BetterBeerBlog

Gordon Biersch has these tasting parties just about every quarter, usually to celebrate the release of their new seasonal. This time around, they’re celebrating the release of their Winterbock. Winterbock is a dark brown beer with a lasting tan head. There’s a savory, sweet malty aroma with a hint of alcohol spiciness. The flavor is very similar but the beer has a bitterness that is supportive enough to balance out the sweetness. I also pick up a slight roasty character. Winterbock has a  medium-high body, medium carbonation and slight alcohol warmth. Brewed with Hallertau hops, Winterbock weighs in at 8.0% ABV.

Gordon Biersch have really outdone themselves with their decor for this tapping. They’re totally rocking the “Oktoberfest” style drinking hall look with blue checkered banners, sweeping blue swag, paper clouds and stars topped off with a painted, picturesque German country backdrop. From what brewmaster Dan Satterthwaite said, this decor should be up for the winter season. It’s a nice change of pace from the normal, drab tent interior.

As I tweeted before, arriving earlier has its advantages. We’ve gotten more appetizers tonight than we’ve ever gotten in just about all the tapping parties we’ve been to combined. Score! Dan and his assistant brewer are doing a bang-up job keeping the line moving. The crowd here is cool and festive while the band Jazz Unlimited is keeping things entertaining.

I ordered the Bison sliders that were served with battered onion strings (that were a little too salty), while the burgers are topped off with mayo, spices and caramelized onions. The sliders were cooked to order, juicy with a hint of gaminess. Pretty good stuff!

A trio of Marines were on hand as well to collect toys for their Toys for Tots program. Sammy and I brought 5 different toys with us to donate. To be honest, not all of them were from us, we had a few toys from years past we failed to donate in time and what better time to donate than now.

Anyway, the Winterbock tapping party was a good time. The food was good, the music entertaining and the beer satisfying. I’m looking forward to their upcoming beers.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 11:00 pm and is filed under Beer Tappings, Brew pubs, Craft Beer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.