A Pint Half Full

With the growth of the craft and microbrew industry, it seems that more and more "mainstream" restaurant/brewery chains are opening up.  In the DC metro area alone I can think of a bunch.  Dogfish Head has grown their restaurant chain to three or four locations in the DelMarVa area.  Great American Restaurants has their Sweetwater Tavern.  Capitol City Brewery, Rock Bottom Brewery.  The beers that are brewed range from all over the spectrum, decent to great.  I think they serve their purpose in pairing great food and bringing purposeful beer to the people.  I met up with a couple friends the other day at Gordon Biersch and tried a beer style I hadn't had before: Dunkel (DOON-kl).  Yum.

Gordon Biersch is a brewery and restaurant chain that is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to go to eat and have a few pints.  They have great food (garlic fries and their burgers are amazing) and pretty decent tasting beer.  They always show off that their beers win awards (silver and bronze medals usually) and I think that's an accurate representation of their brews - good, not great.  They DO offer some not-as-common types of beer such as Schwarzbier (black beer), Alt Bier ("old" beer - ale that is allowed to ferment in colder temps for a long time), and I just tried a Dunkel (dark beer) the other day at their Tyson's Corner location, which I really enjoyed.

Here's a rundown of what beers I've tried and like from Gordon Biersch -

Golden Export - your typical light lager.  Pretty light and fizzy with a bit of stale hop taste.  Meh.

Czech Pilsner - A bit more hop taste here in line with a pilsner.  Too carbonated though and it dilutes the flavor.  Finishes a bit dry.  It's ok.

Marzen - I like this one.  Smooth and malty.  Can be a little too sweet at times.  Tasty though.

Dunkel - This was their seasonal so they might not have it all the time.  Like this one better than the Marzen.  Distinct malt profile - fresh bread and muffins.  Was not heavy and finished clean.  Reminded me of Fat Tire from New Belgium Brewing.

Get their garlic fries, wings, potstickers, crab dip and try their burgers.  I really love their menu.  Goes well with their beer.