Brew Haven launched the first-annual Connecticut Inter-Club Homebrewing Championship and Paul Hayslett took home the top honors for his Baltic Porter, which means he and The Underground Homebrewers of Connecticut are the 2019 Champions!
Big thanks to Brew Haven and Counterweight Brewing for organizing and hosting this year’s competition.
In addition to Paul, the club was also represented by Andy Tipler who entered an English Porter, and myself (Caysey Welton) who entered an American Porter.
Seven clubs participated and the judges indicated there were several excellent porters (this year’s theme).
Paul will hold on to the trophy for a year, until we all come together again for next year’s competition. Let’s make sure it stays in our club’s hands!
Author: Caysey
September Meeting at Mara’s
Only a couple home brews, but several great commercial beers this month.
This month’s meeting was a more casual affair. Mara welcomed around 10 Yahoos into her home for what was supposed to be an Oktoberfest theme. While there was a German beer (or maybe two) on hand, we mostly sampled a wide range of other commercial styles, including some choice offerings from Mara’s cellar.
We only tasted three blind samples, but one was actually Maine Beer’s Lunch, which scored 36 overall. We also did open evaluation of two of Pierre’s Belgian-style ales, as well as Mara’s brett IPA and Paul’s bouche.
Thanks again to Mara for hosting! October’s meeting will be held at Phil and Cathy’s home in Norwalk. Check your email or Facebook for more information.
Also, don’t forget about SNERC! We still need judges and stewards, and there are still plenty of entry spots left.
Key Dates:
Submission deadline: 10/15
Entry sorting: 10/22
SNERC: 10/28
August Meeting at Pierre’s
A Belgium beer theme, along with many other styles on hand.
More than 10 Yahoos came out for this month’s meeting at Pierre’s. We sampled more than a dozen homebrews, along with several commercial beers, some of which fit our August Belgian theme.
Big thanks for Pierre for his hospitality. Not only did he have ample homebrews and commercial Belgians (and seltzer on tap) to share, but he also provided a terrific cheese plate and stout-infused chili. He also took us on a tour of his basement brewery.
The club judged seven homebrews and two ciders blind. Fittingly, four of the seven happened to be Belgian styles! Plus, Andy shared his wild-fermentation bourbon barrel aged Russian Imperial Stout. It was finished three ways with three different fruits—plumbs, tart cherries and black currants.
Upcoming:
Stay tuned for more information on SNERC. In the meantime, save the date: October 28th. We will need lot’s of help, and encourage everyone to participate.
July Meeting at Andy’s
Lawnmower beers, club business and more…
About a dozen Yahoos gathered at Andy’s in Trumbull last Wednesday. Lawnmower beers were this month’s theme. There were a few commercial examples on hand, along with some bigger beers that would probably be more appropriate to pair with shoveling snow… but we drank them anyway.
We shared a lot of excellent beers, ciders and meads throughout the night, including nine homebrews we judged blind (scoresheet below).
Andy also treated the group to a demo of his very large stir plate. He took us through the detailed build process, as well as some basic troubleshoots. So if you’re looking to upgrade to a stir plate that can create a vortex in 5-plus gallons, you should definitely talk to Andy.
Club business was discussed, specifically our upcoming Southern New England Regional Homebrew Competition. Identifying somebody to spearhead prize acquisition was the most important topic, which Phil and Cathy H. enthusiastically agreed to take on. More to come on SNERHC soon!
Further, we discussed having a Yahoos presence at next year’s Homebrew Con in Providence, RI. We all agreed we need to have a strong presence, and should begin planning and preparations soon. (A mixed fermentation barrel, perhaps?)
Upcoming
Pierre will host our next meeting on August 15 in Trumbull. More to come.
April Meeting At Veracious
April’s meeting was held in the taproom at Veracious Brewing. Thanks again to Tess and Mark for hosting!
We welcomed old and new faces, and as always, drank plenty of great beers.
Click on link below to see tasting and scoring notes:
March Meeting at Clay’s
A capacity crowd, more than a dozen blind tastings, and too many cheeses to count.
A large group of Yahoos (about 13) trickled into Clay’s home last Friday for our rescheduled March meeting. They also brought a lot of beer along with them.
Thanks to Clay and his wife for hosting, and providing an enviable spread of gourmet cheeses and salamis. The group certainly needed the snacks, as we made our way through more than a dozen blind tastings, as well as a couple impressive non-judged offerings from Andy—including an outstanding Scotch ale.
Scores ranged from the mid 20s up into the low 40s. Not only did we have several great beers to try, but there was a wide range of styles in the mix.
I was excited to introduce the group to a new-ish hop, cashmere, which is a hybrid of cascade and northern brewer. In my New England IPA the judges picked up characteristics of melon, peach, lemongrass and grapefruit and coconut from this unusual and rare hop. (Expect to see more beers with this hop from me!)
The night’s theme was IPAs, and we had our share of good commercial examples on hand. But a trip to Clay’s cellar inspired him to treat us to an Oude Gueuze from 3 Fonteinen.
Clay also conducted an impromptu survey of the group to see who could detect Phenylthiocarbamide (PTC). As it turns out, about half of us did, which is in line with the global population.
Upcoming:
Our April meeting will be held at the Veracious taproom in Monroe on the Wednesday, the 18th! We hope to welcome a larger-than-usual crowd for this one, so be sure to pass the word on.
Also, be sure to follow us on Facebook to get the most up-to-date info on all club happenings.
Competitions:
AHA Nationals First Round, April 6 & 7, New York, NY
South Shore Brewoff, April 7, Mansfield, MA
Yahoos Represent at Maltose Express’s 27th Anniversary Open House (And Other Stuff)
A lot of great home brew, new member prospects and dispatches from the February meeting.
There was no shortage of great home brew or Yahoos at Maltose Express on March 3. The shop celebrated its 27th anniversary by hosting its Spring open house, and owners Tess and Mark welcomed our club in to share our beers and recruit new members.
While this wasn’t an official club meeting, our turnout was terrific and we had a beer menu that required two sheets to fit the entire list. Even better, we met some promising prospects whom we hope to see at future meetings.
Thanks to all those who showed up and poured and/or shared beer. And an even bigger thanks to Andy for doing the heavy lifting by organizing everything.
In Case You Missed It
Jaime welcomed a small group of Yahoos to his home for our February meeting. There was no theme for this meeting, but that didn’t stop members from bringing along some impressive commercial beers, as well about 10 home brews for blind tasting.
The group sampled some of Jaime’s turkey chili along with some choice commercial offerings from Hudson Valley, Tree House NEBCo and Counter Weight before blind tasting kicked off.
We tasted a lot of terrific beers, which all scored well.
Upcoming
Details for the March 21 meeting are still TBD. Likewise, details for the April 18 meeting are also still pending, but we hope to have some exciting news about that soon. Check back here for details or follow us on Facebook if you don’t already.
Competitions:
Hudson Valley, Mar 4 & 10, Arlington, NY
Ocean State, Mar 24 & 25, Pawtucket, RI
AHA Nationals First Round, Apr 6 & 7, New York, NY
South Shore Brewoff, Apr 7, Mansfield, MA