Our July meeting at Steve Victor’s house was a throwback in so many ways.
It was an old-fashioned “judging” meeting, where we tasted and gave feedback on each other’s beers, meads, and ciders.
It was in a member’s home (albeit on the back porch for covid safety). As tends to happen in member-hosted meetings, we got a tour of the brewing space and raided the host’s cellar.
It featured entirely too much food provided by the host, including a delicious chicken dish and a huge cheese board.
In short, Steve gave us a throwback to the old days. It felt good.
Thank you, Steve!
We tasted many homebrews over the course of the evening. Quality was, for the most part, exceptional. We’ve sometimes been accused of “grade inflation”, scoring things higher in meetings than we would at a competition. But, when pressed to identify a flaw or some other reason to lower a score, we never could. The offerings really were that good.
- NEIPA by Mara: Ripe tropical fruit, just a hint of solvent, very cloudy, tons of hop flavor, extremely drinkable. An experiment with dry-hopping (100% Citra) while bubbling CO2 through the fermenter. 9/3/16/2/8 = 39
- Saison by Paul H: Very fruity, somewhat peppery, not dry enough for style. Experiment with Cellar Science dry Saison yeast. 7/3/12/4/8 = 34
- Saison by Andy C: Citrus and spice, “ineffable saisoniness”, slight haze, tannic, drinkable. Mangrove Jack yeast and motueka hops, repitched on some wild bugs. 10/2/14/4/8 = 38
- Belgian Strong Golden by Andy T: Aroma quite subtle, very dry finish makes it crazy drinkable, undercarbed but delicious. “Mistake” beer – was supposed to be a single but ended up at 8.5% abv. 10/2/18/4/9 = 43
- Irish Stout by Andy T: Chocolate, coffee, hint of cinnamon, clean and dry and very drinkable. Much “bigger” than Guinness, but that’s okay. 9/3/18/5/9 = 44
- Lemon-Ginger Hydromel by Steve: Assertive lemon and ginger, florals not lost, clean with high acidity and just a little tannin, refreshing and beautiful. Made with the honey he won at SNERHC. 9/22/6/9 = 46
- New World Cider by Andy C. Presented for feedback but not for scoring. Made from apples grown by Thrall family. Acidic and flavorful, just off-dry, very drinkable. Would be perfect with a little tannin and some bubbles.
- New World Cider by Andy T. Lots of apple, sweet, perfumy, super dry finish, drinks like a dry white wine, only flaw is some acetone in the aroma. Very drinkable. 5/19/6/8 = 38
- New World Cider by Steve. Malolactic character, phenolic, absolutely delicious but doesn’t quite fit any of the BJCP styles. 8/20/6/8 = 42
- Cider with Cherries and Brett by Steve. Very complex, with lots of different flavors in balance: cherries, apples, Brett, graham crackers. Dry finish makes it super drinkable despite complexity. Yum. 8/20/6/9 = 43
No one remembered to take pictures, alas.