Gordon-Biersch BrewingGordon-Biersch Brewing
Dan Gordon has earned a reputation for being one of America's premier brewing engineers during his 20-year tenure at Gordon Biersch Brewery. Dan personally supervises the 114,000 square foot state-of-the-art brewing and bottling facility built in 1997 in San Jose, California. Dan is the first American in more than 40 years to graduate from the prestigious five-year brewing program at the world-renowned Technical University of Munich in Weihenstephan, West Germany. As part of his training, Dan interned at the famed Spaten Brewery in Munich and Anheuser Busch. Following graduation, Dan returned to his native California and joined forces with restaurateur Dean Biersch to open the first Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant in Palo Alto in 1988. In addition to his brewing resume, Dan is also a talented chef and is the creator of the trademarked and wildly popular Gordon Biersch Garlic FriesTM. In over 20 years since its inception, Gordon Biersch Brewing Company has expanded dramatically and continues to move actively towards national distribution. While supervising this growth, Dan personally ensures that his beloved beers- Märzen, Czech Style Pilsner, Hefeweizen and Blonde Bock, as well as his seasonal WinterBock, Maibock, SommerBrau and FestBier brews - are crafted in strict adherence to the German Purity Law known as Reinheitsgebot. Dan uses only the highest-quality ingredients imported from Germany, including Hallertauer hops, malted barley and a pure strain yeast culture supplied sourced exclusively from the Weihenstephan Yeast Bank. Dan frequently lectures at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, the Anderson School of management at UCLA and the University of San Francisco. His hobbies include cooking, playing jazz trombone and trap shooting.
Dean Biersch has worked in the restaurant business since he was 15, starting as a cook, waiter and Food and Beverage Manager. He worked as a cook at Mammoth Mountain ski resorts and in several restaurants in the Santa Cruz area before taking a job as the food and beverage manager at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, where he also managed corporate events. Biersch later returned to San Francisco, where he spent three years as food and beverage manager for Hornblower Yachts. In 1987, he teamed with brewing engineer Dan Gordon to open their first Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, a still-thriving location on Emerson Street in Palo Alto, CA. The longtime restaurateur also developed the contemporary and sophisticated yet warm and casual atmosphere that makes each Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant so inviting. Biersch, like his co-founder, is a California native. He was raised in Chico and attended high school in Los Angeles. He earned a degree in international relations, with a minor in international business, from San Francisco State University. |
A match made in beer heaven: Come back with us for a moment to 1987. Dan Gordon is one of the most sought-after brewers in the country while Dean Biersch, an experienced restaurateur and beer lover, is searching for a partner to help open a brewery restaurant. A mutual friend arranges a meeting, so they sit down, start talking beer, and the rest is history. 
