October Meeting at Burgher Burger’s Burg

We continued our run of “virgin hosts” in October with a meeting at Robert Burger’s home in Branford. Bob may be on the far eastern fringe of our club footprint, but he has the cutest kids on the planet and he serves candied bacon at meetings. In other words, we’ll be back. Often.

An unusual number of newbies attended, mostly invited by Nurse. Once upon a time, newbies would be new brewers who had done a couple of extract-based kits on the stovetop. That’s certainly where I was when I joined the group. Now, they arrive as all-grain brewers with lots of experience and excellent brews to judge. The tasting notes which follow bear this out.

Bob, himself, showed us all up with an outstanding raspberry Berliner weisse made via acid malt and sour mash. Just a fantastic beer. We forgave him for making the rest of us look bad only because he sent us home with samples from his keg.

Handy Andy was close behind with a straight Berliner and a dark mild, both just fantastic beers. The mild, in particular, drew many envious comments. How do you get this much flavor in a small beer?

Candied bacon, raspberry sour, dark mild, and newbies: all in all, a fantastic meeting!

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Local(ish) upcoming events

They are still looking for judges for NERHBC, 10/24 in Nashua. I judged this comp last year. Very well run. Good food. http://bfd.org/nerhbc/

And also for LIBME’s 3rd Annual, 11/21 in Bayshore. If Bayshore seems like a long drive, be aware that the plan is to get the whole thing done in one flight, leaving you the rest of the day free to explore. http://beermalt.net/

And LIBME is hosting a MEAD EXAM on 2/20 in Patchogue. This is the only mead exam to be held in this area in the next year or two, so jump on it. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bjcp-mead-certification-exam-tickets-17768677593

SNERHC 2015 Results

SNERHC 2015 was an amazing success. The decision to co-host with the Krausen Commandos was the best ever. Despite a major change in guidelines and an inauspicious start (we were stranded outside until someone came to unlock the gate at Two Roads), we judged 400 entries — 40 more than last year — in 45 minutes LESS time. We were cleaned up and out the door by 6:30pm.

Results may be found here: SNERHC 2015 Results

Scores and scoresheets are also available. Go to the SNERHC page and log in to see your scores.

Enormous thanks to all involved: the judges, the stewards, the cellar staff, and the sponsors.

See you all next year!