Gordon Biersch Brewery is an American
brewery
A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...
founded by Dan Gordon and Dean Biersch. Gordon, a graduate from the five-year brewing engineering program at
Weihenstephan,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, and Biersch opened their first brewery restaurant in
Palo Alto,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, in July 1988. In 1999, the restaurants were sold to what ultimately became
CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries.
In November 1995, the two founders and their original investors, wanting to expand their then $20 million business, accepted a $11.2 million investment from the Fertitta family of Las Vegas.
Lorenzo Fertitta became the controlling owner. , Gordon Biersch brews beer for
Costco
Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco i ...
and
Trader Joe's
Trader Joe's is an American chain of grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. The chain has over 569 stores across the United States.
The first Trader Joe's store was opened in 1967 by founder Joe Coulombe in Pasadena, California ...
under contract. The Gordon Biersch brewery and bottling plant is located in
Japantown in
San Jose, California. In 2016, Gordon Biersch released a dry-hopped red ale called "Chum" in honor of the
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...
.
Awards
Gordon Biersch Brewing Company has won several American awards. At the
Great American Beer Festival, they won gold in the category of Bohemian-style
pilsner in 2004, and in the category of German Style Schwarzbier in 2007, and the
Rauchbier brewed at the Gordon Biersch Restaurant in
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
, won gold in 2014. In 2018, Gordon Bierch at Tysons Corner, by brewer Justin Damadio, won a gold medal in the Bohemian Pilsner category at
Great American Beer Festival. At the World Beer Cup 2002, they won gold in the category of sweet stout and bronze in the category of
Vienna style lager, and at the World Beer Cup 2006, they won gold in the German style schwarzbier category.
"World Beer Cup 2006 Winners List"
(retrieved on August 15, 2017).
See also
* List of breweries in California
This list of breweries in California, both current and defunct, includes both microbreweries and larger industrial scale breweries. Brewing companies range widely in the volume and variety of beer produced, ranging from small breweries to massive ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Beer brewing companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
American companies established in 1988
Restaurants in San Jose, California
Food and drink companies established in 1988
Restaurants established in 1988
1988 establishments in California
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020