May found us once again with a first-time meeting host. “Hosts”, actually, since both Robert and Barbara Rickman are brewers and club members. (Their son, Brian, also joined the group a day or so after the meeting.) After bouncing from rental to rental over the past few years, none of which were large enough, the Rickmans have recently bought a lovely home in Naugatuck with lots of space for hosting YAHOOS meetings. Hence their first ever hosting.
More than half of our recent hosts have been first-timers and all of them have done a superb job. The Rickmans were no different. Excellent food (especially the homemade flax seed crackers — see recipe below) and homebrew in a lovely setting.
We YAHOOS, unfortunately, were not the perfect guests. There was an incident with an overly exuberant bottle of French cider which may have left a scar on the kitchen ceiling. I feel guilty. I brought that bottle of cider. I will say in my defense that it was cold when I brought it and may have been better behaved if it had stayed that way. I hope I am not under lifetime ban at the Rickman estate.
The theme was “Cider” and many club members brought their personal variations on the Beardsley juice theme. I am always amazed by the differences in the end-products when starting with the same ingredients. Some brewers add sugars, some add yeasts, some add other fruits. The results can fall into any BJCP cider category. We are a creative bunch.
Tasting notes may be found below. I hope I remembered the cider sub-score breakdown properly. If not, please forgive me.
But first, the cracker recipe. Barbara spins her own fibers and this recipe comes from one of the reference books she uses. But, like all good homebrewers, she has made this her own in subtle ways. All I can say is, these crackers are amazing. I ate far too many, with nothing on them. Make them, even if you have to buy a pasta machine to do so.
Barbara Rickman’s Awesome Flax Seed Crackers