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S.J. Brewer Deserves Shot at Grand Prix

Posted on: Sunday, 15 January 2006, 15:00 CST

By Scott Herhold, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.

Jan. 15--Dan Gordon is one of San Jose's good guys. A burly man with a quick sense of humor and a deep knowledge of yeast, he is the brewer behind the Gordon-Biersch brewery.

And his beer is now front and center before the San Jose City Council. I don't mean the council members are quaffing it on the dais -- though it might do them good.

Instead, the topic arose in the discussion of the city's $4 million subsidy of the Grand Prix races through downtown. The question is this: If we're putting that much city money into an event, shouldn't a local guy who wants to sell beer get a chance?

Gordon is very much a local guy, albeit one who learned his craft at the Technical University of Munich's program in Weihenstephan, Germany, a renowned brewing school.

He was born in San Jose in 1960. He grew up in the South Bay and graduated from Homestead High School before going on to the University of California-Berkeley. In 1988, he and his partner, Dean Biersch, opened their first brewery-restaurant in Palo Alto, followed not long after by one on San Fernando Street in downtown San Jose.

Today he employs 30 people at his brewery at Ninth and Taylor streets, a spotless place that obeys the German laws of brewing. He makes more than 71,000 barrels of beer a year.

Getting a fair shot

So what's the deal with the Grand Prix? At Tuesday's meeting, the ailing Mike Fox Sr. and his son, Terence, who are Gordon-Biersch distributors, made the pitch to let Gordon compete for beer sales at the car race. They said the brewer was shut out of the business last year.

"If the city is going to be putting up significant money, how about those businesses that chose San Jose as a base of operations, and have a good product, have a fair shot?" Terence Fox told me.

As a result, Gordon is scheduled to meet with race promoters Wednesday, which he says he's very happy about. But the issue of what's fair isn't an easy one.

The Grand Prix race, like other big events, reaps sponsorship money from big beer-makers like South African Breweries, the makers of Miller, or Anheuser-Busch, the makers of Budweiser.

Ordinarily, those companies sign an exclusive contract, which would shut out a local outfit like Gordon-Biersch, which is distributed in only eight states. While the race promoters might be able to carve out a separate niche -- amber-colored craft beers, say -- it would come at a cost.

Whose cost? You can certainly argue that the city might have stipulated this in its subsidy deal. Alas, despite Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez's statement that she would try to do something about local business needs, that deal is done.

Which, I fear, will make things tough for Dan Gordon. He does not have the promotion budget of a Miller or a Bud, though he has offered to give the promoters a big piece of the sales of his garlic fries.

There is this to consider: He makes a very good beer. And maybe there is something around the edges of a deal that the promoters or city can consider -- say, allowing a Gordon-Biersch tent outside the boundaries of the race. Giving preference to local companies isn't a bad thing. But the city needs to think of it upfront. One of the costs of San Jose's secrecy is that Dan Gordon didn't get a chance to put in his two cents beforehand.

Sidecar redux

A number of readers took issue with my column Friday on Arnold Schwarzenegger, pointing out that DMV rules allow the driver of a three-wheeled vehicle, like a motorcycle with sidecar, to operate with a regular license.

I stand corrected on the rules, though I still find the explanation ridiculous. The larger point is this: The governor has acknowledged riding two-wheeled motorcycles for years without the proper license. Last weekend's accident made his folly visible. He needs to pay his fine.

Contact Scott Herhold at sherhold@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5877.

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Copyright (c) 2006, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.

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Source: San Jose Mercury News

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