Beer of the Weekend #90: Gordon Biersch Märzen
Aww snap. BotW has officially inspired an imitation: Hooch, Man, “a celebration of all thing alcohol-related,” was introduced tonight on Churchill’s Cigar.
I approve. Tom is one of my best friends and I’m happy to see The Quiet Man’s premier series has sparked his creativity. Hooch, Man promises to be a more encompassing version of BotW as it centers on Tom’s diverse taste in booze. Check it out.
The beer this weekend is Gordon Biersch Märzen brewed by the Gordon Biersch Brewing Company of San Jose, California.
It’s that time of year. (Well, it is for everyone else I know. In Southern California there’s only one time of year.) Sweatshirt weather, falling leaves, and general spookiness. Oh, and FOOTBALL! It’s autumn, my favorite season.
It’s also time for Oktoberfest. The annual festival started last Saturday and runs through October 4th. So to commemorate the best season and its beer drinking bonanza, I’m sampling a märzen, the traditional autumn brew.
GBMä (gotta include the lovable umlaut) was not my first choice. It wasn’t even my second choice because I was sure BevMo! had what I wanted: Ayinger Oktober Fest-Märzen. It’s sold in half liter bottles, so I brought my trusty Red Label box into the store. Obviously, it wasn’t in stock, so I had to carry around an empty box as I scrambled to find a substitute. Thankfully, I’d searched the BevMo! website for the märzens they offer. I looked around and found GBMä.
Serving type: Six 12-ounce bottles.
Appearance: Gordon Biersch is touting it as an auburn lager, and it pours an auburn color. Two fingers of head rose and dissipated to a thin lacing and ring around the edge.
Smell: It’s been a long time since I had a märzen. Very sweet nose, and the aroma is hard to pin down. It’s an intriguing combination of caramel and barnyard malts. It’s very biscuit-like, too. There’s a slight hint of chocolate and citrus way way way deep down.
Taste: It follows the smell, but the caramel is much more prominent and toasty. The end is very buttery.
Drinkability: The mouthfeel is smooth and the overall affect is tasty and pleasing. It’s October in a bottle.
Fun facts about GBMä:
-Price: $6.99/sixer at the BevMo! on Beach.
-Serving temperature: 45-50°F.
-Alcohol content: 5.7 percent ABV.
-Food pairings: BA recommends German cuisine. I’m going to go out on a limb here and be a little bit more specific: I assume weisswurst is a good pairing. The GB website has a recipe for barbequed ribs covered in märzen sauce.
-Gordon Biersch advises us to…
-I think that’s because Dan Gordon, GB’s brewmaster, looks like a big boy (there’s a picture of him on the carrier). He looks a little like Tony Siragusa. Anyway, the carrier says Gordon was “the first American in more than 50 years to graduate from the prestigious five-year brewing engineering program at the world-renowned Technical University of Munich at Weihenstephan, West Germany.” Awesome, but West Germany? Maybe it was still West Germany when he graduated, but come on.
-Ideally, märzen is served in mugs or steins. As you can see, I’m using one of my trusty tumblers because I don’t own a mug or stein. (It’s all good though, since pints are also proper glassware for märzen.) Two weeks ago I wanted to order a stein from John’s Grocery, but I never got around to it.
-According to Wikipedia, alternate names for märzen are Märzenbier, Wiener Märzen, Festbier, and Oktoberfestbier.
-Speaking of Festbier, not only does Gordon Biersch brew Märzen, they also brew a seasonal beer (available August through October) called FestBier, which, according to the brewery website, “celebrates fall and the flavor profile of beers served at the modern-day Oktoberfest.” So technically they have two Oktoberfest beers. Huh? (This may be a blessing. I should try it next week if BevMo! stocks it.)
-I’ve been drinking a lot of “Gordon Biersch” brews lately. You may recall, the Trader Joe’s and Josephs Brau beers I’ve sampled are all brewed by Gordon Biersch. (Perhaps even Dan Gordon himself engineered them.) Take notice: the cap designs for all three are very similar.
-Jason Alström, of BA’s founding Alström brothers, lists Millstream Oktoberfest, brewed by the Millstream Brewery in Amana, Iowa, his favorite märzen/Oktoberfest beer. Maybe I should have my parents send me a sixer and a stein. (Todd Alström’s favorite märzen, it should be noted, is Aass Classic brewed by the Aass Brewery of Drammen, Norway.)
The Quiet Man’s grade: B.
I approve. Tom is one of my best friends and I’m happy to see The Quiet Man’s premier series has sparked his creativity. Hooch, Man promises to be a more encompassing version of BotW as it centers on Tom’s diverse taste in booze. Check it out.
The beer this weekend is Gordon Biersch Märzen brewed by the Gordon Biersch Brewing Company of San Jose, California.
It’s that time of year. (Well, it is for everyone else I know. In Southern California there’s only one time of year.) Sweatshirt weather, falling leaves, and general spookiness. Oh, and FOOTBALL! It’s autumn, my favorite season.
It’s also time for Oktoberfest. The annual festival started last Saturday and runs through October 4th. So to commemorate the best season and its beer drinking bonanza, I’m sampling a märzen, the traditional autumn brew.
GBMä (gotta include the lovable umlaut) was not my first choice. It wasn’t even my second choice because I was sure BevMo! had what I wanted: Ayinger Oktober Fest-Märzen. It’s sold in half liter bottles, so I brought my trusty Red Label box into the store. Obviously, it wasn’t in stock, so I had to carry around an empty box as I scrambled to find a substitute. Thankfully, I’d searched the BevMo! website for the märzens they offer. I looked around and found GBMä.
Serving type: Six 12-ounce bottles.
Appearance: Gordon Biersch is touting it as an auburn lager, and it pours an auburn color. Two fingers of head rose and dissipated to a thin lacing and ring around the edge.
Smell: It’s been a long time since I had a märzen. Very sweet nose, and the aroma is hard to pin down. It’s an intriguing combination of caramel and barnyard malts. It’s very biscuit-like, too. There’s a slight hint of chocolate and citrus way way way deep down.
Taste: It follows the smell, but the caramel is much more prominent and toasty. The end is very buttery.
Drinkability: The mouthfeel is smooth and the overall affect is tasty and pleasing. It’s October in a bottle.
Fun facts about GBMä:
-Price: $6.99/sixer at the BevMo! on Beach.
-Serving temperature: 45-50°F.
-Alcohol content: 5.7 percent ABV.
-Food pairings: BA recommends German cuisine. I’m going to go out on a limb here and be a little bit more specific: I assume weisswurst is a good pairing. The GB website has a recipe for barbequed ribs covered in märzen sauce.
-Gordon Biersch advises us to…
-I think that’s because Dan Gordon, GB’s brewmaster, looks like a big boy (there’s a picture of him on the carrier). He looks a little like Tony Siragusa. Anyway, the carrier says Gordon was “the first American in more than 50 years to graduate from the prestigious five-year brewing engineering program at the world-renowned Technical University of Munich at Weihenstephan, West Germany.” Awesome, but West Germany? Maybe it was still West Germany when he graduated, but come on.
-Ideally, märzen is served in mugs or steins. As you can see, I’m using one of my trusty tumblers because I don’t own a mug or stein. (It’s all good though, since pints are also proper glassware for märzen.) Two weeks ago I wanted to order a stein from John’s Grocery, but I never got around to it.
-According to Wikipedia, alternate names for märzen are Märzenbier, Wiener Märzen, Festbier, and Oktoberfestbier.
-Speaking of Festbier, not only does Gordon Biersch brew Märzen, they also brew a seasonal beer (available August through October) called FestBier, which, according to the brewery website, “celebrates fall and the flavor profile of beers served at the modern-day Oktoberfest.” So technically they have two Oktoberfest beers. Huh? (This may be a blessing. I should try it next week if BevMo! stocks it.)
-I’ve been drinking a lot of “Gordon Biersch” brews lately. You may recall, the Trader Joe’s and Josephs Brau beers I’ve sampled are all brewed by Gordon Biersch. (Perhaps even Dan Gordon himself engineered them.) Take notice: the cap designs for all three are very similar.
-Jason Alström, of BA’s founding Alström brothers, lists Millstream Oktoberfest, brewed by the Millstream Brewery in Amana, Iowa, his favorite märzen/Oktoberfest beer. Maybe I should have my parents send me a sixer and a stein. (Todd Alström’s favorite märzen, it should be noted, is Aass Classic brewed by the Aass Brewery of Drammen, Norway.)
The Quiet Man’s grade: B.
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