Silicon Valley Beer Week 2013: Gordon Biersch Kick of Party

Felt like walking into the Wonka Factory.

It's Silicon Valley Beer Week! Michael and I attended the Kick Off Party at Gordon Biersch on Sunday. It took place at the brewhouse in east San Jose, right in the back storage and shipping area.

I will do a separate post about Gordon Biersch later on. Right now let's just focus on the event...

Do you ever think about how many random people's photo's you're in?

It consistent of several tents featuring a pairing of an appetizer from a local restaurant and a beer from a local brewery.

Yummy Pilsner

Gordon Biersch had its Czech Style Pilsner, which was my first drink. It is a pretty standard German Pilsner, maybe a little more on the malty side. Very drinkable and a nice starter for the party.

Very big golden ale

Strike Brewing Company offered its Blonde Ale, a very golden ale with a lot of malt. This is a good beer, but has a tartness that needs to be paired with something herb-y or it is overpowering. I see it going well with appetizers, maybe some thick wheat crackers and basil hummus.

I was SO happy to have vegan food. 

There was even a vegan vendor, Good Karma Cafe! We had dinner there the other night actually (I will do a post about it soon). Good Karma served jalapeno poppers, which I have not had in a long time so I was happy. The beer pairing was Lagunitas Dogtown Pale Ale.

Love this IPA

This is a crisp, hoppy beer. Prefect to cut through the richness of the vegan cream cheese in the poppers. I know from experience this also pairs very well with juicy veggie burger. Towards the end, Good Karma ran out of Dogtown, so they tapped a Maximus instead. It's a extremely hoppy IPA, also paired with with the poppers.

Biere de Chocolat, very interesting...

Almanac Beer Company had its California Table Beer: Biere de Chocolat. This is very complex beer, very chocolaty. A bit bitter at first, and finishes kind of smokey. I was not that impressed by this beer. It is a bit much to drink on its own (and does not pair well with jalapeno poppers). I'm sure the beer would have been better with the pairing, a bacon wrapped date or something, to give it more sweetness and compliment all the background flavors. I am very interested in trying more of Almanac's beers though. I love the its concept of taking inspiration from Northern California's farming legacy. Making artisan "table beer" similar to making "table wine".

Malty

Hermitage Brewing Company had two choices: Maltopia and Hoptopia. I am kind of allergic to hops, so I try to avoid extremely hoppy beers when I can. I only took a sip of Michael's Hoptopia, plus I've had it before. It's double IPA that does not skip on the hops. It's balanced out by a caramel background taste, but that fresh hops taste is definitely right in the forefront. I did have a sample of Maltopia. It is a Scottish Ale, toasty malt flavor and a little fruity too.

"Never Trust a Skinny Brewer"

This was a very fun event, nice job everyone involved!