Original Gravity is the brain child of two craft beer lovers, Johnny Wang and Dan Phan, and they are glad to be offering San Jose an alternative to the Bud Light (bar)?scene.
?I always wanted to own my own business,? Phan said. ?Johnny always wanted to own a restaurant and I always wanted to open my own beer bar. I grew up in San Jose and every time I came home we always thought ?Oh, there?s not any place we can go out for beers,? so that?s what led us to downtown San Jose.?
Craft brew isn?t just a business for Phan though?it?s a passion, born out of career in chemistry and a true love for a unique beer.
?I was a chemist for awhile, but I got tired of the corporate lifestyle,? Phan said. ?I got really into the whole craft brew industry and started home brewing a few years ago.?
Phan hand-selects the beers that Original Gravity serves on their rotating menu. He stays current with the craft brewing community and keeps an eye out for unique and seasonal beers.
The digital menu board rotates almost daily, making sure that the customer never has the same experience twice, according to Phan.
?Our menu board is synced to our website, so you can always see what we have from home or on your iPhone if you?re sitting on the back patio,? Phan said.
The beer selection of about 15 different types ranges from $6 to $10, and includes local brewing companies, as well as craft brews, from abroad.
?Our beers our about 80 percent American craft beer and about 20 percent international, usually Belgium or Denmark,? Phan said. ?For the most part, we try to keep beers on tap that are really interesting. There?s a lot of science in brewing now. People are kind of pushing boundaries about what they are doing in beer.?
It?s a perfect fit for an ex-chemist and beer lover, but it isn?t enough to just be a beer lover at Original Gravity?you need to be an expert on beer pairing?a cicerone.
?There?s a whole program where they train you to be a beer server and then a cicerone,? Phan said. ?A cicerone starts learning the nuances of pairing beer with food. The whole food pairing thing is a huge thing now. Chefs really enjoy beer?it?s a lot easier to pair than wine because the flavors are more forward.?
That?s where the sausages come in and they come in full force.
A menu of classic and gourmet sausages include spicy chicken, Hawaiian, pepper jack, potato and sweet apricot, which range from $5.75 to $6.50.
They also have two vegetarian sausages and a rotating selection of exotics sausages, which have included pheasant, wild boar and kangaroo in the past.
All of the sausages come on a toasted bun and can be topped with bell peppers, grilled onions, sauerkraut and candied jalape?os.
?We used to have sausage fests at our houses before we opened,? Phan said. ?We?d all sit around and try sausages and see how they worked with the beers.?
Stopping at sausages was never an option either?they also serve gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches ($4.50-$6.75) and duck fat fries ($3.50-$5).
The Mouse Trap grilled cheese ($4.50) includes sharp cheddar, Havarti and Monterey jack cheeses and is exactly what you would want out of a grilled cheese, especially when you pair with a blonde ale called Beer of the Gods.
Of the sausages, the pepperjack, spicy chicken, sweet apricot and Hawaiian were delicious?all of them juicy and flavorful.
?They really add something to the beer,? said patron Eric Duft. ?All the food is good here.?
Original Gravity opened in July during the Craft Beer Fest in downtown San Jose, exposing the bar to its target demographic of beer drinkers, according to bar manager Rob Monroe.
?[The festival] was totally instrumental in helping get people through our door to see what we are about,? Monroe said. ?I think people are really curious about what we are trying to do here. We?ve had a very positive response and some good criticism, as well.?
The bar is already reaching out to the community and creating ties with their audience, such as the?Spartan Brew Crew?at SJSU.
?We just want to connect with the people around us that are interested in beer?people who want to learn something more than just coming here to drink? Monroe said. ?When you know what you?re drinking and why it tastes the way it does, it creates a much more diverse and happy customer base.?
Original Gravity is located at 66 S. 1st St. and is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to midnight Thursday though Saturday.
Source: http://spartandaily.com/82597/original-gravity-brings-to-science-of-beer-to-sj
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