The World of Wort

I currently reuse commercial, amber glass beer bottles for bottling my homebrew. I like the idea of reducing my environmental footprint a bit by not purchasing cases of new bottles (although, I must admit to coveting some 16 ounce flip-top models), even if filling 54 bottles of beer is kind of a pain in the ass.

With the idea of partially lessening this burden, as well as providing myself with a more convenient means of transporting a portion of my brew for tastings and whatnot, I had considered purchasing a glass growler. They are a little pricey, with nicer models costing upwards of $30 each.

So, with this plan steeping in the back of my mind, I ended up eating at the Gordon Biersch restaurant in San Jose. As we walked in, I noticed a pair of branded growlers high on a display shelf and mentioned them to John. “We gotta remember to ask about those.”

We found out that you can own one of these beauties for $16 (plus $11 if you want it filled with beer)! They seem to be very well constructed and have a great ceramic flip top with a sealing gasket. So if you’re ever in the market for a growler or two, head out to your nearest Gordon Biersch and pick some up!

Now that I am opening and enjoying my first homebrew, I’ve got my sights on the next one. So far the top candidates are:

• A Belgian Wit, seasoned with citrus and coriander
• A Belgian high-gravity Trappist-style ale
• A dark porter or stout

With spring coming, I am leaning towards the Wit for its clean and crisp character and citrus notes. I think a Trappist ale would be fun, but a bit complicated for my experience level. Stouts strike me as cold-weather beers, and from what little I’ve read about brewing them they seem to require a long conditioning cycle, on the scale of months. Perhaps this summer I’ll work on one of those to have ready for next winter.

Another problem I’m facing is storage space. Living in a little one-bedroom apartment doesn’t really lend itself to storing multiple batches of conditioning beer. Once I’m nearing the end of Murray’s Irish New Year, I’ll begin gathering the ingredients for the next experiment. Stay tuned!

Let me be the first (or second, depending on how quickly John is writing his welcome post) to welcome you to our little brewing blog. I hope you’ll enjoy your time here as much as we enjoy crafting and drinking beer.

I got started down the homebrewer’s path in a manner similar to many, I suspect: my girlfriend bought me a brewing kit for Christmas. I had been tossing around the idea of starting up a homebrewing hobby for a while, with my interest finally peaking when I found the homebrewers mailing list at my place of work. The kit went unpurchased for quite a while, as I can be rather lazy, even about things I truly enjoy.

So, Christmas rolls around and my surprise gift is a very nice starter kit from Northern Brewer. On new year’s day I began the process of brewing my first beer, which I am currently in the process of slowly (and sometimes not-so-slowly) enjoying. I dubbed it Murray’s Irish New Year, and it is a quality brew if I do say so myself (and I, of course, do).

So, hopefully, this site will become an entertaining and informative look into the process of brewing carried out by two noobs living in cramped quarters in the Bay Area. Enjoy, and have a homebrew!