The brew crew

The raspberry chocolate port wine being tasted so captivated Cheryl Kern that she turned to the maker and blurted: "Can I lick the bottle?" ¶ The port wine was one of 13 beers, three wines and three meads (wines made with honey) sampled last Monday night -- all in small portions -- by a merry band of home-brewers known as the Rum River Wort Hogs, who come together to share tips, techniques and tastes once a month at Billy's Bar & Grill in Anoka.

The group, in its 13th year, welcomes home-brewers of all skill levels. Some brew with home kits, others from scratch. Beyond beer, Wort Hogs make wines, meads and ciders. As for the group's name, "wort" refers to the liquid that becomes beer once fermented, longtime member Owen Strand of Anoka explained.

One of the first home-brews to make the rounds Monday was "Mr. Potter's raspberry mead."

In a routine repeated countless times that night, a bottle was passed, a glass was carefully filled with not much more than an ounce, and the creation was consumed. Then, judgment.

"It's smooth," Kern, of Elk River and wife of club president Greg Kern, pronounced of Mr. Potter's mead.

Mr. Potter -- Robert Potter of Coon Rapids -- has been a home-brewer for more than 13 years and a Wort Hog for almost eight. He's known for not following recipes and throwing in a "little bit of everything," from chili pepper flakes to cardamom.

He's "the wizard among us," said Jim Rusin, a family practice doctor from Anoka, sampling the evening's fare across the table from Potter.

Though the club likes to encourage experimentation, most members will quickly cite the short list of turnoffs: light beers and nonalcoholic beers. The group gamely tried a beer made for people who have celiac disease and can't tolerate the gluten protein, Strand recalled. "It doesn't work," he said with a chuckle.

Tim Curran, one of the Wort Hogs' charter members, said the group has sampled "some real stinkers, but we try to be supportive of beginners."

Some members' home-brews, he notes, are "as good or better than anything you can buy." Though the level of home-brewing talent in the room could intimidate newcomers, the club is "not snooty," he said.

The club started with all men but has grown to include many women -- and sometimes members' adult children. A family membership costs $10 a year.

About two dozen members turned out Monday, all of them of drinking age except for a 2 1/2-year-old, in attendance with her parents, for their first meeting.

Rusin, and his wife, Mary, introduced their three children to the club on their 21st birthdays. Their 20-year-old son is awaiting his turn.

"Sure beats Boy Scouts," Jim Rusin joked.

Later, a lime mead made by Greg Kern took its turn on the circuit. The batch required 12 pounds of honey, 8 ounces of fresh lime juice, water and champagne yeast, and it yielded about two cases of mead.

"Whoa," Steve Burmeister, an Anoka County sheriff's deputy, said after tasting.

"Alcohol is evident," Potter, Burmeister's brother-in-law, offered in explanation.

"Very nice," Mary Rusin said.

Among the big hits were a maple wine (another Greg Kern creation) and the raspberry chocolate port wine, made by Jason and Kim Schroeder of Elk River.

It's more than taste experiences and the trade in home-brewing expertise that keep club members coming back.

"This is like a family," Cheryl Kern said.

"It really is," said Cheryl Strand.

Kathleen Clonts • 612-673-7301