Author: Matt

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.

Our April meeting brought us to the house of the always generous (with food, drinks, and knowledge) Andy Tipler, who organized a meeting around all things mead! The spread was incredible, including a ridiculous amount of fresh homemade bread, crackers, chips, cheese, sausage, etc. Totally over the top. Unfortunately, we are a bit out of practice and completely forgot to pass a hat to compensate. Sorry, Andy!

This meeting was a bit different than our typical format, with a tasting of commercial meads, homemade meads (tasting notes below), and a talk about mead (and honey varietal tasting!) from Marina Marchese, with a bit more sampling of homemade meads as the night concluded.

Commercial meads included some from Dragonfire (CT) and Dansk Mjod (Denmark). Some were nice. Some were surprisingly bad. A few were complete dumpers. Hard to believe that they are for sale in the marketplace. The Dragonfire mead was not bad, if a bit too sweet.

Marina shared some great information about honey with the club. Honey should be used as fresh as possible, as it loses volatile aromas quickly. Two years is really the limit! Crystalization of honey is okay, but only as long as it is homogeneous – if the crystalized honey separates into layers of liquid and crystals, you should discard it. Also, honey is hydroscopic, which means it will pull moisture in from the air. Another good reason to keep it tightly sealed and use fresh! Marina also shared that there is a lot of fake honey here – it’s good to buy from reputable sources. Did you know that Italy is the only country with a database of varietal honey characteristics? Most countries have no regulations regarding honey. A huge thanks to Marina for coming out and sharing her knowledge (and honey!) with the group! Tasting notes for the honey varieties are included below the tasting notes.

Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate all things mead!

Tasting Notes

• Hydromel by Pierre; honey from Sean Darryl Harris (macadamia?); US-05; still and dry; a little oak. Lovely. Could be improved with some fizz.
• Hydromel by Paul B-S; macadamia honey from Sean; black tea for tannin; fizzy and dry. Somewhat bitter; clean; refreshing.
• Hydromel by Paul B-S; orange blossom honey (from Sean); fizzy and dry. Somewhat bitter; tastes of orange pith; plenty of tannin.
• Standard by Paul B-S; same orange blossom honey; oak for tannin; dry. Smooth; more body than hydromel. Made in June 2021.
• Hydromel by Paul B-S; coffee blossom honey (from Sean); fizzy and dry. More intense than expected for a dry hydromel; explosive carbonation; very drinkable.
• Standard by Paul B-S; same as last but standard strength; young. A little hot; intense aroma; ton of body; fermentation seems to have stopped early.
• Jamaican Sorrel by Andy T; ginger, orange zest, hibiscus, mulling spices, rum-soaked oak; started out at a pH below 2.0 – had to add bicarb before yeast would work. Heaven.
• Prickly pear and lime by Andy T; both juice and zest of lime; vitamin C as anti-oxidant; some tequila-soaked oak. A little hot; tastes of agave; fruit comes out more as it breathes.
• Meads from Superstition (AZ, brought by Jaxson) excellent across the board.
• Cyser by Paul H; Beardsley juice from 2022. Too tannic, almost astringent.
• 20 year old meads from Andy T. Medaled at most recent SNERHC.

Honey Tasting Notes

• Orange blossom: intensely floral.
• Eucalyptus: savory, meaty, salty, gamey.
• Basswood/linden: minty, limey.
• Heather: very dark, smoky, savory.
• Unknown (from student): grape or kudzu; whipped and creamy.
• Autumn olive: dirty water, urine?
• Buckwheat: almost black; cocoa and barnyard.
• Unknown (from Bulgaria): thick and pungent.

Our March meeting brought us down to Stamford for our first (but hopefully not last!) meeting at Hop and Vine. This was an incredible place to have a meeting, with a serve-your-own beer system affording us the opportunity to try tasters of many different beers and styles! The food was great, the meeting was well-attended, and the homebrews were, as always, delicious. This month’s theme was American Hoppy beers, and a few members brought along beers that aligned with the theme (tasting notes below). Tom C. brought along two beers more than 20 years old, both featuring cherries with different treatments. It was a real joy to get to try such unique and old beers!

We had the opportunity to try the beer Andy C. made in the Pinter unit we were sent… and unfortunately the contents just didn’t stand up to much scrutiny, with the primary notes being “thin, ashy, and tannic.” It was a fun experiment, and certainly something we were interested to try out… but I think the majority of our members will be sticking to our current setups. Again, a big thanks to to the folks at Pinter for sending us a unit to try out!

Coming up in just a few weeks is our next meeting at Andy T.’s house, this one focused on mead, with guest lecturer Marina Marchese generously joining to share some knowledge with the club. Hope to see you there!

Tasting Notes:

• Strong Bitter (11c) – Pierre: Grassy hops, asparagus, slightly fruity. Very rich malty nose. Slightly vegetal, corny, tannic, needs more caramel. 8/3/12/4/6 = 33
• American Pale Ale (18B) – Caysey: Floral, clean, fruit pith. American hops. Light nutty note, fruit esters, very refreshing, tannic finish. Good bubbles. All ingredients from SNERHC (Maris Otter + Cascade). 10/3/16/5/8 = 42
• Hazy IPA (21C) – Matt: “It’s got hops in it!” Tropical fruit, sweet aroma. Grassy, flowers. Bright, very bitter. Sweet malt. Too young? Astringent, hop burn. Not bad, will be good. Very very young – kegged 3 days earlier. 7/3/13/3/7 = 33
• American Amber (19A) – Dan: Fruity, green pepper, black better. Phenols, spicy. No caramel, little malt. Boozy. More malt in flavor. Perfume, soap. A little thin a tannic. 6/2/11/3/6 = 28
• Black IPA (21B) – Andy C.: Hop aroma hidden by malt. Clean, balanced. Very roasty, bitter. Harsh finish, but very drinkable. (scored a 32 at TRASH, a 40 and a silver medal at another comp!) 10/3/12/3/7 = 35
• Kriek [Raw Cherry] (23F) – Tom: Green olive, not much cherry. Red wine vinegar. Crystal clear. Acetic acid, yeast stress? Oxidization. No cherry really present. 6/3/10/3/5 = 25
• Kriek [Cooked Cherry] (23F) – Tom: Marzipan, doughy. Cherry, wood, celery. Lots of cherry in the finish. Tart. Much more enjoyable than the raw cherry version! 10/3/14/5/8 = 40
  

This month’s meeting was generously hosted by Spacecat Brewing in Norwalk. We had a great turnout and enjoyed some excellent beers on tap (as well as some great pizza). The night kicked off with our first off-flavor evaluation, as we dosed a beer with diacetyl, to try alongside an untainted sample. Great conversation was had about the different aromas and flavors we picked up, from a buttery aroma, to a more muted overall drinking experience, with lots of flavors dulled by the diacetyl. And, as with most things, everyone had a different sensitivity! A very cool experience that everyone seemed to enjoy. More of these to come at future meetings!

The folks at Pinter.com sent along a demo unit of their beer making kit that we showed off at the club meeting. Pinter is an extract all-in-one unit that you ferment, naturally carbonate, and serve in the single unit. Kits come with liquid extract, yeast, and liquid hops that are designed to be added without oxygen ingress. We are clearly not the target audience for this, but it does represent a well thought out way to introduce new people into the hobby. We voted on trying out the Porter recipe and will judge the resulting beer next month at Hop and Vine in Stamford.

The theme of this meeting was sour beers, and we had two homebrews brought along for evaluation. Pierre brought a wonderful lambic and talked through his process, and how long it takes to make a traditional sour in comparison to the more common kettle sours we often see produced today. I brought a fruited sour featuring cherries, vanilla, and cinnamon – more on these beers (and the lone other entry!) below.

A big thanks to Spacecat for hosting! See you all next month at Hop and Vine – the theme is American Hoppy Beers, so bring along your homebrew to share!

Tasting Notes:

• Lambic (23D) – Pierre: Clove, floral, funkiness in aroma. Bitterness a little high for flavor. Very sessionable. 10/3/15/4/8 = 40
• Fruited Sour (29B – base: 28B) – Matt: Cherries and cinnamon. A little solvent on the aroma. Complex. Assertive adjuncts. A little acetic acid, but not too much. 8/3/14/4/8 = 37
• Czech Dark Lager (3D) – Santi: Not a complex aroma, light esters. Could be richer. Toasted bread, light chocolate, very light astringency. Light body. 8/2/14/3/7 = 35