The Underground Brewers have been the recipients of massive amounts of support and love from area breweries and brewpubs lately. No fewer than five different breweries have offered to host our meetings this year, and a brewery that hasn’t even opened yet has offered to host SNERHC. It’s an understatement to say we are grateful. But we’ll say it anyway: Thank you!
Our April club meeting was held in the brewing area of Bad Sons Brewing in Derby. This is in a great old factory building near the center of town. A beautiful space with plenty of room for us.
Most of us arrived early enough to sample some of Bad Sons’ wares. No one was disappointed. They have an excellent line-up of fine brews. Hats off to the brewers.
We were excited to see several first-timers, all of whom brought excellent beers for judging. We certainly hope they’ll become regulars.
Andy Tipler provided the food and ran the meeting. He overdid it on the munchies, as usual. No one complained.
Many excellent beers were judged. Notes:
- Helles Export, Andy Cox. Strongly malty, some chlorophenols, not quite crisp enough, some banana esters. 27
- English Brown, Zach. Roasty, with lots of caramel, toffee, coffee, and toast. Earthy hops. Dry finish. Could use a little more body. 40
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter, Rich. Lots of peanut butter. Hints of mint. Some fusels, solvents, phenols. A touch or roast. 27
- Imperial Milk Chocolate Stout, the Huxfords. Chocolate, roast, honey, sweet raisins. Boozy. A bit thin. Was brewed with cocoa nibs and lactose. A year old now. 33
- Belgian Strong Golden, Zach. Bubblegum and banana. Spicy finish. Alcohol is well-hidden. Could use a touch more malt. Very drinkable. Made from Charter Oak competition wort. 39
- American IPA, Zach. Tropical hops – pineapple, melon, sour banana. Not a lot of malt. Some hop astringency. Needs more bubbles. Made with 007 hop blend. 35
- American IPA, ??? (sorry!). Piney. A touch of solvent. Crystal clear. More malt in flavor than in aroma. Lingering bitterness. Old school. 37
- Gose, Mike. Floral and sweet in aroma. Tart and salty in flavor. Lemongrass. Fizzy and refreshing. Just freaking perfect. “Cheater” beer – Mike added lactic acid to sour it. Do we care? 44
- Wild Fermentation IPA, Andy T. Dusty Brett. A little musty, cellar-y. Not a lot of hops, but some lemon. Dry and bitter. Made from just wheat and oat, no barley at all. 38