know about all the specifics for this program, signing up at this event costed $20. At part of the offer, they give people a 1-liter beer stein, two drink tickets and the $20 back at a later time in the form of a discount coupon. If you weren’t a Passport member, you could still give up your email address but you only got one drink ticket. Normally I would’ve been a little bit upset with the change in policy but this is an 8% beer and having two will put most people in their “happy place”. Besides, we showed up in a small group and there are always people who get the two beers but can’t finish so there’s often more than enough to go around.
Another, more personal, reason why I love beer and beer culture is because I met the Officiant of my wedding at a GB tapping. We were introduced to Father Walter by our good friends Jason and Crystal Melendez, authors and owners of Wedshare.com. Father Walter is a great guy and beer lover so it was only fitting that we asked him to marry us. Just further proof that good things happen when you drink good beer.
