BetterBeerBlog

Chef Paton, aka The Beer Chef, is holding another one of his beer and food pairing events. Usually Chef Paton will organize one of these dinners with a single brewery but, similar to his 5 Guys and a Barrel dinner, his latest event will feature beers from multiple breweries. Here are the details:

Who: Bruce “Beer Chef” Paton & Sheana Davis of The Epicurian Connection
What: Dinner with the San Francisco Brewers Guild–A Beer and Cheese Pairing Education
Where: Cathedral Hill Hotel
When: Monday, October 20, 2008
Cost: $75 per person, Inclusive of tax and gratuity

Menu:

Reception - 6:30pm
Food: Hors D’Oeuvres and Cheese Tasting
Beer: ?

First Course - 7:30pm
Food: Puree of Sugar Pie Pumpkin with Gratin of Beehive Full Moon Raw Milk Cheese
Beer: Thirsty Bear Ocktobearfest

Second Course
Food: Napoleon of Oven Roasted Pears and Delice de la Vallee Cheese with Peppercress
Beer: Gordon Biersch Hefeweizen

Third Course
Food: Olive Oil Poached Duck Breast with Carbonera of Duck Confit, Hobbs Bacon and Aged Gouda
Beer: 21st Amendment Diesel (Imperial Smoked Porter)

Fourth Course
Food: Mac and Cheese Custard with Franklin Teleme Cheese and Fig Compote
Beer: Magnolia Deep Ellum Dubbel

Doesn’t that menu sound good? Interesting to say the least. Since that is the first weekend after GABF, I doubt we’ll be able to afford going to this dinner as we’ll have blown our wad in Denver. One of these days, we’ll have to go to one of his dinners. If any of you make it up, I’d be happy to hear about it.

I don’t know what it is about the Gordon Biersch tapping events but I never wake up feeling well the next day. I only drank 4 beers 5 beers and one shot of tequila. The good thing is that I didn’t wake up with a hangover, just a mildly upset stomach. Sammy on the other hand, didn’t fare very well at all; huge hangover, fat headache and she even got sick a few times. It’s good to be married.

Still, you didn’t come to the blog to read about how the spicy, Mexican food from last night came to haunt me this morning. No, you came to read about beer, so here it goes.

Gordon Biersch is one of the few breweries that holds beer tapping events for their beers. I think this is an awesome as it’s a great way to introduce people to your latest offerings. It’s never smart business to be giving away your product but as these events become more popular, friends bring friends and what started out as free beer and free appetizers has quickly evolved into a $27 split between you and your friends. It’s also a great way to boost what would normally be a slow night at the brew pub.

In the San Jose location, the waiters were dressed in lederhosen while the women were dressed in dirdls. I realize that they’re just costumes and not authentic but the waitresses sure do make me not care. They’ve also been hiring the same band to play at all the tappings, which is cool as they lead singer is charasmatic and gets the crowd going.

But what about the beer?

Gordon Biersch’s Festbier is clear and caramel in color with amber highlights and an off-white head. The aroma is clean with subtle Vienna malt sweetness. I am not picking up any fruit esters at all. I am surprised when I do taste the beer and find my mouth dancing in a toasty, grainy malt sweetness that gives way to a moderate hop bitterness. This is a medium bodied beer with medium-high/high level of carbonation.

This is a very enjoyable beer that is easy to drink and flavorful. The inital sweetness is pleasant without being dominating while the bitterness is enough to balance out the malt without being harsh. I would recommend this beer to non-beer drinkers like my wife’s girlfriends.

The one thing I was curious about when coming into this tapping is how the Festbier would be different than the Märzen that GB usually carries year round on tap. According to the BJCP style guidelines, “oktoberfest” and “märzen” are basically interchangeable terms that basically point to two different stages in the beer’s development. “Märzen” originally refers to the month the beer was made, March, whereas “Oktoberfest” refers to the autumn festival in which the beer would be consumed.

So, intead of waiting to get home to Google how the Festbier differs from the Märzen, I decided to go directly to the horse’s mouth. In this instance, that meant talking to San Jose Gordon Biersch brewmaster Dan Satterthwaite. According to Dan, Festbier differs from the Märzen in a couple of key points:

• Festbier is about .5 points higher in ° plato (read as “degrees plato”) than the Märzen. This means it’s a little more alcoholic.
• Festbier uses 5 different specialty malts while the Märzen only uses 3. Dan mentioned that Honey malt is one of the malt but used in a very small percentage.
• Festbier also uses no finishing hops, just bittering hops. While I didn’t inquire as to which hops (stupid me!) he used, the result is a beer with a cleaner aroma.

I was planning on doing a side-by-side comparision of the Festbier to the Märzen but Dan mentioned that the Märzen wasn’t at its freshest so it wouldn’t be a fair comparision. I talked Sammy’s best friend Huong into buying me a Märzen anyway. I found the Märzen to still taste pretty good all around but it wasn’t a sweet as the Festbier. It also wasn’t as… bright? I guess a better way to put it was the flavors were a little dull. Of course, this could all just be a placebo effect triggered from talking with Dan.

It was good to see and talk with Dan for a little bit. He’s putting together an Organic Homebrew Competition in October that I plan on judging over in Santa Cruz. I also asked him about future GB beers and he has their seasonal Winterbock coming up as well as a smoked beer (in my slightly drunken state, I didn’t write down the exact beer style. It could be their Schwartzbier).

I’m looking forward to their next tapping event and I hope to see more of you there.

Gordon Biersch is tapping their new Festbier Tuesday, September 16th (tomorrow!) from 6pm to 8pm. I don’t exactly know what style the Festbier is but I’m guessing is an Oktoberfest-style beer in honor of Oktoberfest (talk about speaking of redundancy… redundant). If Festbier is an Oktoberfest-style beer, it makes me wonder how it is different from their Märzen as the märzen and oktoberfest styles of beer are pretty much interchangeable.

It looks like they’ll have some free appetizers again in the form of German sausages, Jaegerschnitzel and Apple Cherry Strudel. I wonder if the waitresses will be dressed up in dirndl like last time?

Anyway, we’ll be at the San Jose location tomorrow night with some friends. If you see me, stop by and say, “hi”.

Another year has come and gone. Once you get past 30, time seems to go by so quickly. I feel the mortality of it all, the fleetingness of moments and the ever increasing rush of things. My gut’s a little bigger, the knees are a bit creakier and the memories aren’t as sharp as they used to be. Good thing I’m documenting things on this blog. Even better that I got my wife to take the day off with me and drive me around the East Bay to tour some brew pubs, breweries and beer bars.

I had visited The Beer Mapping Project to see try and plan out what breweries I should make an attempt to visit on my birthday. For those who have been to The Beer Mapping Project, you should definitely check it out. I find it to be a useful, yet limited tool. Here was my tentative list of brew pubs, breweries and beer bars I wanted to visit in the order I wanted to visit them in:

1. Pyramid Alehouse - Berkeley
2. Pacific Coast Brewing Company - Oakland
3. The Trappist - Oakland
4. Linden Street Brewing Company - Oakland
5. Hook & Ladder Brewing Company - Oakland
6. Drake’s Brewing Company - San Leandro
7. The Englander - San Leandro
8. Jack’s Brewing Company - Fremont
9. Essential Spirits - Mountain View

Many may argue that this isn’t a beer connoisseur’s dream list of “destination breweries” and with the exception of one location, I’d have to agree. I never said i was a beer connoisseur. What I can say though is that I’ve never been to any of these places. The best thing is to keep and open mind and a flexible schedule as you never know what’s going to happen. What did happen was that I never got past location #3.

Before review the places I did go to, I feel I must “defend” my list. First of all, when looking at the San Francisco Bay Area beer map, the East Bay has a good number of breweries, brew pubs and beer bars. Too many to get to in one day so I decided to add constraints. First, the breweries had to primarily be East Bay. Second, they had to be accessible off of the 880. Simple enough. Technically, Pyramid doesn’t fit the constraints because they’re off the 580 and Essential Spirits is “Peninsula”. Still, when it’s your birthday, you can make or bend the rules as you wish. Nyah!

Pyramid Alehouse - Berkeley, CA

Pyramid Alehouse was first on my list simply because it was the furthest. For those who haven’t been to Pyramid, it’s located in a very industrialized area of Berkeley. I in a previous postthat Faultline was located in an industrialized area but commercialized would’ve been a better descriptor. The majority of the businesses around Pyramid are truly industrial jobs. Warehouse work, welders, automotive… you get the picture.

Pyramid itself isn’t so much a brew pub more than it is a restaurant attached to a production brewery. In fact, most of the square footage of Pyramid’s Berkeley location is production brewery. I think the restaurant might have been one fourth of the total square footage, if that. There’s a smallish patio area to the left of the front doors. The interior of the brewpub is very industrial in it’s decor. The numerous taps at the bar are all brass, nice and shiny with the familiar pyramid topped handles.

Here’s a list of the beer and food we ordered with some quick notes for each:

• Curve ball - Their summer ale, a kölsch, 4.9% ABV. Pale in color with a white head. Entry-level beer, good drinkability.
• Oregon Honey* - A blonde ale, 4.8% ABV. Brewed with pure clover honey. Honey notes on the nose and in the flavor that dissipated when it warmed up. Another entry-level beer, good drinkability, hoppier than Curve Ball.
• Slingshot ESB* - Pale Ale, 6.2% ABV. Brewed with Nugget and Cascade hops. Probably had the most hop bitterness of all the beers we’ve tried.
• Draught Pale Ale - On nitrogen, 5.1% ABV. Good hop aroma, creamy but not as bitter as I would’ve thought.
• Blackwatch Cream Porter* - Barley, malt, and oatmeal. 5.3% ABV. Chocolate flavors with noticeable roasty notes., smooth and creamy mouthfeel. Surprisingly clear for a porter with ruby highlights.
• Amberweizen - I sampled this beer later on, after Sammy went back to the car to take a nap. As the name implies, this beer is a hybrid of styles. There is a lot of the hefeweizen character in this beer, with regards to body, mouthfeel and hazy appearance. Yet, the amber part shows up a little bit in the aroma, more in the color and more so in the flavor. It’s reminiscent of a dunkelweizen but instead of tasting the vienna/munich malt flavors you get more of sweet malt/caramel-ish flavors.
• Belgian Wheat Ale - I also sampled this beer much later on. Very pale in color, hazy with a white head. Sweet smelling, reminiscent of Hoegaarden. Pretty good, very drinkable, I’d much rather have this over the Curve Ball.

* = MacTarnahan branded beers.

Here’s the food we tried with brief descriptions for each. You can download the .pdf of their menu here:

• Beer Steamed Mussels - Never found out what beer they used but it looked like they had dijon mustard and garlic in the beer base. Ended up pairing well with Slingshot.
• Coconuts Shrimp Skewers - Made with their apricot weizen, these tasted really good with the cream porter.
• Fish Tacos - Not particularly memorable. I was expecting a white meat fish but they used salmon. Still I killed ‘em both. Take it for what it’s worth.

I found Shawn, our bartender, to be very personable and knowledgeable. What’s cool about sitting at the bar during lunch hour is that not many people sit there and you have a better opportunity to chat up the staff. You wouldn’t be able to do that at the table. Shawn recommended the shrimp skewers and let us know the dipping sauce is just a simple sweet chili sauce you can find at most Asian markets.

One of the things I found odd were the MacTarnahan taps. What I didn’t know at the time was that Pyramid bought MacTarnahan’s over in Oregon. They brew MacTarnahan’s over in the Berkeley location, while in the Oregon brewery they brew Pyramid. Shawn also brought up that Magic Hat bought them out but didn’t say much more than that.

The second thing I found odd was the huge sign over the bar advocating the addition of a lemon wedge in one’s hefeweizen. Personally, I enjoy my hefeweizen more without the lemon. The hefeweizen style will already have citrus notes without adding the lemon. Those citrusy esters are a natural by-product of the yeast used. Also, the acidity of the lemon juice just kills the head on a beer. In case you didn’t know, the foamy head of a beer is where most of the aroma is at. Having head on your beer is a good thing. Consider me “the Diss”. If I wanted a cocktail, I’d have ordered one.

Unfortunately we were too early to get a tour of the brewery but most of the important bits were viewable from the bar. The rest were the fermentation tanks and bottling line. Shawn was scheduled to give the brewery tour that afternoon and while Sammy was off napping, we just hung out and talked beer. I think I might’ve impressed him a bit because he referred me to his co-worker as “the most knowledgeable customer” he’s had.

For a few moments, the Pyramid’s head brewer and crew were behind me but I didn’t introduce myself. I feel weird interjecting myself into someone else’s conversation unsolicited so I just sat back and enjoyed the rest of my beers.

To wrap up, I found Pyramid Alehouse in Berkeley to be a decent place for beers. For the most part, most of their beers are very drinkable interpretations of the various styles they are or are based from but at the same time, none of the beers particularly “wow” me. I do appreciate what they are trying to do though, or rather, what they did. Early in the company’s history, they were considered innovators in the fruit beer style. They also used to brew just about every style of beer but now just limit themselves to about 6 beers year round with three of them wheat beers. Stuff like that tends to happen whenever you have “Boards” or “Shareholders”. To supplement their lack of diversity, they serve MacTarnahan branded beers, which we I ended up drinking more of anyway just because I never had them. If you’re a fan of GB brew pubs then you’ll probably like Pyramid Alehouse.

Pacific Coast Brewing Company - Oakland, CA

Is it a bad thing when your “guest” taps outnumber the house ales almost 2 to 1? Or if the most interesting thing about a brewery is the history of their brewing equipment and not so much their beers? I had much higher hopes for Pacific Coast Brewing Company as I’ve heard so much about it but I was a little underwhelmed.

I’ll try to be fair. I did order their Gray Whale Ale, the house Pale Ale. I found it to have a good amber color with an off white head, a grainy malt flavor with moderate bitterness. Unfortunately, I did note some sourness in both the flavor in aroma that was prominent enough to distract from the hop aroma and linger in the finish. This was the only house beer I tried that day, not because I swore off the rest of their beers but because I had the opportunity to head downstairs to speak with Steve (Straights), their head brewer.

I was surprised at how small their brewing facility was. Just like Full Circle Brewing Company in Fresno, they have a 7 BBL (American barrel ~ 31 U.S. gallons) system but the foot print of their brewery is so much smaller. I wondered where they stored their grains and hops. It turns out, they don’t have to store any grain, just the hops as they’re one of the few brewing companies that uses extract. In essence, they’re like a 7 BBL homebrewer. How very interesting.

In all fairness, Steve is a great guy to talk to. He was easy to talk to, answered all my questions and even gave me a brief history lesson. It turns out the brewing equipment at Pacific Coast used to belong to the long defunct Palo Alto Brewing Company, who was contracted by Pete Slosberg to brew Pete’s Wicked Ale for the first few years. I was staring at a bit of craft brewing history

Pacific Coast does have a very good selection of “guest” taps though. Here is a list of what I remember:

• North Coast Brewing Company Pranqster
• Moylan’s Kilt Lifter
• El Toro Brewing Company’s Poppy Jasper
• Green Flash West Coast IPA
• Pyramid Hefeweizen and Apricot Weizen
• Anchor Steam
• Bass English Pale Ale
• Trumer Pilsner
• Delirium
• Lindemans Framboise
• Something on a beer machine…

It would be incorrect of me to say that Pacific Coast is a bad place to get a beer. While I did find one of their beers to be suspect, they do have a good selection of guest taps so that even if you don’t like one of the house beers, you can at least find something you like from someone else. I cannot call my experience at Pacific Coast Brewing Company truly indicative of how good (or how bad) the establishment is. I didn’t order the food and I only tried one of their beers. At best, my review of Pacific Coast is incomplete.

At the very least, and assuming you can get in, Trappist is just right around the corner…

The Trappist - Oakland, CA

The Trappist was originally tops on my list of places to go to during my birthday but when I realized that they only opened at 4pm, I was crushed. I had originally planned on being back, or close to, the South Bay by then. Be it by unconscious design or just laggin’, I managed to kill enough time at Pacific Coast and Pyramid to stay in the area long enough for the Trappist to open its doors to Sammy and I.

The first thing I noticed about The Trappist was how small it is. It. Is. Tiny. The main bar area, using the corporate measurement system, is approximately 2 cubicles wide by 3 cubicles deep, maybe 3.5 cubicles. Still, don’t let the lack of space fool you, good things do come in small packages.

At the time, Nicole was our bartender. Most bars that have female bartenders do so because they are eye candy. If it wasn’t true, I wouldn’t have written it. But The Trappist isn’t like most bars and Nicole wasn’t like most female bartenders. Yes, she’s an attractive woman but it was her knowledge that set her apart. Most of the time, I can walk into a bar, or even a brew pub, and be confident that I know more than the bartenders and wait staff about beer than they do but at The Trappist I found myself staying quiet and enjoying my beer as Nicole constantly schooled me. It’s great to be schooled. It’s even better to be able to sit and enjoy my beer.

If I remember correctly, The Trappist had about 15 taps, not all of which are Belgian (imported) Ales. I do remember seeing some Russian River beers on tap, not necessarily their sour ales either. The vast majority of their Belgian ales were accessible via their beer book. I saw a number of beers that I’ve already tried that I thought about ordering again but I decided to order some beers that I’ve never tried before. Here they with my notes:

• Petrus Aged Pale - Light Amber color, white head, clear. Lactic acid in both the aroma and flavor. Refreshingly tart but not mouth-puckeringly so. Dry, slightly astringent. I’ve seen some of the Petrus beers over in various BevMo and up until this beer, I’ve had only their Oud Bruin. I am going to have to pick up more of their beers.
• Manneken Pis Wit (Blanche de Bruxelles) - As Nicole points to a miniature water fountain in a high shelf, she explains the name “Manneken Pis Wit” roughly translates to “Piss of some statue called Manneken”, this is a witbier. Actually, the name is Blanche de Bruxelles, but it is more affectionately referred to by it’s nickname. This is a very pale, hazy beer with a white head. There are distinct apple notes in the aroma and flavor along with some honey in the finish. Nothing overpowering, all subtle, yet flavorful. If my water fountain pissed this out, I’d be a very happy man.
• Val-Dieu Grand Cru - Dark, dark brown with beige head. Belgian yeasty flavors, “tiger balm-ish” notes in the nose. Roasty caramel flavors, almost no hop flavor. Alcohol notes are present but not harsh. Moderate to moderately high level of carbonation lends a slightly creamy mouthfeel. Sammy is the one who noticed “tiger balm” in the aroma. Here I am, trying to find the correct descriptors for the spicy, yeasty, alcohol notes I was getting when Tiger Balm hits the nail right on the head. Despite the less than flattering name, this is a very good tasting beer. It is complex in its flavors and strong in body with a 10.5% ABV. I wish I could’ve had more time to enjoy this beer but we needed to get back to the South Bay.

As I was taking notes, I feared that I would forget the names of the beers I was trying. By the time I got to the Val Dieu, I realized that the time Nicole spent looking for glasses to pour our beers into had a purpose: each beer was served in their own glassware. If you don’t believe me, click on the pics to see. This is a very Belgian thing to do. From what I’ve been told, some bars in Belgium will stop serving a particular type of beer because they are all out of glasses for that beer. It’s great to see how The Trappist has tried to bring an authentic Belgian experience to the United States.

As I’ve probably said a countless number of times before, the people we meet while traveling and tasting different beers is just as important as the beer themselves. Beer is a social drink, it is meant to be shared with others, strangers and loved ones. At The Trappist, we were able to meet bartendress Nicole as well as John and Lisa. Both work in the area and if I remember correctly, Lisa works at the Starbucks next door. I envy them greatly to be able to work next to such a wonderful beer bar although Lisa told me that there is often a line to get in. It would seem that The Trappist is the place to be in Oakland. What I appreciate about both John and Lisa is their willingness to try new things. Belgian ales, while complex and flavorful, are pretty much the epitome of adventurous beers. They have flavors that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. The range in examples from the Belgian brewing tradition is so wide ranging that it’s hard to point to one style and say, “That is quintessential Belgian” as things differ almost from brewery to brewery.

The Trappist is a destination beer bar, it cannot be put any simpler. Their collection of Belgian ales is impressive to say the least and their 15 rotating taps always will have something to appeal to most people. Best of all, their staff is knowledgeable. I will definitely have to visit this place again.

Gordon Biersch – San Jose

I’ve written about GB frequently enough that I don’t need to go into further detail. I decided to end my birthday brewery tour back home because, well, it is home. GB was having their 80s-themed party this night in celebration of their 20th Anniversary. Most of the wait staff was decked out in 80s gear and I’ve never seen a more brightly colored group of people.

I had sent out an email earlier in the week detailing my beer escapades but no one had replied. I had no idea how many people were, or weren’t, going to show up at GB to help me celebrate. Because of that, I was only able to hold down two table in the auxiliary room accessible through the patio. We could comfortably sit about 8 people, maybe 10 elbow to elbow. In the end, there were over 25 people helping me to celebrate. There were chairs and chairs of people.

In a strange way, it ended up being a good thing. How many times have you been invited to a birthday dinner only to find yourself stuck talking to the people in your immediate area? At most, 4 people? With the lack of seating, people were able to move and mingle. People who didn’t really know each other were talking, while old friends were reconnecting. I’d like to say that I did this, that I was responsible for bringing people together but I know better than that. It was the beer.

There’s more that happened that night, most of it revolved around Sammy’s friends buying me nothing but hard alcohol to try and get me drunk. They’re learning that I’m not a cheap date. In any event, if you want to view how the rest of the night went, click on the gallery image below.

Peter’s Birthday 2008 Click to view gallery

Went to Gordon Biersch (GB) tonight for dinner. No special reason other than I received a “Free entrée with purchase of another entrée” coupon for my birthday. I ordered the sea bass and had the blonde bock along with it while Sammy ordered the halibut with the hefeweizen. The thing about seafood dishes is that it’s a crapshoot. You hope the fish is fresh and well prepared. Tonight, I was disappointed. The fish had a slight “fishy” smell (which is only apparent in not fresh fish) while the blonde was just “okay”. Can’t really critique it as I was just looking to enjoy my beer but even that didn’t happen.

William Brand wrote a good article I read in the San Jose Mercury News today about the growth of GB as the hometown brewery. You can view the article here. I never knew the San Jose location was only the second brewpub they’ve opened or that Dan Gordon and Dean Biersch sold off the brewpub business long ago to a Tennessee-based company.

As I’ve grown and matured, so have my tastes. I discovered homebrewing, I discovered the world of craft beer. I went through a beer puberty of sorts. Yet, no matter how far I traveled to search for good beer, sometimes, the thing you search for is right in your backyard.

Midway through dinner, I started to think about GB in general. They’ve been a San Jose institution for as long as I can remember. Back in the day when I just turned 21, going to GB was a “special” night out. While not overwhelmingly pricey now, it was big bucks back then. I don’t specifically remember what any of the beers may have tasted like back then but that shouldn’t have been a surprise. Being 21, all I cared about was drinking and getting drunk. Lager? Ale? As long as it got me drunk, it didn’t really matter.

A lot of people will disagree with me with regards to the quality of GB beers and they are entitled to their opinion, it’s their Constitutional right. I enjoy many of their beers, like their dunkleweizen and schwartzbier. Then there are times where I’m just not feeling it as with tonight’s blonde bock or their marzen (yes, I realize it’s considered a classic example of the oktoberfest style but when it warms up, I just don’t like it). So, make no mistake, this post isn’t me being a GB “fanboy” more than it is a trip down nostalgia.

This time, I finally got my dates right. Last night was the tapping of Gordon Biersch’s new seasonal brew, Sommerfest. Gordon Biersch describes Sommerfest as a “Kölsch style pale ale”. It is a brilliantly clear, straw/pale gold colored beer with a white, moussey head. I found the aromas to be subtle but I felt the malt aromas to be slightly more dominant than the low hop aromas. I found the flavor of Sommerfest tended to lean more to the malt side of the spectrum with low hop flavor and bitterness. If my memory serves me correct, I found this beer to have been a little sweet as well. The finish was refreshing and crisp. With a med to med-lo body and a med to med hi carbonation level, this is an easy drinking beer, perfectly suited for the summer season from which it gets it’s name.

When I compare what I remember Sommerfest to the BJCP guidelines for a kölsch style, I find the Sommerfest fall short on a couple of points. First, I thought the hop bitterness level of the beer was a little low. I’m not expecting it to be on the level of a pale ale or even a pilsner, but when a beer is described a “sublte Pilsner”, I would expect it to have a little more hop bitterness and flavor. This makes me wonder if the hop shortage has forced the GB brewers to change up their recipes a little bit and make a less hoppy beer. I also felt that the sweetness level of the beer was higher than expected. I anticipated this beer to have been fully attenuated and a little on the dry side.

Overall though, I found this beer to be very refreshing and flavorful beer. For the most part, Sommerfest hits all the main points for the style. Still, I can’t help but wonder what a true kölsch from Köln, Germany tastes like. From all accounts, we get close to the real deal but not quite there yet.

This tapping has been the busiest of the year so far. Sammy and I arrived there at around 6:30pm and thankfully the line for Sommerfest was relatively short. It wasn’t until we two-fisted our way to the table where our friends were that I realized how long the line had gotten behind us. For a while, it seemed to stretch on for almost the length of the outdoor patio area. Brewmaster Dan Satterthwaite and another GB employee were busy pouring for almost the entire two hours the event was on for. I wanted to chat with the but between the noise of the band and the people there, it was hard to have a decent conversation. At one point, they ran out of the plastic GB cups and started using their regular beer glasses. The upside was two-fold: a better container to drink the beer out of (yet not the recommended glassware) and larger pours.

The female wait staff working the outdoor patio during the tapping were all dressed up like the St. Paulie girl. This is the first time I’ve seen the GB wait staff in costume and I wasn’t complaining. Before the dinner rush set in, the mainly walked around the patio area handing out appetizers like pretzel bits with Dijon mustard, garlic fries and I even saw some pieces of pizza. In addition, we ordered their “spicy” wings as well as an order of fresh cut chips. The chips were very tasty but the wings were completely lacking any sort of (spice) heat. It’s not that they weren’t good tasting, just not spicy.

They’ve been using the same jazz trio to play these tappings, which is a good thing since they’re very entertaining. Every once in a while during their set, a “guest musician” would come on stage and play with them. That’s one of the reasons I’ve always found jazz to be an exciting genre of music as it gives everyone in the band a chance to be the center of attention. There’s a crazy amount of freedom with the style, yet it is always supported by a loose structure.

All in all, the tapping went very well. Gordon Biersch San Jose always does a good job with their tappings. The beer scene is pretty bad here in the south bay and to have a place like GB putting on an event like this is a good thing. While most people are admittedly there only for the free beers, they at the very least, are trying something they probably would never have bought themselves. And that, is a good thing.

As expected, the Sommerfest is a refreshing and highly drinkable beer with decent flavor. One of our friends summed it up best by saying, “If I’m going to be drinking a lighter beer, I might as well drink this. At least it has flavor”.

It’s said that the first year of any business is the hardest and if you can make it past year 3, then you have a good chance of making it in the long run. Gordon Biersch is celebrating their 20th year anniversary this year and they have a pretty good party lined up.

Here’s their itinerary, fresh out of my email box:

Come and Celebrate 20 Years of Fresh Food and Great Beer!

This year is GB’s 20th Anniversary! In honor of this exciting milestone, we will be celebrating our birthday with a weeklong celebration tour in the Bay Area. Join us for our upcoming celebrations:

**Sunday, July 6th: Gordon Biersch San Francisco
Anniversary Brewers Dinner Hosted by Co-founder Dan Gordon
Cocktail Reception Begins at 6pm
Special Anniversary Toast at 7:30pm
**Only $60 per person - Call or stop by the restaurant to make
reservations today!

**Monday, July 7th: Gordon Biersch San Francisco
“GB Celebrates 20 Years…80’s Style!”
GB Anniversary Party from 5pm - 8pm! Enjoy a live DJ playing your favorite hits from 1988, anniversary gift giveaways, special toast, and much more!

**Tuesday, July 8th: Gordon Biersch Palo Alto
Anniversary Brewers Dinner Hosted by Co-founder Dan Gordon
Cocktail Reception Begins at 6pm
Special Anniversary Toast at 7:30pm
**Only $60 per person - Call or stop by the restaurant to make
reservations today!

**Wednesday, July 9th: Gordon Biersch Palo Alto
‘Back to the Future’ at Gordon Biersch!
Anniversary Party from 5pm - 8pm! Meet Dan Gordon and Dean Biersch- the co-founders of Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant. Enjoy anniversary gift giveaways, live music and anniversary toast from the co-founders themselves!

**Thursday, July 10th: Gordon Biersch San Jose
“Totally Awesome 80’s Night at GB!”
Anniversary Party from 5pm - 8pm! Don’t forget to dress up in your favorite 80’s outfit. Enjoy live 80’s music band, anniversary gift giveaways, anniversary toast, and much more!

**Friday, July 11th: Gordon Biersch San Jose
Anniversary Brewers Dinner Hosted by Co-founder Dan Gordon
Cocktail Reception Begins at 6pm
Special Anniversary Toast at 7:30pm
**Only $60 per person - Call or stop by the restaurant to make
reservations today!

**Saturday, July 12th: Gordon Biersch Brewing Company in San Jose
Join us from 12pm - 7pm at the GB Brewery! Admission includes GB authentic German style beers, food and live music! Only $40 per person. Visit the following restaurants to purchase tickets: GB Palo Alto, GB San Francisco, or GB San Jose or visit www.gordonbiersch.com/brewery/

Exclusively, just for you…

We’re celebrating this special occasion with a number of extraordinary events, and we look forward to seeing you along the way. Be sure not to miss out on all the fun and purchase your all-access pass today! Visit the Bay Area restaurants to purchase your all-access pass for a week to remember! See below for details…

$300 GOLD PACKAGE- This exclusive pass includes:
*All access to GB Brewers Dinners in GB San Francisco, Palo Alto, and San Jose.
*All access to VIP area during the 20th Anniversary Parties at GB San Francisco, Palo Alto, and San Jose. This includes complimentary appetizers and beer.
*One ticket into the 20th Anniversary Party at the San Jose Brewery.
*Anniversary Celebration Commemorative Retail Package.
*Autographed glassware from Dan Gordon and Dean Biersch.

$200 SILVER PACKAGE - This exclusive pass includes:
*All access to GB Brewers Dinner at one of the following locations: San Francisco, Palo Alto, or San Jose.
*All access to VIP area during the 20th Anniversary Parties at one of the following locations: San Francisco, Palo Alto, or San Jose. This includes complimentary appetizers and beer.
*One ticket into the 20th Anniversary Party at the San Jose Brewery.
*Anniversary Celebration Commemorative Retail Package.

Pretty good party lined up, eh? Unfortunately for me, I’m going to be in Santa Rosa for a good part of the festivities. Then again, with the craft beer scene in Sonoma and Napa counties, maybe I’m not missing much at all. As it looks, we’ll probably be able to make it to the Wednesday night brewer’s dinner with Dan Gordon and Dean Biersch, so I’m looking forward to that.

As a reminder, GB’s Sommerfest tapping is tomorrow night. This time, I got the date right! Hopefully, I’ll see some of you there.

Hot off the digital press! Just got an email from Gordon Biersch (GB) that they’ll be tapping their Sommersgold Kolsh tonight next Tuesday at their San Jose location. Here’s the marketing speak copied from their email:

Come join us for the tapping of Sommergold, Tuesday, June 24, 2008 from 6pm to 8pm. This Kölsch style pale ale is light and dry with just a hint of fruitiness. Bring a friend and enjoy our Sommergold seasonal menu. Enjoy such items as Shrimp and Crab Tower, Asian Chicken Salad, Prime Burger, Roasted Half Chicken, and Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi.

In the past, this email would’ve been sent out a week in advance, maybe? Now, they send it the day of. I can’t say I blame them though. The response to free beer at past tappings has been so overwhelming that they’ve actually run out of the beer before the event was even over. There’d still be people in line waiting for a glass that would never come. Now everyone should have the opportunity to at least taste the new beer.

In other beer debuting news, Toronado will be debuting some funky beers coming out of Drake’s Brewing Company. Here’s the information:

Drake’s Brewing Company Special Release At Toronado

Description:
Drake’s Brewing Company
Special Release
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008 6PM+
Biere Speciale
Aged 2 years with Trappist yeast
Brettamber
Aged 2 years in Merlot Oak with Brettanomyces
Batch 2000
Drake’s 2000th batch, a Belgian style tripple
Blend o’
Blend of the Brettamber and Batch 2000

Plus other selections from Drake’s

Location: Toronado, 547 Haight, San Francisco, California
Time(s): 6:00 PM
Admission: no charge
Contact Email: info@toronado.com

I wasn’t planning on attending this event but the mere mention of funky, possibly sour ales gets my taste buds going. Sure it’ll be a hassle to drive up and find parking and all but these are not your run-of-the-mill beers.

For those living on the northern side of the Golden Gate, Marin Brewing Company has just tapped their latest batch of White Knuckle IPA. I don’t see any mention of this particular beer on their website which leads me to believe this is a seasonal beer. From what I’ve been able to find on Google, it’s a Double IPA, so be prepared for massive hop flavors and bitterness with a potentially double digit ABV (alcohol by volume).

I am about 95% sure I’ll be at GB tonight for their tapping. I hope to see some familiar faces tonight. Be safe and drink well.

For whatever reason, I thought the tapping was tonight but obviously it wasn’t. This is why the wife is in charge of our events calendar. In any event, the wife and I had a very nice, simple dinner out. With the weather so pleasant, it was a nice change of pace for us.

Sammy ordered the GB Vienna lager and I had their pilsner. I found their Vienna lager to be a decent example of the style. Pleasant malt flavors, low hop flavor and bitterness but with a creamy mouthfeel and clean finish typical of a lager. Their pilsner was easy drinking with bready malt flavors and aroma. I felt there wasn’t enough hop flavor or bitterness for the style though. Makes me wonder if that’s how their recipe is or if they’ve had to cut down because of the scarcity of hops.