In the "hot pour" interview column in the current (Sept. 4) edition of The Weekly Surge, Christian S. Gore interviews Jessie Leeson, 28, a bartender at the local Gordon Biersch restaurant and brewery.
Christian S. Gore: Have you ever thought about what it'd be like to work a shift on LSD?
Jessie Leeson: Every shift I work I feel like I am on LSD... Myrtle Beach is a trippy place."
In the "hot pour" interview column in the current (Sept. 4) edition of The Weekly Surge, Christian S. Gore interviews Jessie Leeson, 28, a bartender at the local Gordon Biersch restaurant and brewery.
Christian S. Gore: Have you ever thought about what it'd be like to work a shift on LSD?
Jessie Leeson: Every shift I work I feel like I am on LSD... Myrtle Beach is a trippy place."
Hey folks -- my Weekly Surge cover story about Myrtle Beach's locally brewed beer was published on May 29, but the newspaper's Web site didn't seem to have a permalink for story until recently. Now, at last, you can find it here. Note that at the bottom of the main article, there are links for two related stories that ran with the same package.
The main players are:
1. The microbrewery New South Brewing Co. in Myrtle Beach;
2. The brewpub Liberty Steakhouse and Brewery at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach;
3. The brewpub Quigley's Plate and Pint in Pawleys Island;
4. The new Gordon Biersch brewpub at The Market Common on the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base.
My recent conversation with Dan Gordon, co-founder of Gordon Biersch, uncovered news about the company's expansion plans. The following is from my column in the Weekly Surge in Myrtle Beach, SC:
Dan Gordon of San Jose, Calif., insists that each server passes a test on the beers at his Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurants.
"We're going to do some beer education," said Gordon, co-founder of the Gordon Biersch chain, referring to the role servers will play in explaining his micro-brewed beer to local customers. "A lot of people think microbrews are bitter and undrinkable, and this is going to prove them wrong."
I was already convinced. For about an hour, we had been sitting in the brand-new Gordon Biersch at The Market Common on the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. The restaurant-brewery was preparing to open today (April 3). Several folks were already dining, and the restaurant was fully staffed.
Gordon walked me through five year-round beers and a seasonal brew. With six 0.4-liter glasses across the table, we started on my right with the Golden Export lager, which Gordon described as "the type of beer you'll find in a German biergarten." It was light in body but smooth instead of watery.
Next, the dry, auburn Marzen, a Bavarian lager which Gordon called his "flagship," followed by Czech Lager, a Bohemian-style Pilsner, made with Noble Hops, which provide a "pinpoint bitterness" to the flavor - a good bitterness, welcome in beer.
The Schwarzbier was lighter in body and easier on the palate than its nearly-black color would have suggested.
The Maiboch seasonal was a fairly accurate interpretation of springtime, with subtle fruit tones and crisp hops and yeasts. It was unfiltered, meaning the yeasts were left in.
The also-unfiltered Hefeweizen was a different experience altogether. Gordon said beer drinkers either love it or hate it, because the yeasts naturally yield hints of bubblegum and banana.
My personal favorites? The Czech Lager and the Maiboch. But any of these beers would be great at any time. All are made according to the Reinheitsgebot, the strict 1516 German Purity Law. That quality, to my tastes, made the biggest difference in the overall clearness, cleanness, and smoothness of these beers.
(The prices run $4.75 for a half-liter, $4 for a 0.4-liter, with a dollar off during happy hour, which runs 4-6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, with the same special available 10 p.m.-close Sunday through Thursday.)
beer food
Gordon also brought out his favorite dishes from the menu for sampling, not that he, or anyone else, could eat it all in one sitting.
For appetizers, Gordon Biersch Garlic Fries and Southwest Egg Rolls with roasted jalapeno ranch dipping sauce; then, Seafood Cobb Salad with shrimp and lump crab; Cajun Pasta with Andouille sausage, grilled chicken and shrimp; Gorgonzola Bone-In Ribeye, with Gorgonzola-buttered steak leaning on a mountain of garlic mashed potatoes; and Warm Apple Bread Pudding with vanilla ice cream and sticky bun caramel sauce.
I became convinced the restaurant's brain trust put as much thought into the food as it did the beer.
expanding empire
The Market Common location is the 26th Gordon Biersch. Four weeks ago, a location opened in Kansas City, Mo. In November, Gordon plans to open in nearby Overland Park, Kan. Meanwhile, a Plano, Texas, location is due in May; Taipei, Taiwan, in June; and Annapolis, Md., in October.
Within a year, bottles of Marzen, Czech Lager, Hefeweizen, and Blond Boch - available at retailers in other parts of the country - will be distributed throughout the Southeast.
The expansion of Gordon's company, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, was enabled by sound, long-term planning. "Nationally, the restaurant industry is down, and we're not," he said.
Gordon liked The Market Common concept because the development includes homes. "This kind of place, with the residential built in, is amazingly beneficial to us," he said
- Contact Colin Burch - the Beerman - at beerpour@yahoo.com.
My recent conversation with Dan Gordon, co-founder of Gordon Biersch, uncovered news about the company's expansion plans. The following is from my column in the Weekly Surge in Myrtle Beach, SC:
The Market Common location in Myrtle Beach, S.C., is the 26th Gordon Biersch. Four weeks ago, a location opened in Kansas City, Mo. In November, Gordon plans to open in nearby Overland Park, Kan. Meanwhile, a Plano, Texas, location is due in May; Taipei, Taiwan, in June; and Annapolis, Md., in October.
Within a year, bottles of Marzen, Czech Lager, Hefeweizen, and Blond Boch - available at retailers in other parts of the country - will be distributed throughout the Southeast.
The expansion of Gordon's company, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, was enabled by sound, long-term planning. "Nationally, the restaurant industry is down, and we're not," he said.
Gordon liked The Market Common concept because the development includes homes. "This kind of place, with the residential built in, is amazingly beneficial to us," he said
Read the full Beerman column in the Weekly Surge.
Pete Velez is working on some brews that will probably make you smile.
Velez is head brewer at the local Gordon Biersch restaurant-brewery, which is scheduled to open on April 3 in The Market Common development on the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base.
The Myrtle Beach location will be the first in South Carolina for Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant Group, Inc., which has 27 locations in 17 states.
And this will be the first Gordon Biersch gig for Velez, who left Capitol City Brewing Co. in the Washington, D.C., area for the job here.
The Gordon Biersch concept focuses on "upper-end casual dining," according to the company, with appetizers such as Garlic French Fries, and entrees including Sweet and Spicy Cashew Chicken Stir Fry.
And, of course, on-premise brewing. The company adheres to a German "Purity Law" for beer-making that dates back to 1516.
When Velez recently took a few minutes to tell me more about how Gordon Biersch makes and serves beer, I started looking forward to the grand opening.
First, all of the beers are made exclusively with German and Czechoslovakian ingredients, and they are all lagers, which take a little longer to brew than ales.
Gordon Biersch beers are served in half-liter glasses, although there is a smaller glass available at 0.4 liter, a difference that makes more sense when the glasses are set side-by-side, Velez said.
The prices on those glasses will be competitive with the going rates in the local market, but they haven't been finalized, he said. The Happy Hour prices at most Gordon Biersch locations are a dollar less than the regular price, he said, but those specials aren't official for Myrtle Beach yet.
Velez will offer growlers, too - a regular, half-gallon jug like Liberty Steakhouse and Brewery and Quigley's Pint and Plate offers, and possibly a more expensive, German-style jug with a flip top.
Gordon Biersch will also, probably, have a spin on the mug club, Velez said. It will be a bit more fancy and German - a stein club.
So what will be on tap when the restaurant-brewery opens? Click here to find out.
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