Month: September 2019

After a number of meetings at local breweries, we recently returned to our usual practice of meeting in members’ homes. And since one particular deadbeat member hadn’t hosted a meeting in years, it was time for him to step up, stop being a slacker, and do the hosting thing.

That particular member would be me, of course.

Now, in my defense, I will remind you all that I now live out on the far eastern frontier. Guilford is a very long drive for many members. That’s been my excuse, anyway. But, yeah, I owed the club one.

Since we’ve been in collaboration mode lately – co-hosting SNERHC with the Krausen Commandos, banding together with Brew Haven for the cider pressing, sharing the “CT Ghetto” at Homebrew Con with most of the CT clubs – I thought it would be good to invite members of M.A.S.H. to join us as well.

It was a small but lively meeting attended by members of both clubs and featuring a number of excellent beers and ciders. The nominal “Oktoberfest” theme was quickly forgotten once everyone realized that Mara had brought IPAs from Treehouse. Food was eaten. My brewing space was shown off. There was much discussion of RO water and brewing systems. (I’ve switched to an indoor, induction-fired, BIAB system for nearly all my beers now.) Etc.

In short, we had a good time. I guess I shouldn’t wait another 5 years before hosting again.

Tasting notes:

• New Word Cider, dry, sparkling. Pivo. Nose of apples, pears, and berries with some funk and leather. Quite tannic. Very drinkable. Would really pop with more carbonation. Cider Days juice with elderflower and tea. 38
• Cream Ale. Mark V. Sweet up front with a dry finish. Estery and fresh. Slight vegetal note blows off. Very drinkable. 39
• New World Cider, dry, still. Liam. Strawberry and papaya. Slightly solventy. Chlorophenol? (Andy makes that go away with a plastic bag.) Made with sweet mead yeast. 30
• New World Cider, dry, still. Liam. Brett and apples. Much more inviting. Very clear. Complex yet very drinkable. Made with Belgian ale yeast. 38
• American Strong Ale. Patrick. Toffee, dark fruit, caramel, licorice. Lots of burnt sugars. Balanced bitterness. Great for sipping. 38
• Trappist Dubbel. Pierre. Fruity, peppery, spicy nose with some sweetness and bubblegum. Fantastic head with lace. Malty and peppery but a tad too bitter. Maybe a little too dry. Very young. Will mellow. 39
• American Wild with Fruit. Patrick. Strong butyric acid aroma blows off leaving a surprisingly drinkable beer. Tart. Lots of tannin. 30
• Sour Imperial Belgian Quad with Zante Currants and Concord Grapes, 14.5% ABV. Andy T. Fruity, with lots of malt. Just a little tart. Brown sugar, molasses, and grapes. Super sweet with tons of fruit flavor. Can’t taste the alcohol. “3D” mouthfeel. 3 years old. 46 and it deserves every stinking point.

Pierre, it seems, is immune to heat. While the rest of us spent the summer hiding in the air-conditioning, avoiding large pots of boiling liquid, Pierre was brewing repeatedly in the hot sun. Does he not feel the heat? Does he not care?

One presumes, however, that even Pierre would object to setting his house on fire. That might be a little too hot.

So it was somewhat startling to find Pierre encouraging other YAHOOS (Jaime and Mara, to be precise) to show off their skills with flaming rope darts on his front lawn. I’ll be honest: I would not want fiery projectiles in flight near my house, or even my shrubbery. Pierre thought it would be fun.

In the end, no flames were lit. Mara thought it would be unwise and, since she is the only club member who actually owns rope darts that can be set alight, her good sense prevailed.

While the August meeting may have lacked dangerous fire tricks, it did not lack for excellent homebrew. Many great beers were judged. Tasting notes as best I can decipher:

• Hydromel “dry flowered” in the bottle with lavender, Paul. Not judged, just discussed. Nice herbal aroma but a bit flabby. Lacking florals. Needs to be repeated with better honey.
• Session NE IPA, Andrea and Dave. Aroma of melon and spice, a little dank, some DMS, bitter finish. Very drinkable. All Citra and Mosaic. 34
• Berliner Weisse, Mark. Strong aroma of parmesan and bleu cheese, which dissipated. Raw bread dough and cherries, tart, hoppy, somewhat under-carbed. Soured at 95F – should be a little warmer. 27
• Specialty IPA, Jaime. Herb and pineapple, tropical, somewhat too bitter, super hoppy, some vegetal notes. Contains oats. 33
• Dubbel, Pierre. Dark fruit and alcohol, spice, cedar, a little tart, somewhat harsh, not quite as drinkable as it should be. Only 2 weeks old. 35
• Pale ale, Mara. Sweet malt, DMS, butter, herbal hops, straw, a little bready. Definitely quaffable. Undercarbed. 34
• Cream ale, Paul. Corn, chlorine, subtle grain, canned veggies, tea. Balanced and fits style guidelines. Needs more bubbles. 37
• Blended kriek, Andy. Tart cherries, barnyard funk, solvents, earth, a little vinegar. Tastes more like a Flanders red. Briny finish. Needs more bubbles. Extremely drinkable. 35
• American IPA, Caysey. Tropical fruit, coconut, guava. Clean, clear, great head, balanced, super-drinkable. Sabro hops and pearl malt. 41
• Saison, the Huxfords. Fruity, slightly medicinal, coriander, raisins, pepper, clove. Would score higher as a tripel. Needs to age a little. 29
• Blonde ale, the Huxfords. Esters, pepper, grain husk, very dry finish, very drinkable. Was cleaner when young. 36
• Saison, Jaime. Citrus and spice. Very bright nose. Cloudy. Sweet up front with a super dry finish. Very drinkable. Needs more bubbles. Styrians, Saaz, and Citra. Made with kveik durint the heat wave. 40