There’s something new brewing at Gordon Biersch these days. Co-founder and brewer Dan Gordon has collaborated with Casa de Fruta‘s Zanger family to develop a new beer that pays tribute to the historic roadside attraction off Pacheco Pass Highway.
“Casa de Fruta is an icon of my youth,” Gordon said of the “orchard resort” that remains a regular stop for families traveling between the South Bay and Southern California or the Central Valley. “Everything was Casa de this and Casa de that.”
And now they’ve got Casa de Beer.
Gordon Biersch started bottling the beer, called the 1940 Pilsner, on Tuesday at its brewery and plant in San Jose’s Japantown. The beer’s name comes from the 1940 truck that the family used to deliver their crops to market and which still sits on display as a “spokesvehicle” at the Casa de Fruta fruit stand. The truck is pictured on the label along with an image of Joseph Zanger, whose son, Joe Zanger, now runs Casa de Fruta with his cousins Gene Zanger and Mike Zanger.
It was Joe’s son, Gerrod Zanger, who wondered last summer why Casa de Fruta didn’t have its own beer while he was working in the wine tasting room. With Joe’s approval, Gerrod’s brother, Elliot Zanger, decided Gordon Biersch would be an ideal partner and sent the brewing company a cold email pitching the idea. Within 24 hours, Gordon replied personally to say he was on board.
The whole Zanger clan was at the brewing facility Tuesday morning and sampled some of the first bottles to come off the line. And while it was Joe Zanger’s sons who hit upon the beer idea, he says beer is part of his family’s legacy as much as wine. His grandfather, Dr. Henry Zanger, was Swiss German and lived on South First Street at Alma Avenue — the house has since been moved and restored near Santa Clara University — and the pilsner style was his favorite.
Joe Zanger brought along an old-fashioned metal cooler with empty bottles of Lucky Lager, still stamped with their Februrary 1939 bottling date, that had been salvaged from his grandfather’s house. Knowing these roots, Gordon said he made sure the beer reflected them.
“I was able to include some of the Zanger family’s Swiss heritage in the bottle by sourcing some of the hops from an area called Tettnang that is located in the Swiss German border region,” he said. “They are some of the finest and most expensive aroma hops.”
While the beer is only 5% alcohol by volume, the hops give it much more bite than you’d expect from a lager. “Dan and I have spent nearly a year working on this beer, and it is exactly what would have made Papa smile,” Joe Zanger said.
And any fans that want to give it a taste should gas up the car. For the time being, it’s only available at Casa de Fruta, where it’s being added to the restaurant menu and will also be sold by the six-pack.
THE RIGHT TYPE: The Bay Area Printers’ Fair & Wayzgoose returns to San Jose’s History Park for the fourth year on Saturday to celebrate letterpress printing and the associated arts. The San Jose Printers Guild has lined up demonstrations, tours of the History Park print shop and a veritable cornucopia of vendors and exhibitors.
If you’ve never been, it’s a fascinating look at typography, printing and design that mixes craft and art in a special way. Trust me, you’ll never look at your inkjet printer with any admiration after you see these artisans at work. The free event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and parking is $6. Get more info at sjprintersguild.com.
PARK SHARES ITS HISTORY: Martial Cottle Park in San Jose will showcase the valley’s agricultural history at its Spring Celebration on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The 287-acre park, at 5283 Snell Ave. in San Jose, will feature restored antique farm equipment and vintage autos, as well as workshops and tours of Jacobs Farm, which has been working to bring the soil back into production. Admission is free, but vehicle parking is $6.
