Twenty years after opening their 10,000 square foot brewpub at the site of the old Hills Brothers Coffee Building, Gordon Biersch is set to lock the doors of this popular San Francisco location on April 28. There’s still no official word about where the new site will be, only that they are scouting spots in the same area as the current location. But although we may be without a local branch of the brewpub for the foreseeable future, Gordon Biersch cofounder and master brewer Dan Gordon is in the final stages of prepping first of a series of limited
release craft brews which may be on the shelves starting next month.

A graduate of the prestigious five-year brewing program at the Technical University of Munich in Weihenstephan, Gordon not only follows the German Purity Law when brewing his array of heritage style German beers, but he also imports all of his hops from Germany and the Czech Republic and his specialty malts from Bamberg, Germany. All his beers are aged six weeks and are naturally carbonated. Gordon notes that they are also the only brewery in the world that grows its yeast in propagators and uses it only once.

With an eye towards satisfying a broader range of beer tastes, Gordon has recently turned his attention and skills to brewing some other styles of craft beers, the first of which may be released this May. The new beers will be limited to 4000 cases or fewer and bottled in swing-top 750 ml. bombers. The first beer will be an Imperial Pilsner Brau (IPB) that’s brewed with Hallertau, Tettnang, Spalt, and Saaz hops and will clock in at 50 IBU and 6.5 ABV.

“This is a beer unlike any other made before,” says Gordon. “We designed the IPB to pique the curiosity of the IPA drinker, and we hope to capture their palate preference with the unique, authentic flavor that is completely its own.”

Gordon says he will follow the IPB with a Weizeneisbock and then later in the year a Dark Eisbock as a winter warmer. He also plans to produce two other brews this year that will not be limited releases: a Zwickelpils (unfiltered Pilsner) and Zwickelbock (unfiltered blonde bock).

See the SF Gordon Biersch Facebook page for details on the closing party of their Harrison Street location. There’s also a page on their web site that has details on the new limited release beers; visit that here.

Note: If you were unable to get tickets for this Saturday’s sold-out
SF International Brewfest, there’s another beer event going on earlier
in the day: Slow Food San Francisco and the San Francisco Brewers
Guild are hosting Slow Beer. Over 25 beers by the San Francisco
Brewer's Guild members will be showcased as part of Slow Food's effort
to promote the pleasures of eating and drinking locally. Proceeds from
the event will benefit Slow Food San Francisco programs. Tickets are
$50 in advance or $60 at the door. Click here for details and
tickets.