Underground Brewers of Connecticut

Our January meeting took the Underground Brewers to a new brewery – Sly Bandit Brewing in Wilton, CT. The location was incredible, with the brewing operations on the first floor, and a second level for the taproom, kitchen (with an extensive menu!), and even a “Brew Lab” that would make any homebrewer jealous. The meeting was well attended, with some new faces and some old, and some who we haven’t seen in quite some time!

Both the beer and food at Sly Bandit were excellent. With so many “Big Dark Beers” brought by members to enjoy, I didn’t get to try nearly enough of their offerings, but both the Helles and Vienna lagers were standouts. Don’t sleep on the reuben egg rolls, either! Sly Bandit were incredibly gracious hosts, and if you haven’t checked it out yet, you are highly encouraged to do so!

With some beer, food, and great conversation enjoyed, we got down to the business of the meeting, beginning with our annual club executive committee elections. With many dues-paying members in attendance (learn more here), and a number voting via email due to being unable to attend in person, the full slate of nominees was confirmed unanimously. We extend a huge thank you to our outgoing Education Guru, Caysey Welton, who has certainly served the club well and brought a ton to the role. We also welcome Andy Tipler into the education role, one he is incredibly well suited for! His extensive knowledge and experience as a brewer (and as a writer!) will help all of us improve. Andy even brought a barleywine with an unannounced flaw to the meeting, asking all of us to sample and see if we could detect the off-flavor present. It was a welcome addition to the meeting, and Andy has encouraged anyone with beers that have a flaw present to reach out about bringing one to a future meeting for a similar exercise. Andy Cox (Treasurer), Santi Irigoyen (Events), Pierre Margraff (Outreach), and I (Communications) will continue in our roles for the next year. If any of these positions are of interest, please consider joining the executive committee next year! We are always in search of new voices to help guide the club. 

As previously mentioned, there was no shortage of homebrew brought to sample. We began with a few lighter beers, before moving on to a wide variety of darker, higher octane beers for the remainder of the sampling. Full tasting notes are included below. We ended the night with a variety of commercial big dark beers, including Westvletern XII and a Bruery lineup that included a port barrel aged Black Tuesday from 2017 – a huge thanks to Clay for sharing! Next month’s meeting will take us to Valor Wines, where we’ll also be discussing the new BJCP Guidelines for Ciders!

Tasting Notes:

• Best Bitter (11B): Santi I. – Fruity, caramel, “smells like a dessert,” caramel-covered pear. Too estery? Flavor is toastier. Justin would drink a lot of it. Matt likes it a lot.
  8/3/17/5/8 = 41
• Hazy IPA (21C): Santi I. – Smells like dust in the bottom of a bag of hops. Peach, pineapple, guava even? A little high on bitterness for some, not for others. “A whole mess of tropical fruit.” Malt is a little bit of toast and biscuit. A little astringent, could use a little more malt, and maybe more bubbles.
  11/3/14/4/7 = 39
• Belgian Dark Strong (26D): Andy C. – Cherry Twizzlers, a little acetone, acetic (?). Brown sugar, loads of caramel, dry finish. Incredibly drinkable.
  9/3/17/4/8 = 39
• Wheatwine (22D): Andy T. – Leather, bread doughy, plenty of alcohol on the nose. Honey, caramel, boozy. Tastes of beets, especially on the finish, lots of residual sugar, bitter finish. A bit hot. Some saying it tastes young and could use more time.
  10/3/11/5/6 = 35 (14% ABV, about 2.5 years old)
• Imperial Pastry Stout: Andy T. – Glazed donuts, confectioners sugar, chocolate, licorice, “rum-soaked bundt cake.” Some alcohol, good winter beer. Dark and clear. Lots of sugar, lots of roast. Bitter finish, chocolate cake, “dark chocolate awesomeness.”
  11/3/18/5/9 = 46 (14%, brewed with Biscoff cookies – recommendation: try adding coconut)
• Winter Seasonal (30C): TJ – Tons of spice, fruity esters. Andy T. says “good.” Taste has spice, but no fruit, very tannic finish, malty. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg.
  9/2/13/2/5 = 31 (very young, brewed in December – recommendations to use Biofine/gelatin to get some of the spices out of solution)
• Flanders Red (23B): Andy T. – Farmhouse nose. Balsamic, complex. Apple, red currant, moss, hint of solvent, earthy. Taste – acetic, lactic, malic – great blend of acidity. Not harsh at all. Santi wants more malt. Red wine.
  8/3/17/5/8 = 41 (12% ABV)
• Barleywine (17D): Andy T. – Brought to help us identify faults in beer. Andy says “It has a fault, what is it?” Wet cardboard, oxidized, damp hay. Andy says “Tastes better than it did 10 years ago.” Oxidation from hops.
  [NOT JUDGED]

Our annual cider meeting was hosted this November by Andy T. at his home in Trumbull. As is typical of a meeting hosted by Andy, the spread was outstanding, including homemade bread, a number of delicious cheeses (sourced from the newly opened Aldi in Trumbull), and much more. We first spent time together over food and drinks, sharing updates on our lives and plans for the coming holiday season. Andy C. and Pierre also shared that they had attended the “Fermentis Academy” at Two Roads earlier in the day, learning a ton about yeast (and getting to sample some spirits courtesy of Phil).

As we moved on to the tasting portion of the night, we got to enjoy a wide variety of delicious ciders, including some quite strong ice ciders that Andy generously shared from his cellar. Paul H. shared that he would be judging in Cider Days up in Massachusetts, and encouraged members to submit their entries. Since I’m so late getting around to writing this post, I can share that our club was very well represented in the awards, with Paul B-S. taking home a gold, silver, and bronze, and Pierre grabbing a bronze as well. Congratulations!

Tasting Notes:

• New World Cider (C1A): Steve V. – Very subtle, bright apple, red apple, apple peel, v. light stone fruit. Lovely appearance, very clear if not brilliant. Clean, fresh. Fine bubbles. Very refreshing, crisp. Nothing off. Good tannin balance, . Light astringency supports balance. Great apple quality. Flavorful without being in your face. Nice dry finish.
  8/6/20/8 = 42 (2023 Beardsley, pectic enzyme, yeast nutrient)
• New World Cider (C1A) – Something like yeast-autolysis… light smoke, “meaty” – light burnt rubber. Very light color – first pours were completely clear, very hazy towards the end. Don’t need to score this… it’s a 7.5 year old cider given to Andy T. by Steve V. – “He did this to me once!”
• New World Cider (C1A): Paul B-S – Called it an “American Cider” – fresh apple, tough of sulfur, crisp green apple, bruised/cooked apple. a light spice note on the finish. If you told us it’s a dry hopped cider, we’d believe you. Something there. Could be clearer. Alcohol is noticeable. Very nice, long dry finish. Baked apple, apple crisp. Acidity is there – high-ish, sharp, but not too much. Balanced out with the tannins. In a perfect world, less dry in the finish. Overall, really nice. A substantial drink. Shares a lot with white wine.
  7/5/19/8 = 39 (Beardsley 2022, “I was there late…” maybe it was what settled and was stronger than others as a result. Not fortified. Mangrove Jack ale yeast [Empire].
• New World Cider (C1A): Steve V. – Cranberry, apple, crab apple, cherry. Something in there. A little funk in there… hay/barnyard… complex. Orchard vibes. Gorgeous. Clear. Consistent. Like a rosé. Pink/red. Strong acidity, again giving cranberry vibes. Tart. Not very high on tannins… would like more balance between tannins and acidity. Does feel dry on the palate across the finish. Astringency maybe a touch high. Would be beautiful with food – maybe not as much as a whole pint on its own.
  8/6/18/7 = 39 (Redfield apples, single varietal. Red fleshed. 2023.)
• New World Cider (C1A): Steve V. – Blend of Redfield and Beardsley – light fresh melon, very subtle aroma. Light fruit salad. Lovely aroma. Full marks for appearance, clear through the pour. Lingering dryness without harshness. Bright apple, clean, snappy apple character. Tastes like apples. Nice acidity. Enough sweetness to carry. Balance is fantastic. I would drink this all day every day. The glass is too damn small.
  8/6/24/9 = 47 (blended directly from the kegs. 25% Redfield, 75% Beardsley heirloom. Force carbonated in PET bottle.)
• New World Cider (C1A): Paul B-S – Wild yeast, 7.8%, v. Bubbly – very fruity, a little harshness (touch of acetone/solvent). Smells wild, mostly from top pours. Bottom pours have more apple in the aroma. Baked apple. As an English cider, the aroma seems more appropriate… more apple-adjacent than really smelling like apples. Nice, slightly cloudy. Not hazy. Not particularly wild flavor. Very tannic. Has a little funk that you’d attribute more to English style. As a new world, a little bitter. Overall, it’s a bit of both… but leaning more towards English.
  As a New World: 6/5/16/6 = 33 | As an English Cider: 8/6/20/8 = 42 (2023 Beardsley)
• English Cider (C1B): Andy T. – sulphur, no real apple character, but that’s a good thing. It smells like cider, slightly sweet, slightly alcoholic… a little funk a little heat. Crystal clear. Gorgeous. Light golden. Quite sharp, and quite funky. Tart/acidity. Plenty of tannin, lingers forever. Not astringent. Alcohol more present on the flavor (and aroma) than maybe it should be. Very drinkable.
  7/6/18/8 = 39
• New England Cider: Paul B-S – 16% – it smells like an ice cider. Carmel apple. A touch of molasses. Could be a little oxidized. Sherry. Lovely aroma. A touch more than still. Rich golden caramel. Surprisingly sweet but dry in the finish. The alcohol really carries that though. Missing some acidity. Caramel apple – or caramelized apple. Quite sweet. Cherry pit/vanilla. Some sharpness on the finish. Very easy to drink for what it is! More refreshing than expected given all that sugar. “I could get really hurt on this” – Paul H.
  10/6/23/10 = 49 (maple! Beardsley cider, fermented wild for a while… added 2# raisins, 1 gal maple syrup, and wine yeast)
• Cider with Other Fruit (C2B): Pierre M. – very fruity, but not apple. Not weird bad, just weird. Shredded, untoasted coconut. Goes right up to the line of suntan lotion without going over the edge. Very fresh cider. Looks like cider. Cider with coconut. Who knew apple and coconut melded so well? Doesn’t overwhelm the apple at all. The balance is just great. Tannin is so much there without being astringent. All over the palate on the finish. This is absolutely lovely. Delicious and refreshing. So unique and balanced.
  9/6/24/10 – 49 (Pierre – “I’m not revealing my secrets”)

[photos not included… someday your Communications Guru will remember to pull out his phone for something other than notes and style guidelines, sorry!]

Our October meeting was generously hosted by the Huxford’s in Easton, where we gathered around a wonderful spread and shared plenty of homebrewed beverages. Much of the conversation revolved around SNERHC (with a post coming on that soon), which has been monopolizing much of the time of our generous volunteers and organizers, as well as the MLB Playoffs (which didn’t end well for any of our New York-supporting members).

The tasting portion of our meeting began with another sensory sample, this time focused on the papery/oxidized off-flavor. Andy C. generously brought a leftover keg of Hofbrau Original (Munich Helles) for us to dose and sample. Generally speaking, the meeting attendees did not notice a significant difference in the aroma – the group was fairly split on which sample was dosed! Once we began drinking… that was another story. The dosed sample seemed “duller, and drier” as one member noted. Overwhelmingly we were able to select the dosed sample, and most (if not all) preferred the untainted sample. In the end, we all agreed on one thing – Hofbrau Original is a wonderful beer, and having a keg on hand was a welcome addition to the meeting.

The theme of this meeting was German Beers, and we were graced with many wonderful offerings, both within this category and outside of it.

Tasting Notes:

• Altbier (7B) – Paul H.: a lot of fruitiness, more fruit than bread, malt is there but secondary to the fruity esters. Fruitcake, dried dark fruit. Caramel, brown bread. Resin/phenolic something like black pepper. Malt intensity lacking. Good color and clarity. Peppery, relatively high compared to where it should be. A touch roasty – style says no roast. No lingering malt. Roasty bitterness. Not much malt sweetness. Very dry finish. Astringent, relatively high compared to style. Not the most balanced, leans away from the style. Peppery seems to be a fermentation characteristic. 7/3/12/3/6 = 31 *From Paul: made last winter for inter club competition. Sat in carboy for too long and then in keg for many months.
• Marzen (6A) – Sean D.: something a touch vegetal, melon/banana. Bready, malt is there. Smells young? Not getting the yeasty aroma though. Maybe some caramel sweetness, which is inappropriate. Not particularly clear, not much head, but the color is right. Refreshingly dry finish. Really nice malt flavor. Doesn’t taste at all light it smells. Starts sweet, maybe fruity. Does come across sweet, but maybe lacking some bitterness? Needs more bubbles. A little off style but more drinkable than it suggests. 6/2/10/4/6 = 28 *From Sean: very young, stopped fermentation too soon.
• Dunkles Weissbier (10B) – Steve V.: more malty and phenolic, missing some of the banana/clove that you’d expect – maybe some clove. Something sharp in the aroma. Something plastic. Not balanced with the malt. No head. More than hazy. Murky. “That’s wrong. That’s surprisingly tart.” I see where the Brett is coming. [DID NOT SCORE] – *From Steve: Has been sitting in a keg since March, not good.
• Roggenbier (27) – Paul H.: sat all summer in the garage – brewed for the club competition and just sat around. Think it picked up some kind of infection. [DID NOT SCORE]
• American Blonde Ale (18A) – Huxfords: light bready malt. Lightly fruity, light caramel. Hitting all the notes. Light straw, head retention. Hitting the right notes. A light green apple flesh note, builds a little, comes across in the finish. Crisp flavor. Malt is lightly grainy, and a touch of light caramel. Needs some bubbles. A very good beer. If the acetaldehyde is there it’s not a huge barrier. 12/3/15/4/8 = 42
• Irish Extra Stout (15B) – Sean D.: mocha. More oohs than ahhs. Intense aroma – higher chocolate than typical. Coffee and chocolate. More brown than jet black. Not quite opaque. Rich. A little too light for the style maybe. Rich coffee, dark chocolate through the finish. Not quite full enough mouthfeel. More carb could help. Really nice. A great beer. 10/2/17/4/8 = 41 *From Sean: All malt-derived. Coffee malt, vanilla beans in the fermenter.
• New World Cider (C1A) – Huxfords: very clean. Cider guidelines stink… wouldn’t fit these apples. Smells wonderful. Very fresh apple smell. A little acetone, higher than you’d want. Lovely appearance. A lot smoother than expected from the aroma. Finish is pleasant. Nice tannic balance on the finish. 7/6/20/8 = 41
• Czech Amber Lager (3C) – pink grapefruit pith, grainy, toasty malt. Not getting the noble hop. Gorgeous. Finish is a little too much, too bitter, a little harsh. Aggressive bitterness. Thrall 6-row, extraction was much lower than expected, so balance is off. Malt flavor is just gorgeous. Could be off with a husky grain finish. Great mouthfeel. Too bitter for elegant. Not as bitter as an ex-wife. 7/3/14/5/7 = 36 *from Pierre: Originally tried to make a festbier. Used Thrall 6-row for the first time. This fit the style better.

September brought the Underground Brewers to Bridgeport, where Berlinetta generously offered a table (and glassware, as yours truly left the club glassware in the wrong car…) and a wonderful environment to dive into our theme of English Ales. A relatively small gathering with less than 10 members able to make it out meant more whole group conversations, as we enjoyed some beautiful Berlinetta lagers, including their Oktoberfest that many members were seen leaving the taproom with as the night ended.

Whether talking beer, life, or the upcoming SNERHC competition (you are signed up to judge, right?), we always know how to have a good time. So good, in fact, that I don’t believe a single picture was taken throughout the course of the night. Good company, good beers, and good food… truly, a wonderful night out.

Tasting Notes:

• Best Bitter (11B) – Santi: low side on aroma, mostly hops on the nose, lacking some malt. Maybe some bubblegum, maybe sweet phenolic? A little funky. Nice fermentation character. Slightly hazy. Moderate bready malt. More malt than the aroma suggested. Moderately low fruity, pear apple. Slightly astringent, thin. Dries out fast. 7/2/13/4/7 = 33
• Best Bitter (11B) – Andy T.: more fermentation character, ester-y, low earthy hop. Maybe moderate floral fruity. Plum? Not much malt aroma. Good appearance, on the lighter side. Fermentation esters come through in the flavor. Fresh Apple. Moderately high bitterness, but not astringent. A little caramel – caramel apple without being sweet. Super drinkable. Medium light body. Low carb. Dries out without being astringent. 7/3/15/5/7 = 37
• English Barleywine (17D) – Andy C.: eird funky thing at the beginning, slightly tart (like a barrel/oak). Almost dark sour aroma. Vinous. Goes into dark caramel. Dried cherries. Bit of spice on the end. It looks like a 3. Carb is prominent. Dark fruit, fig – balance towards sweetness. Alcohol stands out on the finish. Lychee? Spice on the finish. Toffee, carb and hops balance out the sweetness on the finish. A bit thin on the mouth – carb is too light, probably thinned out from that. A little rough around the edges. Will improve over time. It’s young. 8/3/16/3/7 = 39 *From Andy: bottle conditioned with dried Brett yeast (BR-8), only in the middle for 4 months.
• British Strong Ale (17A) – Andy T.: cinnamon, cherry pit, more than moderate. Wintergreen/menthol note. Dark cherry. Light caramel malts. Maybe medicinal? Gorgeous. A little nutty with the malt, some toasty bitterness. Cherry lozenges, maybe some of that menthol from the aroma. medium bitterness. Taste doesn’t match the nose, flavor not as complex. Not quite medium full, a touch of astringency on the finish. 8/3/14/3/6 = 34 *From Andy: an ESB that “went wrong”
• Pre-Prohibition Porter (27) – Santi: something vegetal in the aroma, spinach/broccoli. Blows off. Low DMS to start. Roasted grainy malt – maybe a touch too high. It smells pre-prohibition. Maybe unburnt tobacco. Pretty amazing flavor. Corn with roasted malt. A touch metallic on the finish. A little astringency – from malt. Carb seems moderate to mod-low. We loved this beer. Noticeably different than a post-prohibition porter. 9/3/17/5/9 = 43 *From Santi: used Thrall 2-row and molasses

A few other beers and ciders were opened and enjoyed as the night came to a close, but after the porter we went back to talking over drinks, rather than about them. Cheers to all who attended! Looking forward to the October meeting at the Huxford’s in Easton!

I had the pleasure of hosting this year’s club potluck picnic… or rather, reaping the benefits of my in-laws home in Easton as the latest venue for our summer bash. We had perfect weather, with abundant blue skies and sunshine without the oppressive August heat and humidity that often accompanies it.

Speaking of abundance, there was no shortage of food and drink options! The buffet seemed to be never-ending, with more choices than one could reasonably sample all of (though many of us tried!). Buffalo chicken dip and deviled eggs, pulled pork and chicken tacos, vegetarian chili and street corn salad… and more. There was enough food to feed us all for days on end, and truly, the party could have gone on for that long. Luckily, there were plenty of incredible beers, ciders, and meads to share as well (both homebrewed and commercial) to accompany all of the food! For those who stayed into the night, we gathered around a firepit, roasting marshmallows and finishing off the last few bottles around the open flames.

Truly, the best part of all was the people. It is always a treat to get together as a club with families included as well – the company is what made the gathering all the more special. A huge thank you to all who were able to attend for making the day what it was – and to all those that couldn’t make it, you were greatly missed! We’re already looking forward to making next year’s event as big of a hit as this one. Cheers!

[Note: Matt, our Communications Director, is currently ill with covid. CommsDir Emeritus Paul fills in for him this month.]

July found us at Tribus Brewing in Milford for the first time. The lovely folks there let us take over their back room for our meeting. Thank you, Tribus!

Summer meetings are usually on the smaller side. Homebrewers take vacations just like normal people. With only about 8 members braving the intense thunderstorm, we decided to run the meeting a little differently. Homebrews were not judged blind; we opted for a bit less judging rigor and more in-depth discussion of each brew. This led to some interesting findings and more knowledge-sharing than usual.

First up was an American Lager from Santi. Crystal clear and lovely, it had a clean aroma of earthy and floral hops with just a touch of sweetness. Maybe a hint of DMS and green apple, but both just at the threshold for identification. Made with flaked corn, Crystal and Willamette hops, and Novalager yeast (at 60F!), it was a perfect lawnmower beer. We gave it a 41.

Next was an American Pale Ale from Cameron. Also crystal clear, it was very fruity, with a little green apple and a low hop aroma. Lacking the bitterness and hop flavor one expects in an APA, we gave it a 33 and decided it would do better if entered as a Belgian Pale Ale. The recipe included wheat and oats, pilsner malt, Nottingham yeast, and no bittering hops – all late hopping.

Mara was up next with a Traditional Mead (still, standard strength, semi-dry) made with coffee blossom honey. VERY floral aroma with some heat and spicy notes. Plenty of acid and tannin. A mere baby at 1 month since pitching, we decided it would become an excellent mead at 6 months, when the heat had settled down a bit. We look forward to trying it again then.

Pierre followed with a Saison made with lemon thyme (that’s one plant, meaning thyme with a lemony flavor) and a hint of mint. Over-carbed but yummy. Just amazing.

Next was a Special Bitter by Santi. So young that it wasn’t really carbonated yet, from which it suffered a little. But quite nice. Bone dry, very fruity, very drinkable.

Andy T presented a Mixed Ferm with peaches which was astoundingly complex yet extremely drinkable. Aromas of florals and perfume, leather, pipe tobacco, and stone fruit. Tart but not sour. Bone dry. Clear and light amber. We could not find a single thing wrong with it except that it had no head. Dinged it one point for that, so it scored a 49. Deserved it.

Pierre ended the night with a different Saison. This one was amber and hazy, with a white head, spicy phenols, fruit, and earthy hops. A little sweet up front with a dry finish. Totally solid – scored a 34. Made with Belle Saison yeast.

With that, we headed out into the post-storm evening.

One thing of note: At some point during the meeting, it became clear that there were several of us who had acquired pH meters and were unsure about their use and care. As our resident expert in quantitative test equipment, Andy T offered to run a class. This will be hands-on; everyone brings their own meters to calibrate and use. Keep your eye on the club calendar for this event.

Each June, Steve Victor generously opens his home to both the Underground Brewers and Brew Haven to share a meal and more than a few outstanding beers and ciders. From classic English pub beers and barleywines, to fruited ciders, lagers, and more, there was no shortage of fermented beverages to enjoy.

Unlike our typical meetings, there was no blind judging. There were many conversations about recipes, techniques, and fermentation choices, and it was clear that everyone learned a lot to take back home for future brew days. In addition to chatting about brewing, we spent a good deal of time talking about our lives outside of being homebrewers. Part of what makes this hobby so enjoyable (for me, at least), is getting to know more about the amazing people who participate in it! From distance bike riding to kids and family, smoking meat to adventures in countries around the world, the conversations over beer rather than about it were the highlight of the event.

Unfortunately, with all the amazing conversation, food, and beverages, I don’t believe anyone took any pictures! If you attended and have some to share, please send them along so we can add them to the post.