Author: Matt

If you haven’t had the chance to get to Foolproof Brewing in Bridgeport, you are missing out. The space is absolutely gorgeous (and HUGE!), and we were welcomed in with open arms. Incredible beers, along with a cocktail program that looks outstanding and incorporates a number of their beers… it’s well worth a stop in if you haven’t experienced it yet. Our hosts gave us an in-depth tour of the facilities, including their larger brewing system that is about to get up and running. It was a wonderful meeting, and Foolproof is a brewery we’ll be back to time and time again.

Prior to beer judging, we got an amazing presentation on oxidation from our Education Guru, Andy Tipler. He brought an American Barleywine as a “fault beer” to share with the club, and to talk through what causes, and how to deal with, oxidation in your beers. Oxidation (T-2-nonenal) often comes through as a cardboard or wet newspaper quality. It can be detected at 0.035-0.100 ug/L, which is as small as 2 drops in an olympic sized swimming pool!

Oxidation can come from hops or malt. From malt, hot side oxidation can occur during the mash or on transfer to the kettle, while hop oxidation often occurs from dry hopping with air-filled hops (that’s why your IPAs don’t keep!). Vitamin C (80ppm) and sulfites (10ppm) can help, as can bottle or keg conditioning your beers.

Judged Beers

11B – Best Bitter – Andy T. (27/50)

Aroma 5/12 | Appearance 3/3 | Flavor 10/20 | Mouthfeel 4/5 | Overall 5/10

Green apple, diacetyl… some kind of bubblegum sweetness. Light grainy. Beautiful – for those who had earlier pours. Great bubbles. Spicy/rye… phenolic, fruity in a green apple bubblegum way. Very tannic finish, but there’s some malt presentation there. Fruit Stripe gum. Higher carb than expected even for a bottle conditioned example. Andy T. says – tasted good out of the keg, but it was bottle conditioned… just something went wrong.

C1B – Heirloom Cider (Beardsley 2024) – Pierre (38/50)

Appearance 6/6 | Bouquet/Aroma 7/10 | Flavor 18/24 | Overall 7/10

Light vinegar, soy/umami, baked apple… pie spices… leathery, “in a good way” – very pretty, clear on the initial pours – quite tart, such a nice puckering sour apple quality. Apple flavor does carry through. “We would drink a lot of this”, flavor is quite nice! Very drinkable.

Alternative Grain Beer (Wheatwine + Rye) – Santi (42/50)

Aroma 11/12 | Appearance 3/3 | Flavor 16/20 | Mouthfeel 4/5 | Overall 8/10

Really perfume-y, copper pennies, light marshmallow and molasses… deep dark fruit jam… some dried apricot, lemon zest and pear… some wheatwine characteristics… bettter than a wheatwine or ryewine. Super complex. Andy C says “appearance = yes” Pierre says it has “1 thicc leg.” Light haze. Can taste the alcohol… rye comes through in the finish. Full bodied, but carbonation is barely there.. which kind of works… but we could use a bubble or two. For 9% it’s really drinkable. 30% rye, 50% wheat.

17A – British Strong Ale – Andy C. (44/50)

Aroma 10/12 | Appearance 3/3 | Flavor 18/20 | Mouthfeel 4/5 | Overall 9/10

Caramel, toffee, rich malt complexity, dried fruit… light earthy hops. Santi keeps talking about wax. Beautiful, thin tight bubbles. Wonderful light dry finish, rich malty character. Luxardo cherries, deeply complex. Layers of caramel. Could maybe use a touch of a longer finish… touch. Paul says his mouth can feel it. A touch of astringency/tannic quality on the finish. And absolutely wonderful beer. This one is advancing to Nationals!

Belgian Honey Quad – not scored/judged!

16% ABV is so well hidden here. Lemon, toffee… hint of sweet cocoa. Could have a touch more of a spicy phenolic character. Just absolutely gorgeous beer. Rich ruby, brilliant clarity on initial pours.

Our March meeting was hosted by Pat Sullivan at his incredible home in Trumbull. Sully is an incredible host, and we were treated to a beautiful spread of food, including corned beef burnt ends that were absolutely delicious. The meeting was very well attended, and the beers were flowing throughout the evening. Eventually we settled in for the judging portion of the meeting – notes are included below.

11A – Bitter – Cam L. (38/50)

Aroma 8/12 | Appearance 3/3 | Flavor 15/20 | Mouthfeel 5/5 | Overall 7/10

Slight caramel, slight grainy note. Perhaps a light corn-y quality? Touch of sulphur. Light floral hop. Bubbles, long lasting head. Pale, clear. Upper end of bitterness, quite dry. Lacking a little bit of sweetness/malt support. Quite easy to drink. Good carbonation. Good body. 

15A – Irish Red – Dave K. (25/50)

Aroma 5/12 | Appearance 2/3 | Flavor 10/20 | Mouthfeel 3/5 | Overall 5/10

Caramel, toasty… but quite a bit of a solvent note to it (nail polish remover). A touch of potato famine. Not clear, but the color is beautiful. Caramel, bitter… minerality on the finish. Nice light toast at first – really nice . Solvent character carries through to flavor. Bitterness lingers. Not very smooth. hits a lot of the right notes, but the solvent + minerality impacts the drinkability. 

5D – German Pils – Mike D. (34/50)

Aroma 10/12 | Appearance 3/3 | Flavor 12/20 | Mouthfeel 3/5 | Overall 6/10

Light dry cracker, touch of honey, citrus-floral hop presence… could use a little more noble hop aroma maybe? Saaz is the dwarf planet of noble hops… like Pluto (thanks Andy!). Straw, quite clear. Very clean fermentation. Astringency? A bit aggressive. Good clean malt presentation – honey wheat bread without being sweet. Good hop presentation. Astringency definitely impacts flavor. Flinty… can we detect that? What is flinty? Astringency impacts it here too. Still quite tasty. Could be a water thing. 

11B – Best Bitter – Walter (38/50)

Aroma 9/12 | Appearance 3/3 | Flavor 15/20 | Mouthfeel 3/5 | Overall 8/10

Toasty, bready. Some sulphur, but the good British kind, not that bad stuff. Light caramel/marmalade. Very British. Quite proper. Beautiful clarity. Lovely. Dry and bitter (but not overly so), but really nice malt carrying it through. Impression of sweetness, but not a sweet beer. Toffee. Nice layers of flavor. Perhaps a touch of acidity as it warms? Bitterness and sweetness run in parallel, apparently (Santi). Quite full bodied, a bit more than medium. Might be a bit too much of a beer for a best bitter. Might be better served as an ESB.

4B – Maibock – Jim L. (39/50)

Aroma 7/12 | Appearance 3/3 | Flavor 16/20 | Mouthfeel 5/5 | Overall 8/10

Love the aroma. Hops are hiding a bit of the malt presentation. A little boozy, more than just light. Gets stronger as it warms. Tea-like character. Honey-like sweetness. Gorgeous beer. Brilliantly clear. A lot going on. Rich malt, very bready. Well-attenuated, quite drinkable. Not too sweet, but gives a bit of that impression. Good carbonation, light alcohol. Really great. Hard to find places to give it to improve. Try one fewer hop pellet? – Santi

6A – Marzen – Mike D. (43/50)

Aroma 9/12 | Appearance 3/3 | Flavor 18/20 | Mouthfeel 4/5 | Overall 9/10

Smells very good. Really nice toasty malt. There’s something there that’s not malt… solvent? Some nice maliard character. Deep red. Beautiful. We like the flavor a lot. Rich malt. Paul could drink a shit load of this. Easy to drink. Sweetness doesn’t linger. Maybe the slightly bite way back in the finish. Just a beautiful beer. Great mouthfeel.

6C – Bock – Jim L. (44/50)

Aroma 10/12 | Appearance 3/3 | Flavor 17/20 | Mouthfeel 5/5 | Overall 9/10

Raisin/prune/dates… lightly supporting the malt. No real hop presence. A light touch of alcohol. Great bready malt profile. Looks like beer. Gorgeous clarity. Quiet sweet, more of the sweet dark fruits. Maybe a touch of a belgian character? Toffee, toasted bread. Could it use more malt complexity? Doesn’t finish sweet… but perhaps could be a bit more attenuated? Finish makes it really drinkable. Quiet smooth. No astringency.

C1B – Beardsley 2024 – Steve V. (33/50)

Appearance 6/6 | Bouquet/Aroma 6/10 | Flavor 14/24 | Overall 7/10

Good Apple quality… but there’s an ACV character. Not clean here… smells more like an English cider? Apple skin for sure. Fresh cut apple. Could be some oxidation, leading to some acetic acid perhaps? A little nail polish? Sharp. Slightly cloudy appearance. There’s something just weird about the fermentation (Steve V). Pleasant tartness. Not clean. Something wild here. Good tannins. Apple skins. Apple flavor is quite nice. It’s nice – but more English than a clean heirloom cider. Acidity is quite soft… MFL? Would score it a lot differently (higher!) if it was entered as an English. Quite drinkable.

28C – Apricot Sour – Andy T. (43/50)

Aroma 10/12 | Appearance 3/3 | Flavor 16/20 | Mouthfeel 5/5 | Overall 8/10

Intense aroma. Tons of fruit, some pit/spicy/cinnamon/clove notes. Definitely alcohol present. Some solvent, perhaps. Could be the alcohol? Legitimate to ask where’s the beer? Holy apricot. Dried and fresh. Sour! Dry! The apricot just shines here. A real food beer. Quite a lot going on. Hard to judge! Is it too much? It’s a style allowed to have no bubbles, much to the chagrin of Paul H. 

(This post comes courtesy of Pat Sullivan – thanks for taking the notes!)

February’s meeting kicked off with a tour of MakeHaven, led by Mara. The space is packed with tools for printmaking, embroidery, laser printing, pottery, ham radio, woodworking, jewelry, metalworking, and a compact but functional brewery.

The brewery setup is a single-vessel Spike system with a 14-gallon conical fermenter. Glycol chilling comes from a converted AC unit, and beer is served via two kegs hidden inside a video gaming cabinet. Mara & Liam are expanding the cabinet to increase compact storage while maintaining easy access for small-batch brewing.

After the tour, we moved upstairs for the tasting and judging portion.

Judged Beers

While we focused on aroma, flavor, and balance… there may or may not have been a faint note of fried chicken in the air.

11B – Best Bitter – Andy (40/50)

Aroma 10/12 | Appearance 3/3 | Flavor 15/20 | Mouthfeel 4/5 | Overall 8/10

A very drinkable, well-executed Best Bitter with balanced malt and hops and a pleasant toffee note. Clean, balanced, and solidly within style — an enjoyable example of the classic English pub ale.

23C – Oud Bruin – Pierre (35/50)

Aroma 11/12 | Appearance 3/3 | Flavor 12/20 | Mouthfeel 3/5 | Overall 6/10

Aroma showed layered sour character with notes of raisin, sherry, cherry, and a subtle peppery nuance. Fine bubbles with light tan lacing. The aroma suggested more acidity than was present in the flavor, indicating a beer that is likely still developing. Slightly young and not yet fully integrated, but showing promising complexity. With additional aging, this beer could evolve nicely.

26B – Belgian Dubbel – Michael (37/50)

Aroma 11/12 | Appearance 3/3 | Flavor 14/20 | Mouthfeel 3/5 | Overall 6/10

Approximately three years old, with honeyed malt character and nutty notes along with a gentle warming alcohol presence. Flavor leaned slightly sweet with lingering malt richness. Additional phenolic character and slightly higher carbonation could help further lift the profile and enhance the mouthfeel.

20C – Imperial Stout – Andrew (28.5/50)

Aroma 6/12 | Appearance 2/3 | Flavor 12.5/20 | Mouthfeel 2/5 | Overall 6/10

Aroma featured dark chocolate with fruity notes reminiscent of cherry and blueberry. As the beer warmed, alcohol became more prominent with a slight solvent edge. Flavor leaned somewhat sweet (almost banana), and mouthfeel was lighter than typical for the style. Brewer noted fermentation began warmer than intended, which likely influenced the final profile.

2A – Italian Pilsner – Pierre (38/50)

Aroma 9/12 | Appearance 3/3 | Flavor 15/20 | Mouthfeel 4/5 | Overall 7/10

Light floral hop aroma with a faint corn note that became slightly more noticeable over time. Golden yellow appearance with fine bubbles and excellent clarity. Flavor balanced hop character with a touch of corn sweetness, with bitterness slightly elevated. Very drinkable and visually excellent. Note: the beer was served somewhat warm; consensus was that at a colder serving temperature it would likely present an even crisper profile and could score even higher.

Coffee Blossom Hydromel / Pétillant Mead – Liam & Mara (41/50)

Aroma 9/10 | Appearance 4/6 | Flavor 20/24 | Overall 8/10

Honey-forward with floral and fruity aromatics. Excellent balance of sweetness, tannin, and acidity — per Andy T. the classic “golden triangle.” Fermented with winemaker yeast D117 in a keg; beautifully structured and highly drinkable.

Smoked IPA – Mike D. (Not officially Judged)

Mike shared his experimental beer which he poured at the 12% Competiton. Brewed with beechwood smoked malt. Faint smoky aroma with a golden/light amber color. Smoke-forward flavor balanced by lingering bitterness — a fun and unique beer. Would pair especially well with chili or other hearty dishes.

Chest Freezer Bonus Round 🍻

After the meeting several stayed behind for a sampling a variety of MakeHaven creations from the chest freezer — including ciders, kombucha, sour ales, IPAs, and other house experiments. A relaxed and fun tasting session in the storage area – sitting on boxes or leaning up against storage racks. A blast!

Well… we can pretend this post was actually posted back in October, when it should have been. The fall has been a whirlwind, but as always, it’s important to capture these club memories. Our October meeting, just week and change before SNERHC (that post is coming too, I promise), served as an important time to gather, connect, and recalibrate our judging palates for the 35th Annual SNERHC.

Our meeting was hosted by Pierre (and Kim!) in Trumbull. The meeting was quite well attended, and we had plenty of beers to sample as we enjoyed some food and lively conversation. Tasting notes from the beers are below… stick around until the end for a sampling of our new “emoji based scoring system” we tried out on Pierre’s cider!

Tasting Notes:

• Irish Stout (15B): Pat S. – coffee, cocoa powder, light creaminess. A lot more nose than Guinness. A touch ashy. Looks beautiful. Rich roasted malts. Very dry on the finish – just perfect. Didn’t try to be Guinness. A bit minerally, fairly sharp. Roastiness is quite high. A touch over carbonated, missing some of that smoothness. Some astringency, but that’s to be expected. A damn good beer.
  10/3/16/3/8 – 40
• International Pale Lager (2A): Santi – corn, slight grainy sweetness, but not a ton of . A touch of wine-like character than blew off. Med herbal hops. A little hoppy for the style? Inoffensive. Quite clean. White grape-y. Maybe a little much for the style for the hops and the corn. Wonderful appearance. Quickly dissipating head. Crisp dry finish. Lightly white grape upfront, but a grainy, neutral bready finish. Hint of bubblegum. Perhaps not quite as clean as you’d want. Very drinkable. Could use bubbles… 
  8/3/15/3/7 – 36 – it definitely needs bubbles. No corn, all pilsner malt. Liberty hops. Paul suggests maybe entering it as a Pre-Prohibition lager.
• International Pale Lager (2A): Pierre and Joe – very light aroma, touch of melon, plum… smells a bit like sake. Lightly sweet. Has a lager smell. Lightly golden. Could be clearer. Needs time. Thin wispy head. Finish is a bit harsh right now, could age out. A little grassy… hop bite is a bit aggressive. Nice malt character, rice coming through. Needs more bubbles and is a little full. 
  10/3/13/4/7 – 37 – 10# of jasmine rice 14# of malt
• Schwarzbier (8B): Santi – smells lovely. Lightly minerally. Getting that touch of caramel. Subtle chocolate. Roast is slightly too high there. Ruby, mahogany. Clear. Great head. Toasted bread, smoother and lower roast character than the aroma. Very dry finish but gives a light impression of sweetness on the finish. Really spot on. Maybe a touch of astringency. Could use a bubble. Lightly creamy.
  9/3/17/4/7
• Honeydew Mead (Traditional Mead – M1B): Andy T. – lots of alcohol on the nose. Honey presentation is great. Gorgeously clear. Great legs. “There’s like 1 bubble in there.” – Santi. So, technically not still. Not boozy at all, only a little on the finish as a warmth, which is surprising given the aroma. Umami. Walnut. This is really nice.
  7/6/21/8 – 42
• New World Cider (C1A): Steve V. – dry, sparkling – very pleasant apple-y nose. Light celery. Green apple. Very crisp smelling. Impression of spiciness. Crystal clear. A bit watery. Very light. More tannic than anticipated given the aroma. Would expect a little more acidity. Quite dry on the finish. “You could drink this in gallons.” – Andy T. Disappears from the glass. Want a little more flavor given the 
  10/6/20/7 – 43 – 3/4 Baldwin, 1/4 Northern Spy – from an orchard in Western Mass.

Post-Chili Cider

• New World Cider (C1A): Pierre – semi-sweet, petilant – great apple aroma. Crisp, a little bit of funk, a light red apple. Friendly wild yeast. Complex – moreso than you’d usually expect. Maybe a bit more like an English cider? A touch hazy/cloudy. Tastes cleaner than it smells. Lots of good robust apple flavor. Sweet up front, with a beautiful finish. It’s pretty sweet in the flavor… but the finish isn’t sweet.
  Numerical Scoring: 8/4/21/8 – 41 (2024 Beardsley with a touch of fresh cider from this year)
  Emoji-based Scoring: 🐴/💨/🪵🐿️🍎/😌

Guilford might be a little bit further of a hike than our club often goes, but Paul H. hosting and the promise of some Polish mead was more than enough to entice the crew to head out east and enjoy the generous hospitality and incredible libations offered. The meeting was well attended, and we all enjoyed some excellent beers, hop water (courtesy of Andy C.!), and food before kicking off the meeting in earnest.

Paul was gracious enough to share 4 different Polish meads with the club that he had shipped back from Poland on his recent trip overseas. His presentation is available on our Discord channel – it’s well worth checking out! Meads are certainly not in my wheelhouse, and I learned a ton during his presentation. Polish meads are a distinct style, where honey is always the most prominent flavor – any fruit or spices will have a light touch. The residual sugar content is balanced by alcohol, rather than acid or tannins, and oxidation is common (and welcome!) in sweeter styles. We tried one of each of the different strengths – with my personal favorite being the Dwójniak.

Following a few pours of mead and the excellent presentation, we continued on to our traditional tasting portion of the evening. Notes are below. Again, a huge thanks to Paul and Kathi for hosting and sharing their home and meads!

Tasting Notes:

• Czech Premium Pale Lager (3B): Santi – extremely subtle, biscuity, a touch of honey, crackers. Not very much hops… maybe a little herbal? Geranium as it warms – sweet floral. Freshly picked corn. Could have more head… could be a little clearer. There’s a bit of a sharp hop bite, harsh bitterness. Peppery. Malt character is there, very crackery. Bitterness is pretty aggressive. We thought it needed more bubbles, but we were wrong. A nice beer, but a bit out of the style, and the bitterness comes across harsh.
  7/2/12/5/5 = 31 – Totally agree with all the comments. Used all Saaz that is low AA (5oz 5gal) and it was a lot of hop matter to boil. “That’s what you get when you boil the shit out of hops”
• German Pils (5D): Mara – this is lovely – so floral. Not much malt. Light honey-cracker malt. Light cucumber. Could use a touch more pils malt character. Could be a little clearer, could use more head. Firm, clean bitterness without being harsh. Invites another sip quickly. Very dry. Maybe a touch of cardboard. Could use at least one more bubble… a little astringency. Really nice beer. I would pay for a pint of that – Paul.
  10/2/16/3/8 = 39 – All Thrall Pils
• Vienna Lager (7A): Santi – full marks on appearance. Just a stunning beer. Okay, back to aroma. Like sticking your nose in a bag of Vienna malt. Toasty. Bready. Super clean. I want to jump into the glass. What would you want different? Wow. Amazing flavor – great balance between the malt and hops. A small touch of astringency in the finish. Not a soft finish. Could be a water profile thing – could maybe be a high sulfate level? Maybe a grain husk-y quality.
  12/3/15/4/8 = 42
• Marzen (6A): Santi – again, gorgeous. Drinking with our eyes first. A good amount sulphur that’s dissipated. Some barnyard/hay. Toasty, crusty bread. Honeydew melon? A hint of honey. Could be that the fermentation could be a little more clean. Flavor is a lot of crusty bread, a hint of maybe burnt bread… molasses? New Haven style bread. It has some real character. Maybe a touch of smoke? It’s certainly not boring or un-interesting. Missing some of that clean fermentation character. A little tiny bit astringent.
  8/3/13/4/7 = 35
• New World Cider (C1A): Pat – looks gorgeous, could be a tad clearer. I smell apples. Full of apples, a little floral. There’s a little alcohol there. A little peppery, but pretty clean. Very drinkable. The alcohol is a little present. A little more sweetness could balance it out a bit more? Good acid. Dryness lingers, makes us want to drink more. Has a wine-like character. Just a really nice cider.
  6/9/20/8 = 43 – Beardsley 2024 w/ yeast added
• Cyser (M2A): Pat – needs some clarity – it’s almost a hazy white. Aroma is very subtle – but there’s a light apple, a touch of grapefruit pith. A little lemon. Some wet papery notes. No honey at all in the aroma. Could be good with some herbal additions. Flavor is quite watery, with some astringency. There’s a salty quality to it, too. Some apple-like character, but nothing is strong here. A bit bland. 3/6/12/5 = 26 – Only 2# of honey added – lots of comments about it being just a cider, wouldn’t enter as a cyser
• Mead w/ Red Currant: Andy T. – lots of legs, fucking gorgeous. Very earthy. Alcohol is readily apparent – not harsh. Deep berry, tart, not juicy. Very layered. Tart – it’s got a great bite. There’s a vegetal, almost green and stemy… broccoli rabe? Currents are super present… almost overtaking the honey, but it’s still there. Vermouthy… there’s a bitterness to it. Would like some more honey flavor. It’s very drinkable, especially given the alcohol.
  6/9/18/8 = 41 – 6 years old!
• Mead w/ Buckwheat Honey and Black Currents: Lyn – BLACK… purple and mahogany hues around the edges. Clear. Not noticing much in terms of legs. Aroma is pretty good. Molasses. Coffee. Barnyard. Feels like the buckwheat is coming through well. The fruitiness of the currents are present. Alcohol is noticeable but not dominant or offensive. Warming. T.A.R.T. Currants are making themselves known. Very dry, out of balance there – aroma gave an expectation of some sweetness. This would go really well with food – savory. Pomegranate molasses. A controversial one – especially given the difference between the aroma and flavor!
  6/10/15/7 = 38

This post comes to us from Santi, who offered to draft a blog covering our April meeting, which I was not able to attend.

Our July meeting – coming right on the heels of our club’s trip to Vermont, was graciously hosted by Andy T. at his home in Trumbull. Given recent conversations within the club around different fermentables, Andy put together and conducted a presentation on different sugars, with a focus on brewing of course. He went through slides that analyzed the chemistry of these sugars, their diferences in perceived sweetness, fermentability and other related topics. This was met with much interaction and discussion about mashing techniques and wort composition, which is to be another educational moment down the line.

At the end of the slides, Andy had prepared solutions of equal concentration for a variety of different sugars for us to taste and compare their sweetness and flavors. (Author’s Note: I am deeply disappointed to have missed this presentation – and I certainly can’t wait to pick Andy’s brain, and the brains of those who attended the meeting!)

It was the perfect finish to a fantastic educational segment outside on a gorgeous summer night. Everyone was so wrapped up in the presentation that the only thing we’re truly missing is pictures from the event to capture all the new learning!

As part of the continued 50th Anniversary Celebrations, a handful of the Underground Brewers took the trek up to the Northeast Kingdom in Vermont, for a visit to Hill Farmstead Brewery and a day on Seymour Lake, courtesy of Andy and Jacqueline Cox!

On Friday, Hill Farmstead was gracious enough to offer a space for us to gather and enjoy their fantastic beers. There were plenty of lagers poured, including their fantastic 15th Anniversary Festbier, and more than a few bottles opened as well. A particular highlight and topic of conversation was the fantastic hop water, No Bad Parts, brewed by Hill Farmstead. Lightly fermented, and featuring lime juice and Strata hops, this was a huge hit with the club, and has led to more than a few attempts at creating a copycat hop water!

Saturday was spent relaxing on the lake, where we shared excellent food, beers, and naps (see pictures below). Some of us even took advantage of the lake for some kayaking, canoeing, and fishing! A day by the lake was exactly the recovery we all needed after the hours spent at Hill Farmstead. While there are a few pictures to document the days we spent up in Vermont, for the most part we were simply enjoying each other’s company, which seems like a perfect way to continue our anniversary celebration. It certainly will not be the last time the Underground Brewers make their way up to northern Vermont!

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!