Brewery #3: Gordon Biersch

To be honest, this brewery didn't have a lot going for it from the start. For one, it's inside a mall, which completely ruins the atmosphere, and two, they only brew lagers, which really aren't my favorite. We showed up for happy hour on a Friday night to save some money.

Before I get to the beer, which really wasn't very impressive, I want to talk about the food. Happy hour food was $5 appetizers and normally that means not too much food to fit the smaller price. This brewery was different. The food was good size portions and was absolutely delicious. I almost forgot to drink the beer because I was too busy stuffing my face with tasty sesame buffalo wings and garlic fries and southwestern egg rolls. If you need a reason to go to Gordon Biersch, go for the food, not the beer.

Anyway, here's the five beers they have on tap. I'm not good with German and I tried to copy the names from the menu, but they aren't perfect. Good luck pronouncing some of these if you ever go to order your own.

Czech Pilsner

This beer was pretty sour, but it was ok for a pilsner. I've had some great pilsners in my beer tasting lifetime and this wouldn't rank high on the list.

Hefeweizen

This hef has a strange after taste. I don't know why this doesn't take like your every day hef, but maybe it has something to do with being a lager. I didn't like the taste and had trouble finishing it.

Marzen

This was definitely their best beer. It's an amber ale with a smooth, mild taste. If I could have stopped at this one I would've only had this beer to drink all night.

Schwarzbier

This was a solid dark lager. I liked the smokey taste to it and there wasn't any over the top coffee or chocolate flavors. It's simple, but in a good way.

Seasonal (Winter Bock)

Kyle described this beer as tasting like water. It was dark and smooth but really didn't have any flavors that stood out. I've had some bad seasonals and some great ones, but they all had one thing in common, a very strong, distinct flavor. This beer had nothing. I agree with Kyle.

If it seems like I'm less than excited about this brewery it's because I am. There isn't much to write about because there isn't much to the beer. I'm not sure if it's a lager thing or if this brewery is just too watered down, but I really wasn't impressed. Like I said, building your brewery in a mall just doesn't make a great first impression.