Gordon Biersch Brewing Company
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Gordon Biersch Brewery is an American brewery founded by Dan Gordon and Dean Biersch. Gordon, a graduate from the five-year brewing engineering program at Weihenstephan, and Biersch opened their first brewery restaurant in Palo Alto, California in July 1988. Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant Group, Inc. is a brewery restaurant group now operated independently out of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
In November 1995, the two founders and their original investors, wanting to expand their then-$20 million business, accepted an $11.2 million investment from the Fertitta family of Las Vegas[1][2]. Lorenzo Fertitta, a 1991 graduate of the University of San Diego, became the controlling owner. Gordon Biersch currently brews beer for Costco and Trader Joe's under contract.
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[edit] Restaurant Group
While the Gordon Biersch Brewing Company continues to operate as a brewery and bottler of Gordon Biersch beers, the company sold its restaurant assets to Big River Breweries in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1999. That company now operates as Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant Group, Inc. and operates 37 restaurants in 19 states and Washington, D.C., with nine more operated by franchisees in various airports in the United States. Other brands owned and/or operated by the Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant Group include Big River Grille and Brewery, Rock Bottom Restaurant Brewery, Seven Bridges Grille and Brewery, AlA Ale Works and Ragtime Tavern and Seafood Grill. [1]
[edit] Awards
Gordon Biersch brands have won several awards including the best Bohemian-style pilsner with their Gordon Biersch Czech Lager. (Gold, 2004 and 2007 Great American Beer Festival). They won the Bronze at the WorldBeer Cup 2002 with their Gordon Biersch Vienna in the category of Vienna-Style Lager. Gordon Biersch enjoyed quite a successful year in 2007, taking home 6 medals, including 2 gold medals; one for their Schwarzbier in the German Style Schwarzbier category, and the other for their Czech Lager in the Bohemian Style Pilsner category. Both of these beers were brewed at the Gordon Biersch Restaurant in Broomfield, Colorado. [2]
[edit] References
- ^ Gordon Biersch: New Challenges and Opportunities, a May 2002 article from the Harvard Business Review
- ^ Gordon Biersch names Allin president, an April 1996 article from Nation's Restaurant News, via findarticles.com
[edit] External links
- Gordon Biersch official brewery website
- Gordon Biersch official restaurant website
