Underground Brewers of Connecticut

Ever since it opened, Reverie Brewing in Newtown has been good to us. They have hosted meetings, offered to help us buy ingredients, and given us brewing advice. But at the April meeting, they went above and beyond, giving us tastes of out of some of their barrels.

The April meeting was less well-attended than it could have been, but did not lack enthusiasm. David and Andy returned after an absence of several months. (We last saw them at Aspetuck.) Gary from Brew Haven joined us for the first time. We all met up in the taproom for a few beers before moving to the back “party room” for the meeting proper.

(Fun side note: We learned in the tap room that the membership contains two priests. One has to wonder how many homebrew clubs can say this.)

There were wonderful homebrews to judge, but first we tried a couple of terrible ones made by your correspondent. These were part of an experiment at M.A.S.H. where we made many different beers with Lutra Kveik to see how they came out. “Badly” was the consensus. The yeast packets lie. Lutra does not make a clean, crisp pseudo-lager. No more needs to be said about those awful beers; they are going down the drain.

Proper, yummy homebrew followed. We judged a number of them. (Tasting notes below.) And just as we were wrapping up, the Reverie staff arrived and pulled nails from a couple of barrels. Incredible deliciousness flowed. Heartfelt thanks to Reverie for this!

Tasting notes:

• APA, Gary: Piney, resiny, spruce-y. Fresh and inviting. A little sweet malt up front with a firmly bitter finish. Better than the SNPA we judged at Mara’s. Made with Voss Kveik. 9/3/15/5/8 = 40
• Saison, David and Andy: Banana, spice, cola. VERY dry finish. Pierre likes it. Made with Belle Saison yeast and Pacific Jade hops. 8/3/17/4/8 = 40
• Strong Saison, Andy T. Sweet and boozy aroma. Dry finish. A little like apricot brandy. Mara likes it. 1.090 SG, Dupont yeast, 8 weeks at 90F. 7/3/15/5/8 = 38
• American Wild, Pierre: Was supposed to be something else. Pierre pulled the wrong bottles. He, himself, had no idea what we were drinking. It was dark and fruity with TONS of Brett. No score, but kinda tasty.
• Macadamia Hydromel, Paul B (I think. Notes don’t say. But that’s what I remember.) Fruity and floral, smells like a forest after a rain. Fizzy, dry, and scary drinkable. Not bone dry. Shawn’s honey, US-05, and black tea. 7.4%abv. 7/6/20/8 = 41
• Mulberry and Black Currant Wild Ale, Andy T. Woodsy, with lots of berries and tons of Brett. Most members just kinda moaned in pleasure. Buttery mouthfeel with a SUPER dry finish. 2yrs old, fruit added 6mos ago, carbed with black currant juice concentrate. 10/3/18/5/9 = 45

On March 26th, the Underground Brewers hosted their first Homebrewers’ Tag Sale. Organizer Pierre Margraff submitted the following guest post:

Buy, sell, trade… cheers! 

What a day! The first-annual homebrewers tag sale presented by the UBC was held on Sunday, March 26^th.

An impressive 13 homebrewers signed up to sell their wares, but a few didn’t make it so there were about 10 members selling. And what a variety! We saw a lot of stainless kegs and kettles,  glass carboys, a 20-gallon wooden keg on a stand and the highly coveted Zymatic brewing system was priced for an unbelievable $50. (Still available, by the way!)

There were some good deals to be had… Andy Tipler sold a chiller for $49, Stainless mashtuns were selling for super cheap, induction hot plates were priced at an unbelievable $80 and Mara even scored an full Oxygen Tank for $40.

Berlinetta Brewing Company in Bridgeport hosted the club event, opening up their bright, airy space for us to sell our goods. As usual, Berlinetta had their five delicious beers on tap and were selling Zuppardi personal-sized pizzas. The day was unseasonably sunny and bright for March, allowing some homebrewers to sell at tables outdoors.

The brewery was pretty packed – they were happy for the traffic and owner/brewer Rick Berlinetta even purchased a few Tri clamp Fittings.

Our poster was still hung proudly on the wall at Berlinetta, we saw a few people scanning the QR code to learn more about the club. Maybe we’ll even get a few new members out of the event?

It was a great day for buyers and sellers alike. Beer and conversation were flowing, money and equipment changed hands, and a good time was had by all. We’re already looking forward to the second-annual tagsale event! Cheers! 

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