What we could learn from zee Germans
Written: Jul 19 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A good refreshing and easy drinking characterful lager.
Cons: Not available outside of Gordon Biersch brewpubs.
The Bottom Line: Not a classic, but a very good German style lager nonetheless. Only available on draft, but definitely worth walking to your nearest Gordon Biersch brewpub for.
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| andaryl's Full Review: Gordon Biersch Dunkles |
About a month or so ago I wrote reviews on a couple of Gordon Biersch lagers, namely the Märzen and the Blonde Bock. The first was a very good brew and the second wasn’t too far behind either. So on my visit to LA earlier this week, I decided it was about time that I visited the Gordon Biersch brewpub in Pasadena.
A Quick Background
The Gordon Biersch chain certainly seems to be doing something right, with its expansion taking its microbrews to the consumer, instead of waiting for the consumer to come to them. The company started out in 1988 when restaurateur Dean Biersch teamed up with acclaimed brewer Dan Gordon and opened their first brewery restaurant in Palo Alto. The chain now covers 18 locations, mainly concentrated in California, but stretching from Honolulu to Washington DC.
Gordon Biersch Beers
As a graduate of the German brewing school in Weihenstephan, the most renowned brewing school in the world, Dan Gordon’s expertise was in authentic German style lagers. This is really what sets the brewery apart from the majority of breweries in the USA, most of whom concentrate on ales which are slightly easier to produce. The ones that concentrate on lagers are usually the bigger breweries and compromise much on the original styles.
In the style of German lagers, Gordon Biersch only uses the finest and purest ingredients, which include Hallertauer hops, two-row barley malt and a Weihenstephan imported yeast strain. To students of the beer industry, it should go without saying that they also comply with the 500-year German purity law known as the Reinheitsgebot.
Reinheitsgebot
The German Purity Law that dates back to 1516 and says that beer can only be made with 3 ingredients: barley, hops, and water. At the time no one knew that yeast was involved in the process (it was in the air), and was later added as the fourth ingredient.
Beers on Offer (at the time of my visit)
Marzen
Golden Export
Hefeweissen (seasonal)
Dunkles
Pilsner
Dunkles
It’s a common mistake among those new to beer, in assuming that light colored beers are lagers and dark beers are ales. In fact, before Pilsner Urquell came along and was copied in every corner of the world, all lagers were unfiltered and dark. Dunkles is the German word for dark, and as is the tradition is the only Gordon Biersch lager that is served unfiltered.
The beer is fairly light in alcohol, at 4.5% ABV, just a touch more than Miller Lite, but I was drinking this at only a few minutes after noon so I wasn’t going to worry about that.
Tasting Notes
I immediately took my seat at the bar and ordered a Dunkles. No sooner had I asked about what other beers were on offer than the bartender placed a little taster of each in front of me.
The Dunkles pours fairly cloudy, a nice brown color, with a tan foam that quickly dissipates.
The nose is fairly clean, a little bubble-gum and caramel malt and a herbal aroma that comes from the hops.
It’s has a good firm body for a lager, but is pretty light with a gentle carbonation that make this refreshingly easy drinking.
The flavors start out pretty sweet, with a slightly thick malt that coats the palate, turning clove like with a herbal hop in the middle. Being unfiltered, there’s also a subtle evidence of yeast throughout, and a slight graininess. There’s a bitterness and slight sourness in the finish that rounds out into a great balance.
Verdict
This is a great, refreshingly smooth lager that also brings a nice character and flavor with it. It did in fact remind me very much of a Belgian White Beer, of course darker in color, but a little lighter in flavor. I could see this working very well as a lunchtime brew with the Asian Chicken Salad they serve. It’s also easy drinking enough and not too heavy to make a good sociable session beer.
Maybe not the most exciting lager I’ve ever tried but certainly much more than adequate. If I’m near a Gordon Biersch brewery again in future I would certainly return and drink this again. I should also add a note about the friendliness of the bartender and the brewer who seemed busy, but took a few minutes to talk to us.
Food
The Gordon Biersch brewpubs are just as well appreciated, if not more, for their cuisine. In fact when we left at about 1.30, I had a quick glance at all the tables and of 20 or so people there were probably only about 4 or 5 drinking the beers. It was early, most seemed to be on a lunch break, so I put that down to the quality of the food rather than a disliking for the lagers.
The menu is split into Starters, Salads, Pizzas, Sandwiches & Favorites, and Pastas & Stir Frys. A few items that caught my eye were:
Beer Battered Fish & Chips $9.95
Old Fashioned Meatloaf with Beer Mustard Gravy $9.25
Grilled Chicken Skewers $6.95
We were also greeted by a regular wafting of garlic from the kitchen, which probably came from the garlic fries, making us regret having already eaten.
Availability
Gordon Biersch beers are not widely available outside of its 18 brewpubs, so I do recommend that if you have a chance to give them a visit. Beers are only bottled in their facility in San Francisco, and as far as I believe, only available in California, Nevada and Arizona. The Dunkles is only available on draft.
I have to admit to a little disappointment in that their merchandise covers t-shirts and glasses etc, but I couldn’t buy bottled beers. I think a 12-pack sampler would be the best gift they could sell.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
andaryl
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Member: Andrew Smith
Location: The Desert, So Cal
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