Beer Me! — Gordon Biersch Brewery — San Jose, California, United States

The "Brewery Update" form was broken for a while, but it's fixed now, so send me those updates!

This is not the official web site of

Gordon Biersch Brewery

357 East Taylor Street
San Jose CA 95112
Telephone: +1 408-278-1008
Hours: Tours are available by appointment only.
[Contact] [Update]

Notes

Opened: 1997

Annual Production: 90,000 bbl

Contributors: Mario Kornmesser, Diane Crawford, Matthias Haaben, Siegfried Binge

Ninety percent of this brewery's beer is brewed for other companies.

Updated: March 18, 2021

News

2019-05-08: Gordon Biersch Co-Founder Reclaims Majority Stake in Decades-Old Brewery (Brewbound)

Beer List

Blonde Bock

German-Style Heller Bock/Maibock

7.00% abv.
- Date: September 4, 2008 (#7285)
  
  Package: bottled
  
  Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE
  
  Score: 16 points
  
  Appearance (3)
  Bright golden. Moderate head.
  
  Aroma (3)
  Mild sweet grainy malt.
  
  Mouthfeel (8)
  Medium body, smooth. Sweetly malty and warming. Moderate noble hop flavor and bitterness.
  
  Overall Impression (2)
- Date: December 14, 1997 (#2361)
  
  Package: bottled
  
  Place: Moloka`i Wines and Spirits Unlimited, Kaunakakai HI
  
  Score: 16½ points
  
  Overall Impression (3½)
  Deep golden, low carbonation, thick head. Sweet aroma, alcoholic, a little herbal. Thick, chewy, fairly strong. Nice malty flavor in the middle. Good big beer. Bottled 11/10/97.

Chum

American-Style Amber/Red Ale

Date: December 3, 2016 (#9676)

Package: bottled

Place: Place unknown

Score: 16½ points

Appearance (3)
Bright red-brown. Big dense head.

Aroma (3½)
Rich toasty malt. Grainy, mildly grassy.

Mouthfeel (8)
Medium body, moderate carbonation. Sweet caramel malt, toasty, bready. Seems a bit alcoholic. Grassy, fruity hop flavor, low-medium bitterness. Grassy, grainy finish, warming.

Overall Impression (2)
"Dry-hopped Red Ale", brewed for the San Jose Sharks. Thanks to Choo for the six-pack!

Dunkles

European-Style Dark/Münchner Dunkel

Date: October 5, 2000 (#3584)

Package: draught

Place: Great American Beer Festival, Denver CO

Score: 13½ points

Overall Impression (2½)
Light brown, thick head. Clean aroma. Malty, sweet...Märzen?

FestBier

German-Style Märzen/Oktoberfest

Date: September 4, 2008 (#7284)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 16 points

Appearance (3)
Bright amber. Moderate head.

Aroma (3)
Sweet biscuity malt.

Mouthfeel (8)
Medium body, fizzy. Big sweet biscuity malt all the way through.

Overall Impression (2)

Date: September 4, 2008 (#7282)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 18 points

Appearance (3)
Yellow. Opaque. Thick head.

Aroma (3)
Huge wheat malt. Bananas.

Mouthfeel (9)
Medium body, fizzy. Lots of sweet wheat malt. Nicely creamy with a big banana flavor.

Overall Impression (3)
Real good beer.

Date: March 16, 2021 (#10459)

Package: bottled

Place: Trader Joe's Maple Grove, Maple Grove MN

Score: 16½ points

Appearance (3)
Brilliant amber. Moderate head.

Aroma (3)
Floral. Fruity. Some caramel.

Mouthfeel (8)
Medium body, fizzy. Big fruity-floral hop flavor, medium bitterness. Mild resiny note. Caramel, biscuity malt in the background, just enough for balance. Fruity, mildly bitter finish.

Overall Impression (2½)
Good clean beer.

Date: February 19, 2021 (#10432)

Package: bottled

Place: Trader Joe's Maple Grove, Maple Grove MN

Score: 17 points

Appearance (2½)
Golden, very slight haze. Moderate dense head.

Aroma (3½)
Smoky, grassy. Mild cloves.

Mouthfeel (9)
Light-medium body, fizzy. Sweet clean wheat malt, grassy. Nice banana fruitiness. Mild clove. Bready finish.

Overall Impression (2)
Pretty good beer.

Date: February 24, 2021 (#10449)

Package: bottled

Place: Trader Joe's Maple Grove, Maple Grove MN

Score: 18 points

Appearance (3)
Brilliant golden. Dense head.

Aroma (3)
Nicely floral noble hops. Mild grainy malt.

Mouthfeel (9)
Light-medium body, fizzy. Clean grainy malt with a fair bit of sulfur. Medium floral hop flavor, medium bitterness. Hop character lingers on the finish.

Overall Impression (3)
Good clean beer.

Date: March 7, 2021 (#10455)

Package: bottled

Place: Trader Joe's Maple Grove, Maple Grove MN

Score: 16½ points

Appearance (3)
Black. Massive head from a lively pour.

Aroma (3½)
Really chocolatey. Mildly roasty, floral, herbal, grassy.

Mouthfeel (8)
Medium body, kinda fizzy. Malty, chocolatey. Nicely roasty and smooth. Low-medium grassy hop flavor and bitterness. Mild floral note. Finished moderately sweet and chocolatey.

Overall Impression (2)
Pretty good beer.

Date: September 4, 2008 (#7283)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 17 points

Appearance (3)
Bright copper color. Moderate head.

Aroma (3)
Sweet, fairly toasty malt, noble hops.

Mouthfeel (9)
Medium body, chewy and fizzy. Really malty, toasty and sweetish. Noble hop flavor, mildly bitter and a bit fruity.

Overall Impression (2)
Tasty beer.

Date: August 2, 1997 (#2102)

Package: bottled

Place: Moloka`i Wines and Spirits Unlimited, Kaunakakai HI

Score: 14½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Red-brown, low carbonation, good head. Caramel aroma, hint of hops, hint of diacetyl. Sweet, brown...like Newcastle Brown! Sweet all the way through, a little roasty at the end.

Date: September 4, 2008 (#7281)

Package: bottled

Place: Beertopia, Omaha NE

Score: 16½ points

Appearance (3)
Bright golden. Moderate head.

Aroma (3)
Sweet grainy malt. Mild noble, fruity hops.

Mouthfeel (8)
Medium body, smooth. Really malty, fairly sweet, grainy and smoky. Reasonably bitter. Clean, bitter finish.

Overall Impression (2½)

Date: August 2, 1997 (#2101)

Package: bottled

Place: Moloka`i Wines and Spirits Unlimited, Kaunakakai HI

Score: 17 points

Overall Impression (3)
Bright bright golden, fairly high carbonation, nice thick head. Malty aroma with lots of spicy hops. Good body, big malt flavor. Fairly sweet. Hops show up late, for a clean bitter finish.