Monthly Meetings — Beer Judging
Mostly what we do is judge beer. And cider. And mead.
The club was founded as a judging circle (see the club history page) and remains intently focused on that. We probably put more time and effort into judging than almost any other club. Many of our members are BJCP judges who graciously offer their knowledge and experience to the rest of us.
Why do we do this? Because judging and feedback make you a better brewer.
Learning to judge means learning about beer chemistry and off-flavors, about classic styles and how they came to be, about the ways that ingredients and processes combine to produce desired – or undesired – characteristics. It gives you a vocabulary to talk about what you see and taste and smell and feel. And it helps you organize and make sense of your impressions.
Unbiased feedback, especially from experienced judges, will help you identify flaws and improve your recipes and processes. You’ll learn things from blind judging that you simply cannot learn from well-meaning friends and family. Judging as a group is also a great way to disseminate general brewing knowledge and best practices.
So eight or nine times a year, usually at 7:30pm on the third Wednesday of the month, we gather to judge homebrew.
Weekend Activities — Co-Brewing
Many of the club members like to brew together. This is the primary way that brewing knowledge is passed around the club. Sometimes it is a grizzled veteran trading wisdom for labor. Other times, two or three brewers might brew a common wort but ferment it in a different way to see how it turns out. Weekend co-brew sessions are common and easy to arrange.
Fun Stuff — Parties and Pubs
Regular meetings are fun but do not always allow enough time for chatting. We also like to include spouses in our activities from time to time, if only to prove that we aren’t just in this for the drinking. So, once or twice a year the normal monthly meeting is replaced by a party with a pot luck dinner.
We have recently started co-hosting these parties with our sister club, Brew Haven. This is a great way to get to know more local brewers and their families. Our dream is to include more local clubs once COVID recedes.
Club members also gather informally at area bars on occasion. The traditional gathering spot is My Place restaurant in Newtown. But we’ve also been known to show up at Prime 16, Mikro, Veracious, Newsylum, Bad Sons, Reverie, and any other place where fine microbrew is made or served.
Getting Serious — Competitions
What good is all that judging if we don’t have a few serious competitions? The club runs two structured competitions each year.
We hold an in-house event (club members only) in place of the regular June meeting. The Best Of Show winners get their names on the club trophies and have bragging rights until the following year.
We also host the Southern New England Regional Homebrew Competition (SNERHC) each fall, usually on a Sunday in October. This is a full-bore, BJCP-sanctioned event open to all, with real prizes for beers, meads, and ciders in all categories. Points awarded count toward the Master Homebrewer Program. More information on SNERHC is available elsewhere on this site.
Cider — The Beardsley Pressing
Most of the members love cider too. Each year, in early November, we arrange a pressing at Beardsley’s Cider Mill in Shelton. The Beardsley boys press a special mix of heirloom apples just for making hard cider. In gratitude, we share with them, and each other, the results of prior years’ pressings.