Month: June 2025

May didn’t have a typical “monthly meeting” – instead, we gathered to celebrate one of our own. Andy Cox won this year’s Twelve Percent Beer Project homebrewing competition and with that, the right to brew his beer on their system! Andy’s Essential Vienna took home the win in a crowded field of excellent beers – and he generously shared his recipe on our club’s Discord channel!

A few months after claiming the title, Andy got the chance to brew his beer at Twelve Percent – and on Friday, May 23 we got together to celebrate and try out the beer – which was absolutely fantastic (although I may have a bias towards the homebrewed batch). The release party was even better – with friends and family coming together to enjoy a great beer and celebrate the brewing accomplishments of an even better person. Cheers, Andy! Here’s to hoping you can retain the title at this year’s competition!

Well, it wouldn’t be an Underground Brewers gathering in 2025 without a little (or a lot!) of decoction going down! I almost titled this post “99 Bottles and 99 Decoctions” – because that’s certainly what the day felt like. We got an early start, with brewing underway a little after 8 AM. That is also when the bottles started getting opened. What began with a bottle of 2017 CBS from Founders Brewing led to many many more being opened. Some were unexpectedly outstanding for their age – like the 2013 Bourbon County Coffee Stout – while others were… less than stellar. It was a great day filled with food, beer, and brewing! In all, we opened more than 50 bottles of beer – something that definitely has to be done again to help me clear out more from the garage! Many pictures are included below – at least as much as we were able to document throughout the day.

Pierre & Andy (with the help of Beth!) brewed up a 7(!!!) decoction grisette that may or may not have reached a full boil as the day progressed, while Matt and Santi brewed a take on the Underground Brewers Golden Anniversary Ale using Nugget and Victoria hops from Argentina!

If you’re interested in trying out our take on the 50th Anniversary recipe (appropriately named Dorado Anniversary Ale), it will be pouring at our 50th Anniversary Party on June 20!

I am incredibly grateful for everyone who came, hung out, and brought things to share. I can’t wait for the next one – hopefully this fall. Group brews and big bottle opening sessions are the best – thanks again to everyone for coming to hang out!