Halloween is Cathy Huxford’s favorite holiday. She goes all-in on decorations, starting early and filling the house. So, of course, Cathy and Phil requested October as the month to host a club meeting. How could we say no?
Mother Nature, on the other hand, did not seem so pleased with this. She whipped up her own brand of fright for the night, with howling winds and inches of rain. She very nearly succeeded in derailing the meeting. But our stalwart band of trick-or-treaters battled through. We were damp, but we were there.
Some meeting hosts put out a few munchies. Some put out a healthy spread. And then there’s Cathy Huxford. There was a simply massive amount of food on the table, plus more on the stove. Everyone ate well, and then some.
And there was beer, of course. And mead. And cider. Some of it was homebrew. And some was special stuff, brought up from the basement just for us.
In short, a good time was had by all.
Homebrew tasting notes:
- Belgian Pale, Andy Cox. Honey and phenolics, slightly tart, nutty, biscuity, with lots of fruity esters. Could be drier. Could use a little punch. But definitely drinkable. 36
- Belgian Golden Strong , Pierre. Licorice notes, with earthy hops, spice, a little solvent, sour apple, caramel, and tannins. Sour. But wait! It really was a sour. Pierre had brought the wrong beer! 25 (as a BGSA)
- Kveik Farmhouse, Mara and Liam (Makehaven). Citrus, lemon peel, lots of hops, cloudy, extremely bitter, some chlorophenols, low carbonation. System had not been properly cleaned before use. Fermented at 75F. 28
- American Blonde, the Huxfords. Light, balanced, bready, clean hops, clear and beautiful, hint of corn, light fruit, clean finish. Extremely drinkable. All 2-row and Willamette. 6 months old. 43
- Specialty IPA, Jaime. Citrus, passionfruit, solid malt backbone, sweet, clean, opaque, smooth, very full in the mouth but drinkable. 4lb strawberries and 2lb lactose plus a crazy amount of hops. 43
- NEIPA, Liam and Mara (Makehaven). Orange peel, lemon, butterscotch, a little tangy, bready, balanced finish, extremely drinkable. 3 weeks old. All Citra. 40
- Belgian Tripel, the Huxfords. Soft phenols, earthy hops, sweet aroma, a hint of green apple, banana, alcohol, pepper, hazy. Could be a little drier. Needs a little body. Only 1 month old. 31
- American Wild, Pierre. Extremely subtle sour apple, hint of caramel and maple, dry, mild lactic character, drinks like a dark mild, needs bubbles. Was a brown ale, pitched with “dirty dozen” blend. Got lighter in color over time? 34
- Standard Perry, Liam. Heavy solvent note at first which blows off. Very fruity, sweet up front with a dry finish, nutty, solid tannins, delicious, drinks like a tawny port, yummy. 2 years old. Fermented on the pomace with saison yeast. 40