As everyone knows, the most important homebrew competition of the year is our in-house, bare knuckles, no-holds-barred cage match for Best Underground Brewer Of The Year.
This the the one meeting each year where we abandon all pretense of collegiality and let our animal natures show. Winner gets Von’s spoon, his/her name on the ceremonial cup, and unlimited rights to talk trash about other members’ beers for the year.
This year’s competition was held at Clay Viands’ new house in Redding. A lovely place, with lots of room for this sort of thing. Clay was his usual consummate host, working the grill and pouring yumminess from his extensive cellar. A meeting at Clay’s place is always an amazing sensory experience.
Eight brewers competed this year, entering 14 beers and meads (half of which were Saisons). Bottles were obfuscated. Teams were made up. Judging commenced.
When all the noise died down and the blood was wiped off the walls, Andy Tipler stood alone, reigning supreme for another year with yet another outstanding English Barleywine. The spoon and the cup go back to his house and the rest of us lick our wounds and plot to unseat him next year.
Also in the Best-of-Show round: Mara Henecks with her American IPA, myself with a dry hydromel, and Andy Cox with an American Brown Ale.
Congrats to Andy T!
But don’t get complacent. We’ll be ready for you next year.
Homebrew Con (AKA the National Homebrewers Convention, AKA HBC) has been around a long time. The Underground Brewers have been around even longer. As far as we know, the club has never had an official presence at the convention. Until now….
The 2019 Homebrew Con was held in Providence, RI, practically in our backyard. From June 26 to June 29, hombrewers from all over the country gathered to learn, socialize, compete, and (of course) drink beer. Providence became, for that brief period, the homebrew capital of the world.
The HBC is rarely held anywhere near us. Most are held in the Midwest or on the West Coast. It had literally been decades since the last HBC in New England. So you can imagine our excitement on hearing that one would be happening just a short drive up I-95. A decision was quickly made: the club was going to be there, and we were going to show up in style.
What followed was a flurry of activity most unlike the normally-unfocused YAHOOS: an AirBnB was booked, a booth for Club Night was designed and fabricated, costumes were bought, beer was brewed. Hell, we even designed an entirely new logo to go on the booth decorations and costumes.
(Credit where due! Jaime Luna designed our awesome new logo, booth backdrop, and table skirt. Steve Victor and Caysey Welton put together the costumes and Caysey designed our beer menu. Pierre Margraff built our entire beer delivery system – 9 taps! Andy Tipler managed all the details of the housing, the kegs, the logistics, and the carpooling.)
The convention started, as it always does, with a day of BJCP exams and business meetings. The hot new exam on the block is for Cider Certification; only a few cider judges exist yet. Our own Steve (Pivo) Victor jumped in to take the exam and get certified. He will act as proctor when we administer the exam in February.
Most of the rest of use showed up later that day in a complex caravan of cars, kegs, costumes, and people, convening at a local watering hole for a few beers before retiring to the Airbnb. Once there, we had a few more beers. And meads. And ciders. You know how these things go.
Dead soldiers from night one.
Thursday’s dawn came far too early. But we had to saddle up. What are YAHOOS, first and foremost? Judges. And Thursday was the final round of the National Homebrew Competition. 4 or 5 of us were judging. A couple were stewarding. Our own Jim Link, Grand Master judge, was even invited to work the Best Of Show table. Game on!
Category judging at the Nationals.
Thursday night brought the official kickoff party featuring beer brewed by many local(ish) commercial breweries. As we roamed the aisles, we all thought the same thing: our beer is better. We’d all rather be back at the Airbnb, drinking our own homebrew. So, eventually, that’s where we went.
Friday was full of lectures and panels. Good stuff. Lots to learn and lots of people to meet. The lectures were generally excellent. But we were distracted. By mid-afternoon, we were all in the Club Night room, setting up our booth.
The lectures were anything but dry. We poured – and drank – beer or mead at most of them.Setting up the booth: getting the taps figured out.
And then, the moment we’d all been waiting for: Club Night. We were ready to pour our best for the other homebrewers.
Just before the hordes descended. (Not pictured: Robert Burger and Mara Henecks.)Our offerings.The hordes, demanding our libations as tribute.
Once more, we limped back to our Airbnb, there to rehash the glory of our booth and drink a few more beers. We were joined by Mara’s dad, about whom we’ve heard so much. Andy T and Pierre, however, went to bed early because…..
First thing Saturday morning, Andy and Pierre gave their lecture on techno brewing toys for cheapskates. The room was packed. The talk was VERY well-received. By all accounts, one of the highlights of HBC. Woot!
When your keg party is so epic that you need THREE refrigerated trailers to hold all the kegs!
After that, we broke down the booth and packed it in the cars, caught a few last lectures, had lunch (and a couple of more beers), and stumbled home. There were more parties going on, but we were done.
A wildly successful convention and a great showing by the club.
Time to start planning for next year in Nashville!
For our May meeting, we were once again hosted by one of our pro-brewer friends. In this case, it was Aspetuck Brew Labs who graciously provided space. Owner Peter Cowles was behind the bar, pouring his delicious beer, and also gave us a tour of the brewing area, answering our many nosy questions.
Aspetuck is part of Bridgeport, of course. Connecticut natives of a certain age, like me, grew up with a mental image of Bridgeport. Not a good one. There was even a song about it (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvvPsFTjPRM), released when I was in high school and played in heavy rotation on the New Haven radio stations for a while.
Can a brewery change the image of a city? I’m thinking maybe so. ABL is cozy, friendly, and makes great beer. Definitely a destination worth traveling to. Maybe it’s time to retire that song.
Peter provided the space. Zach provided the food and poured the entries. He handled both of these duties like an old pro despite the fact that this was his first time. I forgot to take pics of the spread (or of anything, oops), but nobody went home hungry.
Zach was faced with a happy problem which we’ve had at a number of our recent meetings: a zillion homebrews for judging. The club seems to be in high gear, with everyone brewing often and looking for feedback. We were awash in beers. Zach had it all organized. Never broke a sweat.
We had a number of new members as well, another happy trend of late. We’re never organized enough to get everyone’s name. All are welcome, nonetheless.
We also saw one of our longest-serving members, who hasn’t come to a meeting in years: Gregg Hero Glaser. Let’s hope he rejoins us on a regular basis.
Tasting notes:
Dark Mild, Eric: Dark sugars and molasses, fruity, coffee notes. “Wonderfully watery, just like it should be” (Andy T). Dry, tart finish. Low carbonation. To be served on beer engine at Homebrew Con. 34.
Ordinary Bitter, Andy T: Fuggles and sulfur, light malt. VERY bitter finish, almost astringent. Very dry. “I’ve just been to England and this is what they taste like there” (Andy T). 32.
Czech Pils, Caysey: Very fruity, phenolic, green apple, grassy, tannic. Very young. Needs time to clean up. 27.
Pilsner, Mara & Liam (Makehaven): Banana, green apple, butter, chlorophenols?, no hops. A bit sweet. Cloudy. Needs bubbles. 25.
NEIPA, Caysey: Grapefruit and pineapple and a million other tropical fruits. Super strong aroma. Smells sweet. Whiff of chamomile. Dry, bitter, slightly tannic. Drinkable. Needs bubbles. Session strength, 5.5%. 41.
Session IPA, Andy C: Resiny, piney, grassy. Hint of malt. Opalescent. Tannic and fruity. Needs bubbles. Nugget, citra, mosaic. 3.8%. 36.
German Lager, Andy C: Banana, green apple, butterscotch, somewhat medicinal. A bit sour. Dry and bitter. Needs bubbles. Stressed yeast? Starter was very old and a little funky. 26.
IPA, David: Clone of Pliny The Elder. Mint, menthol, SUPER bitter, malty, rich. Truly old school. Not scored.
American Amber, David & Andrea: Toffee, subtle hops, clean, inviting, drinkable, yummy. 41.
Coffee Chocolate Porter, David & Andrea: Lots and lots of coffee. Some roasty malt. Bitter finish. No chocolate. Hard to find the beer under the coffee. Needs bubbles. Dry-“hopped” with coffee beans. Chocolate in the boil for bitterness. 30.
Hoppy Kweik Farmhouse, Mara & Liam (Makehaven): Bandaid, grass, pine, green pepper. Cleaner flavor. Hoppy and bitter. Tannic. Needs bubbles. Drinkable. 36.
Tripel, Pierre: Clove and bubblegum. Candy sweetness. Traditional. Metallic, dry finish. Thin, but drinkable. 37.
Tripel, Pierre: Clove and bubblegum, citrus (lime). Sweetness. Pepper. Perfectly clear with a great head. A bit chalky and thin. 31.
Lemon-ginger Hydromel, Andy T: Fantastic nose, great mouthfeel, fizzy, enormous mousse-y head. Very drinkable. Not scored.
Raspberry Berliner Weisse, Liam: Tons of raspberry. No lactic acid on nose. Clean and tart. Berries overpower the beer. Beautifully pink and clear. Needs bubbles. Drinkable. 34.
English Cider (dry), Pivo: Tobacco and cloves. Clear. Tastes like apple pie. Dry and very drinkable. Soft tannins. Cider Days blend. 42.
New World Cider (medium dry, sparkling), Pivo: Lots of Brett – horse blanket, mussels, brine. Not quite enough apple. Flavor cleaner than aroma. Not scored.
Bochet Cyser, Jackson: Smoke, mushrooms. Boozy. Made with freeze-concentrated juice, Lapsang Suchong tea, peat smoke? Honey boiled for 25 minutes. 33.
Were there more? Probably. I began to lose track by the end. Sorry!
The Underground Brewers have been the recipients of massive amounts of support and love from area breweries and brewpubs lately. No fewer than five different breweries have offered to host our meetings this year, and a brewery that hasn’t even opened yet has offered to host SNERHC. It’s an understatement to say we are grateful. But we’ll say it anyway: Thank you!
Our April club meeting was held in the brewing area of Bad Sons Brewing in Derby. This is in a great old factory building near the center of town. A beautiful space with plenty of room for us.
Most of us arrived early enough to sample some of Bad Sons’ wares. No one was disappointed. They have an excellent line-up of fine brews. Hats off to the brewers.
Doing what we do.
We were excited to see several first-timers, all of whom brought excellent beers for judging. We certainly hope they’ll become regulars.
Andy Tipler provided the food and ran the meeting. He overdid it on the munchies, as usual. No one complained.
Over-hosting
Many excellent beers were judged. Notes:
Helles Export, Andy Cox. Strongly malty, some chlorophenols, not quite crisp enough, some banana esters. 27
English Brown, Zach. Roasty, with lots of caramel, toffee, coffee, and toast. Earthy hops. Dry finish. Could use a little more body. 40
Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter, Rich. Lots of peanut butter. Hints of mint. Some fusels, solvents, phenols. A touch or roast. 27
Imperial Milk Chocolate Stout, the Huxfords. Chocolate, roast, honey, sweet raisins. Boozy. A bit thin. Was brewed with cocoa nibs and lactose. A year old now. 33
Belgian Strong Golden, Zach. Bubblegum and banana. Spicy finish. Alcohol is well-hidden. Could use a touch more malt. Very drinkable. Made from Charter Oak competition wort. 39
American IPA, Zach. Tropical hops – pineapple, melon, sour banana. Not a lot of malt. Some hop astringency. Needs more bubbles. Made with 007 hop blend. 35
American IPA, ??? (sorry!). Piney. A touch of solvent. Crystal clear. More malt in flavor than in aroma. Lingering bitterness. Old school. 37
Gose, Mike. Floral and sweet in aroma. Tart and salty in flavor. Lemongrass. Fizzy and refreshing. Just freaking perfect. “Cheater” beer – Mike added lactic acid to sour it. Do we care? 44
Wild Fermentation IPA, Andy T. Dusty Brett. A little musty, cellar-y. Not a lot of hops, but some lemon. Dry and bitter. Made from just wheat and oat, no barley at all. 38
Our March 2019 meeting was not the first one hosted by Eric and Jessica Sforza and The Cutest Puppy On Four Legs ™. But it was the first hosted in The Love Shack, their renovated home officeparty room pub in the back yard. It will not be the last.
First, the space is simply awesome. Everyone (except the Sforzas) felt more than a twinge of envy surveying the wood paneling, 6-tap bar, timber-framed hearth, Vermont Castings wood stove, and comfy furniture. I’m sure there were a few discussions later that evening about transforming similar structures at other homes. But it would be very hard to equal what the Sforzas have done with that space.
The hosts pour their best. “Cozy” doesn’t begin to describe it.
Second, the bar is amazing. Beautiful reclaimed wood. Numerous taps. A beer engine. Tasting glasses. A glass rinser. Yeah, a real one. The amount of joy provided by that rinser was just a bit obscene. (We’re all going to look at Pierre a little differently from now on.)
Pierre having fun with the glass rinser.
Third, the food was over the top. Homemade sourdough. Many cheeses. And homemade cookies bearing the host’s own face. (For real.)
Eric in sugar and flour.
Fourth, the puppy. They don’t come any cuter.
The World’s Cutest Puppy ™.
And finally, the host’s own beer, mead, and cider. Which was all fantastic.
We dispensed with formal judging for this meeting and just sampled. There was a HUGE variety of entries across the range of beer, mead, and cider. Some commercial. Most homebrew. Almost all excellent. (My mead was a rare clunker.) Notes below.
So, an enormous “thank you” to the Sforzas! We will be back!
Tasting notes. I actually think I’m missing a few. I know I’m missing my own mead (which was bad anyway). And they were still pouring when I had to leave. But this is most of it:
Jaime’s Orange Blossom Mead. Still, semi-sweet, 9%. LOTS of citrus, good acid, slightly petillant, hint of vanilla. Young (3 months). Made with Wyeast cider yeast(?)
Eric’s Pyment. Still, dry, sack (18%). Made with 9lbs Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Left on skins for months. Pink/red, hazy, very floral, hint of vanilla, bone dry, a touch too tannic, some peppery alcohol. Could benefit from a little backsweetening.
Eric and Andy’s Acerglin (maple syrup mead). Still, standard strength. Made with maple sap and syrup. Blend of two fermentations. With vanilla and oak.
Pierre’s Traditional Mead. Still, sack. Wildflower honey. A bit boozy and solventy, some apple notes, a little fusel, good acid/tannin balance, crystal clear. 3 years old.
Pierre’s Cyser. Still, standard strength. NY juice and Costco honey. Hazy, sweet, tastes like plums and apples, tangy acid, balanced. 6 months old.
Mara’s Cider. Backyard pressing with natural yeast and Brett. From 2015. Super funky, very acidic, briny, bone dry.
Eric’s Cider. Beardsley juice from 2017. Placed at SNERHC. Caramelized apples, almost dry, petillant, a little thin.
Eric’s Cider. Beardsley juice from 2018. Just kegged. Hazy, note of walnuts, refreshing, just a hint of sweetness.
Jaime’s International Dark Lager. Dark brown, hazy, clean except for a slight vegetal note, very lager-y, super dry, quite roasty. Make with 3 year old Boho Lager yeast.
Pierre’s Saison. Made from Charter Oak wort and Affligem yeast. Kegged 3 days prior. Aroma of dill, no funk, some pepper, very dry finish, needs bubbles.
Eric’s US Blonde. Very grainy, clean, slightly hoppy, quite dry, refreshing, aromatic.
Gerry’s US Amber with Peach Extract. Extract beer. Smells of mint and nutmeg, light in color.
Eric’s Mint Chocolate Imperial Stout. Black, head never quits, smells and tastes exactly like Andes Mints in a glass. Made with Godiva powdered chocolate and mint tea leaves. Tea added when pitching yeast.
Eric’s Dark Mild. Served via beer engine. Dark brown, loose head, light body, low carbonation, very malty, floral, dry. Yum.
The Underground Brewers of CT and the Krausen Commandos of Northwest CT jointly hosted the 2017 Southern New England Regional Homebrew Competition at Two Roads Brewing in Stratford on October 15.
April brought our annual Cider meeting, hosted this year by Dr. Pivo (Steve Victor) and his lovely wife Sue at their house in New Haven.
We made some changes this year. No blind judging, for one thing. Everyone who brought things to share made a short presentation first and then we discussed our impressions. Huge success. We will definitely be offering this option in future meetings.
“Cider” usually connotes fermented apple juice, perhaps with some additives. We certainly had some of that. But we also had a number of other apple-derived entries: cyser (apple mead), calvados (apple brandy), and applejack (freeze-distilled cider). Some were homebrew and some were commercial. Some were fresh and some had been aged for years. In short, we were able to same an enormous range of apple-y drinks.
A particular standout was the hosts’ black currant cider. Fizzy, sweet-tart, and immensely refreshing, it came with stories of bottles blowing up during pasteurization. There were even pictures of Pivo’s protective gear. I will post if he will share copies.
Overall, a wonderful tour through the cider universe.
Meetings at Mara’s place are always exciting. Things run fairly normally upstairs, although “normal” for Mara usually involves an outstanding spread of munchies. But we always end up drifting down to the basement eventually. And things get very interesting in Mara’s basement.
Mara has built her own glycol-chilled fermenter. She has built a 3-tier brewing stand we all envy. She has an induction brewing set-up and a 4-tap kegerator. And she has a beer cellar surpassed only by Clay, to the best of my knowledge. It’s all kind of intimidating.
As usual, the March meeting ended with everyone in the basement, sampling from Mara’s extensive sour beer collection plus some truly excellent cider she had on tap. As I tore myself away, she was opening yet another hard-to-obtain gueuze to share.
This particular meeting, however, included some excitement upstairs as well. We previewed some changes which may become standard operating procedure during at least some of our meetings. We glimpsed the future, and it was good.
As most of you know, we spend most of our meetings blind-judging homebrews according to BJCP guidelines. There is much to recommend this: it refines our palates, improves our descriptive ability, prepares us for BJCP exams, and makes us better brewers. But it can be a little too serious, especially when there are many homebrews to judge in an evening.
At the March meeting, we supplemented this with a second option: “tell-taste-talk” (as coined by our own Dr. Pivo). At the brewer’s discretion, we do not judge the entry blind. Instead, the brewer gives a short presentation on what s/he was trying to produce and what went right or wrong. We taste the brew and make comments.
Why would we do this? Well, in my case, I brought a saison made to an old recipe but with new water. This was my first brew in my new house, where the water is completely different from the water in the old place. I knew the beer was bad. I wanted feedback on what people were tasting. I could present the beer and the problem and I got excellent suggestions for improvement.
Other brewers discussed their beers (or ciders) or allowed the blind judging to proceed as normal.
Did this work? Yes! Fantastically. It will probably become standard procedure going forward.
Andy took pictures below. Tasting notes at the end.
Our notes from the February meeting at Clay’s house come from Bugle Editor Emeritus Andrew Tipler (thanks, Andy!):
This was a small exclusive meeting of the most important Yahoo members. We had 10 homebrews to judge including 4 ciders. There were some good commercial beers to try, too – including a big bottle of Cantillon gueuze generously shared by Mara.
Judging took place at a leisurely pace. I don’t think we had a beer we didn’t like all evening. Everyone brought their smart phones to show off to Gerry but he wasn’t there to see them.
Big thanks to Clay (and his missus) for putting up with us and giving us a grand tour of his brewery and beer museum in his basement.
Vacations can be restorative. After a couple of months of reduced activity, the club was back in full vigor this month. Almost too full.
Our first meeting of 2017, hosted by Jaime Luna, his lovely wife, Laura, and their two dogs, was so well attended, and featured so many brews to judge, that we nearly didn’t get through them all. It helped that nearly all the brews were very good and a few were truly excellent. We were not slogging through a flight of mediocrities. Jaime’s spread of chili and munchies fortified us as well.
There are pictures. I know there are. But I don’t have them. I’ll post them when I get them. In the meantime, here are the tasting notes:
