found a source of bottles in Zagreb, yay!

And I'm happy. Just had to share the happiness with some people from my tribe of beer people who would understand.

In Zagreb, the VAST majority of beer is in green glass. Travesty, I know. It wasn't that way when I moved here 3 years ago. And then one by one, all the brewers switched. ****!

So, finding brown glass isn't so easy. Don't exactly want to mail order bottles. I've been drinking a lot of Erdinger to get the brown bottles. And well, I like their beer, so there is that. But I need more bottles.

We've been going to this local gourmet pizza place here a lot for the last few months. We bought a car and it's a drive to get there, so we didn't really go before. But we love it. Anyway, that place serves a lot of Erdinger in bottles. We asked if the owner was there last time and he wasn't but we got his number. And my fiancee called him today. I told her to tell him we'd buy them from him, but to make sure to explain what it's for. They can get money back on the bottles, so figured I should offer to buy them for more than they'd get that way. I won't be brewing likely until September or so, so probably Christmas, I'll have some ready. Told her to tell him that I'd bring him some bottles of homebrew sometime in the winter.

So she called him and said he sounded very excited about getting the beer. And that he was happy to help out. No price was mentioned, so maybe he just wants some homebrew.

Nobody homebrews here. Everyone makes rakija and wine. So for people here, they're very curious about me making beer. Who knows? Maybe eventually a new movement will be started. But for now, I'm just stoked to have a large supply of half liter Erdinger bottles at my disposal. One more obstacle removed. Onward and upward!

That sounds pretty cool! I know a sixer of homebrew has covered many a debt between me and some friends. Side note: What's rakija?

Rakia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There are various sorts. The ones I like the best are Travarica (the r is rolled like in Spanish and the "c" is like "ts"). Trava = grass or weed as in marijuana. But in this case it means herbs. So it's a rakija that has herbs in it. Some of that stuff rocks!

Generally, it's very normal for people here to have fruit trees if they have a house, and then make rakija. Grape vines are everywhere. And lots of families have wines. Some of it is awful, both rakija and wine, as you can imagine. But some of it is really great. The best wine I've had here was some wine from a family. Really great. But when an old guy offers you his rakija, you are filled with both curiosity and trepidation. They're usually really proud of it no matter how awful it is. And of course, they want to offer you more if you finish it.

I think the word Rakija is from Turkish like lots of words here. It certainly doesn't sound like Croatian language.

BTW, that's one of the great things here. When you find a truly great wine or rakija from a family. Or olive oil! We have amazing olive oil here. And you buy it from families for about $13 or $14 for a liter. Last summer I was at the sea and loved this travarica and bought a bottle from this family for around $15 for a liter. Tasty stuff. The olive oil is my favorite though. You just go to the marketplace which is like a farmer's market in the States and buy it there. I usually buy 4 liters in February or so and it's around $50 for all that. Great!

But I don't have hoppy beers here! So, yin yang and all that.

Nice. Finding a source of quality bottles is key if you're looking to brew a lot. I once resorted to rummaging through neighborhood recycling bins. No fun, really. Once I started sharing homebrews with friends, coworkers, etc., they all offered to save their bottles for me, and I now have more than I know what to do with.

Just wondering where you'll be getting your ingredients?

Strngcheez said:

Just wondering where you'll be getting your ingredients?

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I recently went to SoCal and brought back a buncha plugs of Cascade, Amarillo, Chinook, Centennial and Ahtanum. Also brought back 6 Wyeast smack packs, put into my checked bag with cold packs. Colds packs were still cold when we arrived some 14 hours later. I'll make starters for sure though. Stir plate and all that.

Once those run out, hops and yeast via mail order. Place in Belgium sells nice German and Brit hops and Wyeast and I think White Labs. Freshops said they'll ship to me here. Grain from a really nice Aussie guy. He moved to Slovenija and started a little craft brewery there. We've been in e-mail contact but haven't met him yet. Anyway, he'll be selling me Maris Otter. Which is amazing. That's my favorite grain and here I am in Zagreb and I found it. I was ready to drive to the Czech Republic if need be for some Moravian barley. But that ain't exactly close. For Slovenija, though, I'll drive up. It's maybe a 90 minute drive. And if the yeast and hops through mail order don't work out, he's going to be starting a homebrew mail order place up there eventually, so I can order through him and drive up. Getting that sorted had to involve some higher power. Grain was my biggest worry with all that heavy weight.

Curious to see what I have to deal with at the border though.

BTW, this is the place in Belgium:

Brouwland - make your own wine, beer, liqueur and cheese

They have a ton of stuff. Great! Check out how cheap those Hersbrucker hops are!

I love me some croatian cevapcici and I bet it would go great with some homebrew (or Erdinger for that matter)!...

cyberbackpacker said:

I love me some croatian cevapcici and I bet it would go great with some homebrew (or Erdinger for that matter)!...

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Yeah, absolutely.

For those who don't know:

Ćevapčići - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

What are your friends, neighbors and co-workers going to do when they taste a full bodied ale with a hoppy kick?

arturo7 said:

What are your friends, neighbors and co-workers going to do when they taste a full bodied ale with a hoppy kick?

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Don't know if they'll like it. My closest friend has been to the States and had Sierra Nevada, so he'll understand. But the beer here is mostly industrial lager brewed by subsidiaries of Heineken (Karlovačko Pivo) or InBev or whatever the hell they are called now (Ožujsko Pivo). There are a lot of Czech and German beers here too. But I think they won't really be ready for West Coast style beers and Washington hops. There's nothing even remotely resembling that citrus character here.

We'll see. They'll likely like some of the beers as I brew a lot of styles. But I don't do (nor do I want to) lagers. No offense intended, but I'm really an ale guy. So they'll be tasting some flavors they haven't had before.

MattHollingsworth said:

Rakia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There are various sorts. The ones I like the best are Travarica (the r is rolled like in Spanish and the "c" is like "ts"). Trava = grass or weed as in marijuana. But in this case it means herbs. So it's a rakija that has herbs in it. Some of that stuff rocks!

Generally, it's very normal for people here to have fruit trees if they have a house, and then make rakija. Grape vines are everywhere. And lots of families have wines. Some of it is awful, both rakija and wine, as you can imagine. But some of it is really great. The best wine I've had here was some wine from a family. Really great. But when an old guy offers you his rakija, you are filled with both curiosity and trepidation. They're usually really proud of it no matter how awful it is. And of course, they want to offer you more if you finish it.

I think the word Rakija is from Turkish like lots of words here. It certainly doesn't sound like Croatian language.

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Glad to here you are making your private escape from the land of the pilsner back to hoppy ale.

When I was in Slovakia last year I go to be friends with the innkeeper and his wife. She pulled out the homemade slivovka before I left and we proceeded to get smashed (well I did) on the stuff. It was far better then most of the commercial stuff I tried.

Beernip said:

Glad to here you are making your private escape from the land of the pilsner back to hoppy ale.

When I was in Slovakia last year I go to be friends with the innkeeper and his wife. She pulled out the homemade slivovka before I left and we proceeded to get smashed (well I did) on the stuff. It was far better then most of the commercial stuff I tried.

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Well, I love the Czech pilsener.

For *good* beer here we get, luckily, some of the following:

Erdinger, Paulaner Hefeweizen, Budweiser light and dark (Czech, not American), Pilsner Urquell (though it seems to be gone right now), Krušovice light and dark(Czech beer), Westmalle, Duvel, Chimay and a ton of Belgians. Lot of the great Belgians, like Rochefort, are here but only at ONE pub. No stores have those. But Westmalle Tripel, Duvel, Gouden Carolus and the 3 Chimays are at the store. SO I get by. I drink like 75% or more of Belgians.

The ONLY Croatian beer that is acceptable is Velebitsko Pivo, which is basically the only craft beer brewed here. Their beer is pretty good. But yeah, most of the stuff made anywhere near here is from the lager family. And, as it is in many places, people have irrational loyalty to some crappy beer just because of the city it's from. On the coast, for instance, the beer from Zagreb is not so popular because people don't like the the big city people so much. Instead the drink a very similar industrial lager that's not from Zagreb. It's like football teams but with beer.

There's some good brown beer from Montenegro though called Nikšičko Pivo. That's a decent dark lager. And Belgrade had some decent beer in one place while I was there.

Ah anyway. Choice is limited. For me to get a true injection of west coast hops, I have to make it myself.

Glad you enjoyed your plum brandy in Slovakia. Never been there myself but have spent some time watching UEFA cup games with some Slovaks last year on the sea here. Rowdy and fun people.

MattHollingsworth said:

But when an old guy offers you his rakija, you are filled with both curiosity and trepidation. They're usually really proud of it no matter how awful it is. And of course, they want to offer you more if you finish it.

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HAHAHHA!!!! Amen brother! My fiancee has lived much of her life in the balkans, as well as central Europe. Recently we road tripped through the area and I had exactly the experience above!

When it's good though, it's really good! Great for digestion too. Would you be willing to share a good recipe with me? We love the stuff but can't get it around here but making our own would be great! We can occasionally get becherovka, which is good, but it's not the same.

BTW The sailboat in the background of your picture is making me jealous. Dalmation coast? I live on a sailboat and am learning to brew on board partly in preparation for our upcoming sailing trip from the west coast of the USA to the Mediterranean. Croatia is top of the list of places to visit. Also, next month we're about to move to Anacortes, WA which is a sister city to Vela Luka.

BrewOnBoard

PS: slivovka is good too. Amazing how 30cc can warm your entire body....

BrewOnBoard said:

HAHAHHA!!!! Amen brother! My fiancee has lived much of her life in the balkans, as well as central Europe. Recently we road tripped through the area and I had exactly the experience above!

When it's good though, it's really good! Great for digestion too. Would you be willing to share a good recipe with me? We love the stuff but can't get it around here but making our own would be great! We can occasionally get becherovka, which is good, but it's not the same.

BTW The sailboat in the background of your picture is making me jealous. Dalmation coast? I live on a sailboat and am learning to brew on board partly in preparation for our upcoming sailing trip from the west coast of the USA to the Mediterranean. Croatia is top of the list of places to visit. Also, next month we're about to move to Anacortes, WA which is a sister city to Vela Luka.

BrewOnBoard

PS: slivovka is good too. Amazing how 30cc can warm your entire body....

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Yeah, sometimes it rocks. But I've had more bad than good. Can't share any recipe. Never made it. And am not friends with anyone who's made any that's any good. Sorry. I'll probably know how to make it in ten years. But not anytime soon.

The sailing trip sounds great! Hope all goes well.

As for the pic, no that's not Dalmatia. That's Thailand, near Koh Mook in the south. We were in Thailand for 4 weeks in January. Did a lot of diving around Koh Mook. Good fun!