Category: Meeting notes

Wherein: we play with Chance, and Andy C pranks us

Meetings at Mara’s house never disappoint. The food is always top-notch. There are always tasty beverages to share. And there is always a friendly dog to chill with.

This meeting certainly hit all those marks. (Chance is absolutely one of The Best Dogs.) It was also quite well-attended – almost crowded – in a sign that the pandemic really is over and we are back to full strength. There were members we rarely see (like Mike) and new members we hadn’t met before (like New Mike). And everyone brought great homebrew.

Things were going great until Andy (Andy C, not Andy T or New Andy – we really need to do something about these names) pranked us. He snuck in a ringer, a commercial beer considered the exemplar for its BJCP style, and we judged it as a homebrew. We didn’t hammer it, but we didn’t love it either. Gave it a 38. Gordon Strong had given it a 46.

Are we bad judges? Overly harsh? Should we have scored it higher, seeing as it is consider the style’s definitional representative? Maybe. Post-meeting discussion allowed as how we could have maybe bumped that score up to 40. But we had our reasons for not scoring it any higher than that. And we are sticking to them.

Andy promises to do this to us again. We’ll see what happens.

Everyone forgot to take pictures. And we forgot to pass the hat again. Obviously, we’re still not back to pre-pandemic habits. We’ll get there.

Tasting notes:

• Munich Helles, Matt J: A little DMS, a little butter. Spicy hops and honey. Very dry. Could be a little clearer, maltier, bubblier. Turns out that it’s only 2 weeks old. Needs more time in the cold. 7/2/12/4/5 = 30
• APA, Sierra Nevada: Grapefruit and orange pith. Low malt. Astringent finish. Medium body and carb. The long harsh finish mars drinkability and is out of style. 10/3/13/5/7 = 38
• Belgian Pale, Mike H: Spicy phenols dominate. Banana, molasses, honey. Under-carbed. Complex and interesting. He was trying out a new yeast from ECY. 6/2/13/3/6 = 30
• Double IPA, Mara and Liam: TONS of dank hops, heaps of malt. Chewy. Malty-sweet up front with a long dry, bitter finish. A bit under-carbed. Would score VERY highly as an American Barleywine, but a bit too big and malty for an IPA. 9/3/11/3/6 = 32
• English Barleywine, New Andy: Quite hot, with fusels. Clove, banana, ham, not enough malt. Spicy finish. Kveik yeast, fermented hot (85F). Stalled out at 15% abv, leaving it a bit raw. Not scored.
• English Barleywine, Paul H: Bright and fresh. Lots of malt. Andy T likes it. A little cloudy. A bit of alcohol bite. Too hoppy and fresh for style but “has potential” if left to age 6 months. Was intended as an American Barleywine but isn’t quite hoppy enough. 11/2/17/5/8 = 43
• Peanut Butter Stout, New Mike: Plenty of peanut butter and milk chocolate. A few phenols. Balanced flavors. Finish is a bit too bitter and harsh, almost ashy. Too much Black Patent malt; otherwise totally solid. Let it age. 8/3/10/3/5 = 29
• Dry-hopped New World Cider, Caysey: Light amber, clear, petillant. Lemony hops in balance. Plenty of tannin. Complex, smooth, balanced. 6 years old – 2017 Beardsley blend. Hops added to clear sulfur. 6/8/18/7 = 39
• Hydromel w/Smoky Tea, Paul H: Lots of smoke. Slightly hazy. Flavor is better balanced than aroma. Good acidity and tannin. Hint of residual sweetness. A bit thin. Needs more bubbles. 5/5/17/7 = 34
• New World Cider, Steve: Pale and hazy. Fruity. Clean. Great acidity. Just enough tannin. Crisp, refreshing, drinkable. Yum. Juice from Cider Days. 5/8/20/8 = 41
• English Cider, Steve: Peeled red apple and chamomile. Floral. Hazy. Absolutely delicious but much too fruity for style. Would score much better as a New World Cider. Another Cider Days blend, this one with red-fleshed apples and tannic varieties. Not scored.
• No Category Cider, Andy T: Looks like honey. Pours like syrup. Smells like currants. Clear and fragrant. 100% Stop & Shop frozen concentrate. Airlock dried out and it oxidized. Nottingham and the yeast from a bottle of Arthur saison. 16% abv. Not scored but freaking delicious.
• Iced Cider, Steve: Made from the drippings out of frozen juice. 15.2%. Not quite as smooth as Andy’s. More acidity. Still very nice. Not scored.
• Kveik Lager, Patrick: Celery notes. Medium body. Sweet. Tastes a bit unfinished. Attempt at an African style. Low abv (4.0%) with honey and ginger added to keg. Interesting, but a little too sweet. Not scored.
• Brett Saison, Patrick: 2nd runnings of a Double IPA, with maltodextrin added to feed the Brett. Saison yeast. Micro-oxidized. Not scored.

Everyone in the Underground Brewers makes their own beer, cider, mead, and/or wine. Most of us also enjoy sampling commercial offerings from time to time. Some collect beers to cellar, to see how they change with age. A select few take this last activity to extremes.

Clay is one such member. His cellar is vast and varied. And he is exceptionally generous, sharing special items from that cellar with anyone who will appreciate them.

So, meetings at Clay’s are always amazing.

It’s not just his cellar, of course. He is also an excellent cook. Our meeting last Wednesday night included pulled pork with slaw and an assortment of cheeses and sausages. We all ate more than we should have.

Embarrassingly, we totally forgot to pass the hat to help reimburse him for this. We would never have forgotten before the pandemic. But we are out of practice at having meetings in members’ homes. We deeply apologize.

There was homebrew to be judged, of course. Tasting notes below. But in and around the homebrews, Clay arranged some special tasting experiences from his cellar. We don’t get to partake in such things very often.

First up was a “vertical” of tupelo honey meads from Garagiste Meadery in Florida. Four tupelo meads: dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sweet with oak. All yummy, but the dry was the most complex, with excellent honey presentation.

Later, we had another “vertical” featuring English old ales from The Bruery, aged in oak for 6, 12, and 18 months respectively. Surprisingly, the 18 month was not noticeably more oaky. But it was definitely drier and better balanced. Even more surprising as was the ABV – all were well north of 16%. Absolutely could not taste it.

There was more. But I had to stop imbibing after a certain point. Very long drive home.

We had four homebrews to judge and one for “beer clinic”. Tasting notes:

• Vienna Lager, Andy C. Lots of Vienna malt and perfumy hops. Dry finish. Clean. Could be more complex. A bit thin and needs more bubbles. 9/3/13/3/7 = 35
• American Pale Ale, Andy T. Grapefruit, apricot, and resin. Maybe a little candied orange peel. Quite bitter and a little harsh in the finish. Some astringency lingers. Very young; should mellow. 9/3/11/2/6 = 31
• Winter Seasonal, Cameron. “Smells like the holidays.” Cinnamon, raisin, fruitcake. Some plastic notes. Some astringency. A little boozy. 9.8% ABV with nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, and ginger. 9/2/13/3/7 = 34
• Dark Sour With Currants, Liam. Grape and tart cherry. Vinous. Not really sour, just a little tart. Tastes like an oaky merlot. Very tannic but not at all astringent – smooth. Alcohol is very well-hidden. Yummy. 6.5 years old! 10/3/16/5/9 = 43
• NEIPA, Paul B’s son. Smoky, with plastic phenols. Low hop aroma. Harsh, bitter finish. Thin. Probably a combination of chloramine in the water and a Brett infection eating away the hops. No score.

Our January meeting took us into new (for us) territory: a winery.

Our gracious host for the evening was Ray Iannucci, owner of Valor Wines in North Haven. Ray makes a broad array of wines and ciders, all of which are available at the tasting room. We sampled all the ciders and many of the wines and can attest to their quality. Ray treated us to a tour of the facility and answered our many, many questions with patience and humor.

The tasting room is lovely, full of interesting odds and ends. There appears to be an outdoor patio as well, with a large firepit. Definitely worth a return visit. No one remembered to take any pictures, but we assure you that it looks like a fun place to hang for an afternoon.

After our tastings and tour, we got down to business judging homebrews. It quickly became obvious that we’d never get through all of the homebrews people brought. (Perhaps there was a backlog due to no judging in December?) So some of the meads and ciders were withdrawn, to be judged at the February meeting instead.

Tasting notes:

• Ordinary Bitter, Andy T: Floral, earthy hops. Dry, bitter finish. Malt flavor lingers forever. Just a wisp of DMS. Damn near perfect. 11/3/17/5/8 = 44
• Czech Pale Lager, Andy T: Green apple and fruit. Not enough malt. A bit thin. 6/3/10/4/5 = 28
• Oaked English Ale, Paul B: Earthy hops and oak. Clean and inviting. A bit hazy. Fresh and drinkable with great oak balance. Pierre was especially fond of it. 9/3/17/4/8 = 41
• American Pale with Tangerine, Cameron: Fruit overwhelms the beer a bit in the aroma, but flavor is perfectly balanced. Complex, with notes of honey and sweet orange peel. Dry, bitter finish with plenty of tannin. 7/3/16/4/7 = 37
• Double IPA, Pat H: Very malty. Almost no hop presence. Presents as a barleywine, not an IPA. Undercarbed. 5/1/10/4/5 = 25
• Weizenbock, New Andrew: Vinous and a bit boozy. Not bready enough. Complex, with notes of bananas, raisins, caramel, grapes, molasses. Needs more bubbles. 7/3/12/3/6 = 32
• Foreign Extra Stout, Pat H: Green apple, melon, molasses. Not enough roast. Something “off” about the flavor. No numeric score.
• Wheatwine, Andy T: Full-bodied and luscious. Hides its 14.7% abv dangerously well. Lovely to sip. Warming. Not quite as complex as the one judged in November. No numeric score.

On Dec 7, in what has become an annual tradition, the Underground Brewers met up with Brew Haven for a combined holiday party and Yankee gift swap.

The lovely new Counterweight Brewing facility was our host and we all got to sample some of their amazing beer. Side pours of dark Czech lager were particular favorites. There was a massive amount of yummy food for the potluck dinner and homebrew to wash it down.

Where are the pictures? Quite frankly, we were having too much fun to take any.

We wish everyone a safe, happy holiday season and a peaceful new year.

With homebrew, of course!

The Huxfords love Halloween. They go all out decorating for it each year. So it’s only appropriate that they host the October club meeting whenever possible.

Your correspondent also loves Halloween. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend this year’s haunting due to lingering effects of a case of covid.

The notes and pic which follow were provided by our fearless leader, Andy Cox. I’ll add more detail about the rest of the meeting if it is provided to me at some point.

I do recognize some new members in the picture, and I look forward to meeting them in person at the November meeting.

From Andy:

Many thanks to the Huxford’s for hosting the October meeting!  Those not scared off by the knife wielding Michael Myers at the door were welcomed into a full spread and some tasty ciders and beers.

As judged:

AndyC: German Pils (5D) scored 37.  Not as clear as it should be, light honey aroma, floral.  Could be more bitter.

Pierre: Lambic (23D) scored 33.  Bubblegum, spicy on the nose.  Not sour, but really nice flavors with orange peel most pronounced.  Would make a really good blender with a future, more sour, beer.

Matt: Rhubarb Brett Saison (30A) scored 42.  A bit of sulfur at first that quickly dissipates.  Inviting yeast esters and rhubarb aroma.  Light on the Brett.  Nicely tart and very tasty!

Pierre: Hazy IPA (21C) scored a 31.  Nice strong aroma of papaya and passion fruit.  Aroma didn’t translate into the taste: bitter for style, some notes of pepper/spicy.

Huxford’s: West Coast IPA (21A) scored 35.  Low hop aroma, coconut (group guessed correctly Sabro hops).  Piney resin and coconut in the taste.

Paul B: A “Scottish Red Ale” – was judged as 14.5A (a hack of 14A Scottish Light and 15A Irish Red, our apologies to Gordon Strong), scored a 36.  Strong peat initially on the aroma, blows off to reveal a more malty base.  Initial taste was also intense peat and smoke, but it fades quickly on the palette to a really enjoyable sipper.  This was the beer everyone went in for more after the judging was complete.

Huxford’s: English Porter (Phil insisted, 13C), scored a 33.  Strong coffee and roast aroma.  Coffee dominates in the flavor as well, a very nice medium roast but not quite to style. Needs to tone down the coffee component to get more in balance, but still very enjoyable.

Our September meeting was hosted by Aspetuck Brew Lab and its extraordinary brewer/owner, Peter Cowles.

Like many pros, Peter started out as a homebrewer. He was never a club member, but he came to our attention when he swept the board at SNERHC one year, winning medal after medal. He has continued winning awards at ABL, one of CT’s best breweries.

One award-winning recipe is his grisette, which was on tap Wednesday night. Your correspondent partook and can confirm that it deserves all the praise it has gotten. An outstanding brew.

Peter filled us in on the current state of the business which, unfortunately, includes near-daily price hikes for most inputs (cardboard packaging, cans, bottles, malt, etc.) and severe shortages of CO2. Small breweries use a lot of CO2 and he has seen his “bi-weekly” deliveries become much less frequent. It’s a tough time in the industry, for sure.

Attendance was strong, including some first-timers and some people we haven’t seen in a long time. Much homebrew was judged, most of it extremely good. Tasting notes:

• Cream Ale (Mara): Corn, lemon, and passionfruit. Extremely dry finish. Delicate and refreshing. Could use some bubbles but very drinkable. Mara said it was a mistake and was intended to be a bitter. 10/3/17/4/8 = 42
• Cream Ale (Dave and Andy): Floral hops and fruity esters. Tropical. Yummy. Out of style, though. Would score MUCH higher as a pale ale. Sat on 2lbs of limes near end of fermentation. 7/2/12/4/8 = 31
• American Amber (New Andy): Grapes and plums and lots of resin. Sweet up front with a super-dry finish. Needs more bubbles but super drinkable. Andy says it was supposed to be a pale ale. 9/2/16/3/7 = 37
• Weissbier (New Andy): Tons of banana, plenty of clove, a hint of alcohol and solvent and bubblegum. A bit thin and astringent, but dry and drinkable. Andy wonders if it was infected. 12/3/13/3/6 = 37
• Belgian Pale (Pierre): Brett and lots of it. Plum. Not hoppy enough. Bready, with an astringent, bitter finish. A little harsh. “Used to be a tripel as some point.” – Pierre. 5/1/12/3/4 = 25
• NEIPA (Dave and Andy): Bartlett pear, apple, mango, lemon. Clear. Damaged in packaging – looks and tastes vastly different out of the key. Not judged.
• Wheatwine (Andy T): Pine sap, maple syrup, warming alcohol, fruit and spice. “Tastes like a nice warm blanket.” – Pierre. Finishes dry. “Will mess you up.” – Pierre. Chewy and full-bodied. A yummy sipper. Should be served on nitro. Andy claims it is only 3 – 4 months old. 16%abv. 10/3/18/5/8 = 44
• RIS (Andy T): Dried dark fruit and treacle. Lots of contented sighs in the room. Roasty with caramel and tobacco. Very complex. Has legs in the glass. “That’s a quality product.” – Pierre. Flavor lingers forever. Andy claims 14%, continuously fed on the big stir plate. 10/3/20/5/10 = 48
• Oaked Orange Blossom Mead (Paul B-S): Lots of orange blossom, brown sugar, a little hot alcohol and vanilla. Flavor is more delicate than aroma, like a dry chenin blanc. No harshness at all. Finishes dry but flavor lingers forever. 7/6/17/8 = 38

Most of our meetings are about judging homebrew and suggesting ways to improve. We’re serious about this, which is why so many members are also BJCP judges. Helping each other make better beer is what we do.

But we do like to kick back once in a while too. Our annual summer picnic is one such occasion.

Pierre and Kim were our hosts again this year. The day was lovely, if a bit warm. Spouses and children came and made it a family affair. There was an abundance of delicious food and entirely too much beer to share.

One mark of a good party is that no one wants to leave. That was certainly the case this year. We sat and enjoyed each others’ company until the messages from home started arriving. Then we reluctantly packed up and headed home.

Pictures were taken, but I don’t have any at the moment. I’ll update this post with a selection when I can get copies.

Huge thanks to Pierre and Kim!

Our July meeting at Steve Victor’s house was a throwback in so many ways.

It was an old-fashioned “judging” meeting, where we tasted and gave feedback on each other’s beers, meads, and ciders.

It was in a member’s home (albeit on the back porch for covid safety). As tends to happen in member-hosted meetings, we got a tour of the brewing space and raided the host’s cellar.

It featured entirely too much food provided by the host, including a delicious chicken dish and a huge cheese board.

In short, Steve gave us a throwback to the old days. It felt good.

Thank you, Steve!

We tasted many homebrews over the course of the evening. Quality was, for the most part, exceptional. We’ve sometimes been accused of “grade inflation”, scoring things higher in meetings than we would at a competition. But, when pressed to identify a flaw or some other reason to lower a score, we never could. The offerings really were that good.

• NEIPA by Mara: Ripe tropical fruit, just a hint of solvent, very cloudy, tons of hop flavor, extremely drinkable. An experiment with dry-hopping (100% Citra) while bubbling CO2 through the fermenter. 9/3/16/2/8 = 39
• Saison by Paul H: Very fruity, somewhat peppery, not dry enough for style. Experiment with Cellar Science dry Saison yeast. 7/3/12/4/8 = 34
• Saison by Andy C: Citrus and spice, “ineffable saisoniness”, slight haze, tannic, drinkable. Mangrove Jack yeast and motueka hops, repitched on some wild bugs. 10/2/14/4/8 = 38
• Belgian Strong Golden by Andy T: Aroma quite subtle, very dry finish makes it crazy drinkable, undercarbed but delicious. “Mistake” beer – was supposed to be a single but ended up at 8.5% abv. 10/2/18/4/9 = 43
• Irish Stout by Andy T: Chocolate, coffee, hint of cinnamon, clean and dry and very drinkable. Much “bigger” than Guinness, but that’s okay. 9/3/18/5/9 = 44
• Lemon-Ginger Hydromel by Steve: Assertive lemon and ginger, florals not lost, clean with high acidity and just a little tannin, refreshing and beautiful. Made with the honey he won at SNERHC. 9/22/6/9 = 46
• New World Cider by Andy C. Presented for feedback but not for scoring. Made from apples grown by Thrall family. Acidic and flavorful, just off-dry, very drinkable. Would be perfect with a little tannin and some bubbles.
• New World Cider by Andy T. Lots of apple, sweet, perfumy, super dry finish, drinks like a dry white wine, only flaw is some acetone in the aroma. Very drinkable. 5/19/6/8 = 38
• New World Cider by Steve. Malolactic character, phenolic, absolutely delicious but doesn’t quite fit any of the BJCP styles. 8/20/6/8 = 42
• Cider with Cherries and Brett by Steve. Very complex, with lots of different flavors in balance: cherries, apples, Brett, graham crackers. Dry finish makes it super drinkable despite complexity. Yum. 8/20/6/9 = 43

No one remembered to take pictures, alas.

Our June 2022 meeting was at Brewport Brewing Company in Bridgeport, CT. Attendance was sparse; summer activities and sick kids were a distraction for too many members. This was a real shame because our host was Jeff Browning, the premier historian of brewing in Connecticut over the last 200 years.

Jeff has two books coming out, both written in collaboration with Dr. Terry Foster. You may have heard of Dr. Foster through his “Porter” book or through his writings in Brew Your Own, Zymurgy, and other national magazines. You may not know that he has published over a dozen other books, including a homebrewers’ guide which pre-dated Papazian’s.

Jeff and Terry have complementary skills. Jeff collects voraciously: artifacts, stories, people, everything. Terry methodically collates and codifies, meticulously cross-referencing everything and following up on loose ends. Starting with a rich trove of hand-written brewing logs spanning decades of commercial brewing history, they have fleshed out the story of brewing in and around Bridgeport from the late 1800s through and beyond Prohibition.

In the process, Jeff and Terry have debunked a number of myths about old beer styles, brewing processes, ingredients, and people. They have recreated a number of historical recipes and can defend their accuracy. Jeff allowed us to sample two of them – a cream ale and a lager – and spoke about how they are two very different beers made from essentially the same grain bill.

Jeff’s talk was, simply, the most informative brewing-related talk I’ve ever listened to. None of us wanted it to end. We immediately resolved to gather a much larger group, perhaps in combination with other brew clubs, to hear a talk by Terry Foster too.

In the meantime, we look forward to the new books. If they are half as interesting as Jeff’s talk, we will all want copies.

Thank you Jeff!

May 7, 2022 was Big Brew Day, an annual event sponsored by the AHA.

SpaceCat Brewing of Norwalk had graciously offered us their side yard space in which to gather and celebrate BBD by brewing numerous batches of homebrew. They also offered us water, electricity, and access to the tap room before official opening.

The day dawned cold and raw, with forecasts of driving rain and strong wind gusts. Not great weather for brewing outside. Could that deter us? No way!

An intrepid crew of brewers braved the elements to brew 4 batches of beer using a wide variety of equipment and procedures. We set up pop-up tents to keep the worst of the rain off and weighted them down against the wind gusts. Jeff and the rest of the SpaceCat crew jumped in to help whenever we realized we’d forgotten some critical ingredient or piece of equipment.

There was hot coffee, cold beer from SpaceCat, homebrew samples from members new and old, and lots of baked goods. It was a good time.

We had handouts. But no non-brewers showed much interest in the idiots standing in the rain.

The pop-ups kept us somewhat dry.

Somewhat. A river still ran through it.

Rosie the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog was our official mascot.

Just as we were about to pack up the cars, a band of very heavy rain came through. We retreated to the tap room until it passed.

Huge thanks to SpaceCat! And to Andy Cox for organizing the entire event.