From the Beer Writer: If you want to run into local brewers, you’re bound to do it by hitting up the happy hour at Gordon Biersch in Mission Valley. This is particularly true if you go when brewer (and West Coaster cover-boy) Doug Hasker’s band is playing one of its shows on the back patio. Many are the brewers who equally enjoy getting an earful of The Barnacles and getting to bend the ear of Hasker, the man widely recognized as San Diego County’s foremost lager expert. That reputation is based on many years of solid Germanic beers like his latest specialty brew, Gordon Biersch Maibock. Ruby in color, it comes in at 7% alcohol-by-volume, which is higher than most of the brewpub’s offerings. The beer has some heft to it, but remains easy to drink thanks to an initial caramel sweetness on the front that gives way to tea-like flavors in the middle before giving way to a toasty finish that becomes more and more pronounced as the beer warms. It’s a case-study in exceptional lager-brewing that should not be overlooked.
From the Brewer: “Gordon Biersch Maibock is an example of a true Northern German Einbecker-style bock beer. It was originally brewed by monks who drank it during the lent fasting period to minimize the hunger pangs from being hungry, as approved by the pope. This beer uses a combination of two-row base malt along with small amounts of Munich 2 and Caramunich malts, and is fermented using Munich lager yeast to create a smooth, strong, auburn-hued beer weighing in at 7.2% ABV. In modern days, the Maibock style has become a community celebratory beer to welcome the coming of spring. In that tradition, we at Gordon Biersch celebrated the tapping of the new beer this Tuesday on the beer garden. My band, The Barnacles, cheerfully rocked the house in celebration with great success. It’s always so satisfying to bring together all that makes life grand—great music, great friends and great beer…and a great charity, in this case the Lupus Foundation of Southern California—all the while belonging to such a vibrant brewing community here in San Diego. I am humbled and grateful to be a part of it.”—Doug Hasker, Southwest Regional Brewer, Gordon Biersch