Gordon Biersch
(short notes)
Palo Alto, San Jose, and San Francisco, California
San Francisco and Palo Alto notes from the brewpub, August 1995. San Jose from the brewpub in December, 1996.
Palo Alto Gordon Biersch
| Export | Dortmunder Export | * * * |
| Lightish body for style, and hop presence not as apparent. Otherwise a clean, crisp example of the style, and it did not have any of the technical flaws present in the GB San Francisco Export. |
| Marzen | Vienna/Marzen | * * |
| A rather bland example of the style. Maltiness not evident as it should be for this beer. |
| Dunkles | Munich Dunkle | * 1/2 |
| Insipid and bland. A very weak and lifeless interpretation of the style. |
San Francisco Gordon Biersch
| Export | Dortmunder Export | * 1/2 |
| Some maltiness evident in aroma, with a lot of diacetyl. The beer is golden, clear, and pretty; however, the diacetyl dominates the flavor profile. Diacetyl in an ale is OK to good, but in a lager it is a negative stylistic experience. |
| Marzen | Vienna/Marzen | * * 1/2 |
| Pleasant malty aroma. Nice amber color, pretty and clear. The flavor was somewhat muted, but this beer shows some promise. |
| Dunkles | Munich Dunkles | * * |
| Diacetyl is evident in the aroma. There is no real flavor profile. This beer is allegedly decocted, but the theoretical enhanced melanoiden production simply is not there. The beer neither has a nice malty aroma to it nor does it have the spicy/malty flavor evident in better Dunkles. Rather, it is fairly bland. |
San Jose Gordon Biersch
| Export | Dortmunder Export | * * * |
| Sulphur evident in nose. Mild maltiness in profile, a bit thin in finish. Hoppiness a bit thin for style, maltiness not quite there, but overall a workable session beer. |
| Marzen | Vienna/Marzen | * * 1/2 |
| Appropriate color and aroma. Slight astringent finish. Crisp, good overall balance, but astringence and a sulphur note detract. |
| Bock | Bock | * * 1/2 |
| Nice, deep malty aroma. Sweetness evident. Flavor tends to the cloying. There is a deep maltiness, and an appropriate malt/hop balance, but the profile is to caramelly cloying. |