Syracuse, NY -- So, here we are behind the scenes at the new Gordon Biersch Brewery Pub coming to Destiny USA.

And surprise: The head brewer comes to us, circuitously, from Marcellus.

Meet Dave Collins as he takes us on a tour of the brewpub-in-the-making. It’s scheduled to have its grand opening Dec. 10 and right now, teams from corporate HQ and the manufacturers of the brewing-and-beer-storing tanks are getting things in shape to begin brewing beer in October.

The lager-style beers age for at least 35 days, as is customary in Germany, they say.

Part of the detailed process has the yeast going into the fermenter.

“It will do it’s job, it will have a big party with all the sugar and then we have a big party with the beer that they make,” said Collins. “It’s kind of a circle of life there, you know?”

Destiny’s Gordon Biersch has five 30-barrel fermenters that each brew approximately 950 gallons per batch. It has four 30-barrel and six 15-barrel serving tanks connected to the bar.

The brew goes directly from tank to tankard.

“You’re literally drinking out of one of these,” said Collins as he stood in the serving tank cooler area of the restaurant under construction this week. “(The beer) goes right from the fermenter to a serving tank, so it never sees the light of day. There’s no way for the beer to get spoiled.

“It’s going to be some of the best beer you’ve ever had.”

Collins was living in Florida when he hear the calling of beer. Learning of a two-year brewmaster program at Niagara College in Ontario, Collins sold his home and moved to Buffalo. While also working in a brewpub, he took two years of classes at Niagara to become a brewmaster.

Gordon Biersch hired him for his new job at their new restaurant in Syracuse, essentially his hometown.

There’s a lot going on behind the barricades in front of the new Destiny offering coming to the Canyon area of the mall. As the brew house section comes together, silver beer-brewing-and-storage tanks and all, so is the rest of the restaurant, which will feature an open kitchen and fresh food, said Collins.

“The beer we make from grain to glass and the food is the same way,” said Collins. “Nothing comes out of a box and goes to you. We don’t have microwaves, like other kitchens. Everything is made fresh and right here, on-premise.”

Even some Central New York pigs will be happy with Gordon Biersch.

The 100-percent organic spent grain from the beermaking will be given to a local pig farmer instead of sent out as “industrial waste,” which it’s technically termed. That extra protein is considered a treat for animals.

Collins is happy to be, again, in Central New York.

“It’s kind of a weird, serendipitous kind of thing,” Collins said of his opportunity to bring his career back home. “It kind of came full circle. So I got really lucky to be here. And I’m really excited about it.”

You can take a video tour on Syracuse.com of the Gordon Biersch restaurant under construction.

Express checkout

Destiny’s third-level, entertainment-laden section of the expansion opens to the public on Monday, said Schoeneck. One of the entertainment attractions,

Stickley, Audi

Success breeds lunch. Beginning Oct. 1, Destiny’s

Store Front run Fridays in CNY and Sundays in The Post-Standard Business section, and blog.syracuse.com/storefront is updated regularly. The Store Front e-newsletter is delivered Wednesday mornings to Friends of Store Front. Contact Bob Niedt at bniedt@syracuse.com. You can call Bob at 470-2264.