May was an exciting month for the Underground Brewers! Pierre generously opened his house to us for our May meeting, where we gathered to judge and select our German Ales for the upcoming CT Club Competition. Food was plentiful, with amazing smoked sausages (which paired beautifully with the beers) and bruschetta.
Jim and Casey sampled the entries, selecting the three top beers in a Best of Show-style judging flight. In the end, Andy T.’s Berliner Weisse, Andy C.’s Weizenbock, and Matt’s Kolsch are moving on to the finals on June 8th at New England Brewing. Awards are being announced at noon – be there if you can. It would be amazing to see the Underground Brewers hold on to the championship trophy for another year!
A number of beers were opened and shared, though notes on many of those were missed as we talked and drank while our German Ales were being judged. After judging, the entries were then shared with all the meeting attendees, without revealing the three selections. Tasting notes are included below.
Plans were made for our visit to Thrall Family Malt (post coming on that soon!). Finally, we got to try the acetaldehyde off flavor, which is often associated with green apple and cut grass. Common sources include fermentation product, stalling or contamination. In this case, it was incredibly obvious, and was picked up by everyone in the aroma. When we diluted it further, the green apple popped out a bit more.
Tasting Notes:
- 10C Weizenbock (Andy C.) – Dark example. Very good. Hits on most style characteristics. Balanced. Lots of fruit. Yeast character (esters – banana) outweighs malt a little.
- 23A Berliner Weisse (Andy C.) – some sulfur on the aroma, sharp sourness, but not aggressive or lingering. Aroma richer, fruitier, on this batch than the one below.
- 23A Berlineer Weisse (Andy C.) – 2nd can – different (keg conditioned – won gold at NEBCO) – cleaner aroma. Very similar. Some still picking up sulfur on aroma.
- 10A Weissbier (Pierre) – banana runts on the nose. Carb is too low. Maybe a little funk? Meyer lemon pith. More carbonation would really help it. Slightly too hoppy on the finish. It would be a different beer with more bubbles.
- 10C Weizenbock (Steve V.) – hot on the nose. Too hoppy? Something lightly roasty… cocoa powder maybe? A little nutty. Maybe a ferm issue, low mash temp perhaps? Thin, finished really low. Perhaps as a Dunkleweizen would be better.
- 23A Berliner Weisse (Andy T.) – lemony and floral. Super characterful aroma. Lemon is so fresh. Very tart across the palate. Has some brett character.
- 5B Kolsch (Matt J.) – grainy aroma, malt forward. Honey maltiness. Fresh malt, good body, finishes dry. Good carbonation. Good bitterness. Is it delicate enough?
- 10A Weissbier (Santi) – this is funky. Well conditioned. Lots of bubbles. Peppery, maybe some brett? In the aroma? All Banana… creamy and effervescent.
- 5B Kolsch (Andy C.) – didn’t do well at Nebco. Too much flavor? We liked it a lot!
- 6C Dunkles Bock (Jim L.) – really nice beer. Apparently “got killed” at NEBCO. Maybe some cinnamon, fruity. Strong bitterness.
