Gordon Biersch Pilsner

Brewed by Gordon Biersch Brewing Company
Style: Premium Lager
Palo Alto, California USA

12 oz bottle. Not bad for the style. Aromas were rather macroish, but the flavor had some more hops kick than I was expecting.

On tap at LAX. Clear golden pour supporting a medium white head with very little lacing. Not much in the aroma but some mild lemon zest. Not much in the way of flavor either. Some fresh baked biscuit, more lemon, very mild hops and a touch of pepper. Thin mouthfeel and clean finish. Biersch Brews Better Beers.

This beer is a good beer but not as flavorful as GB’s Marzen or Blonde Bock. The flavor is acceptable but if the others are available, go with them.

On tap at some airport franchise.

Pours an attractive clear yellow with a nice small white head. Bready aroma, prevalent yeasts with some lemon and a bit of cut grass. The flavor is not challenging, but it’s perfectly enjoyable - moderately dry, a little bit of lemon early, some grainy sweetness through the midrange. Refreshing crisp palate, nicely carbonated. Maybe I’m being generous, but this seems to be a perfectly good airport thirst quencher.

Draft at the San Jose brewery. Pours a fizzy yellow with a white head. This is a snooze like the rest of the GB beers--some two-row sweetness that’s hard to find, and that’s about it.

On tap at the Dulles Airport outlet. The Old Dominion outlet that I had visited last time I passed through Dulles seemed to have gone (or perhaps I was just looking in the wrong place) but I don’t remember a Gordon Biersch being there before. This seemed to be aiming at a Bohemian pilsner style and didn’t miss the mark by too much, so I thought it a bit uncharitable to list it as a premium lager. Slightly hazy, mid gold colour. Not much head. Distinctly malty aroma. Could do with a bit more hop character in the flavour. Clean and refreshing, although there was a bit too much sweetness emerging on the finish for my taste. Pleasant enough, although not too interesting, but I’ve had plenty of worse beers waiting for a flight.

Does not taste anything like a German pilsner (that is what I am used to). No hopp-iness/bitterness to talk about. Not really spicy; but rather flat overall. Unfortunately quite a disappointment, the only thing is that it is pretty cheap around here ;-)

(12 oz bottle, Bottled on 18-Nov-05: BevMo in La Jolla, CA) Not a big seller in my BevMo, I think this is an overlooked pilsener. It’s reasonably malty with a mild, but pleasant, spicy, hoppy bitterness in the background. A bit sweet however, and there is a hint of cardboard in the background, and that creates a bit of a distraction in the finish, but not enough to significantly degrade the experience. Because of the sweetness, the beer is only somewhat crisp and clean on the palate, but it has a nice hoppy bite for the style and solid carbonation. The nose is quite nice, projecting a "brewhouse" maltiness with a slight sweetness, plus a bit of spicy hops for good balance. Medium straw in color, but I consider the moderate haze a drawback for this style of beer. Off-white head rises to nearly an inch on the pour and has average retention, gradually fading to a thin layer while leaving plenty of ringed lacing. Cut back on some of the sweetness and this would be a very solid beer. As it is, it’s still enjoyable enough to occasionally buy a sixer when it’s on sale.