Brewpub pioneer buys Sebastopol Brewing
Historic railroad powerhouse building to be renovated
By STEVE HART
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published Oct 31, 2007
The beer visionary who helped launch the U.S. brewpub craze will test his latest concept in Sebastopol, where he's buying the local taproom.
Dean Biersch, co-founder of Gordon Biersch Brewing Co., will open Hopmonk Tavern next year in the historic building now occupied by Sebastopol Brewing Co.
Although Biersch is keeping quiet about the details, his new business is expected to be a European-inspired tavern and restaurant, possibly the first of a national chain.
Gordon Biersch brewpubs, sold to a Tennessee company in 1999, are open in 17 locations across the United States.
The beer industry will be closely watching Biersch's new venture, said Harry Schuhmacher, editor of Beer Business Daily, an online trade publication based in San Antonio, Texas.
Biersch pioneered the art of matching craft-brewed beers with food, Schuhmacher said. "Beer pairs with a lot more foods than wine," he said. "He was one of the first to recognize that."
Gordon Biersch, founded in Palo Alto in 1988, was the original chain of gourmet brewpubs, Schuhmacher said. Today there are about 1,000 brewpubs in the United States.
While sales remain flat for the giant U.S. beer makers, microbrewers saw business grow 16 percent last year.
Sebastopol Brewing will close Thursday after a blowout Halloween party, said Lisa Sanchez, who owns the downtown pub with her husband, Steve, and another couple, Steve and Tammy Martin.
They decided to sell the brewery to Biersch after nearly two years, Sanchez said.
"We just got a good offer," she said.
The couples continue to own the building, the former powerhouse for the Petaluma & Santa Rosa Railway, an electric railroad that once served Sebastopol.
The 100-year-old stone landmark was converted to a brewery in 1995. Powerhouse Brewing Co. closed in 2004 and was briefly replaced by the Stone Elephant, a restaurant and wine tasting room that featured the skeleton of a 3 million-year-old mastodon.
Sebastopol Brewing opened early in 2006.
Biersch, who now lives in Sonoma, was looking for a Sonoma County location for his new brewpub. He plans to reopen the Sebastopol business after extensive renovations, according to a spokesman.
Biersch and partner Dan Gordon built 12 brewpubs before selling selling the restaurant chain to Big River Brewing Co. in 1999.
They continued to co-own Gordon Biersch brewery in San Jose, which distributes in California, Hawaii, Nevada and Arizona.
Biersch, a restaurant veteran who developed the company's brewpub strategy, left his executive post at the brewery last year but remains a consultant there.