The Brewer`s Bugle - Underground Brewers of Connecticut

The Brewer’s Bugle
Newsletter of the Underground Brewers Club of Connecticut
YAHOOS (Yankee Association of Homebrewers Objecting to Organized Societies)
February 2007
(Ain’t no mean-spirited people here)
Volume 21, No. 2
Stouts, Porters & Brown Ales
Wednesday, February 20, 7:30 pm
Chickenman’s Chicken Ranch
43 Stoddard Pl, Beacon Falls CT, 888-4591
Directions: Directions: From points South of Derby: Route 8 North. Get off at Exit 22 (not exit 21) Bank St. Left off ramp
and then left again onto Route 67 North/West. Go past light at Stop and Shop then right at next light onto Old Drive. Bear
right up steep hill onto Rimmon Road. Proceed to top of hill then turn Right onto Jane St. Left or right onto Stoddard Place.
Go around the circle and park near 43 Stoddard.
From Southbury or points West on 84: 84 East to Exit 15 - Route 67 South. At light at end of exit turn right onto 67 South/
East. Follow through Oxford. Turn left at Tommy K’s video onto West St. Follow West St through one stop sign to the end.
Right onto Rimmon Hill Rd. Next Left onto Jane St. Left or right onto Stoddard Place. Go around the circle and park near
43 Stoddard.
From Waterbury and points North: Route 8 South. Exit 22 in Seymour. Right at exit light onto Rt 67 North/West. Follow
directions above.
If Dr. Pivo is smiling so broadly, it must be a great meeting
Darvon’s Rackings
POETRY CORNER
The YAHOOS Discussion Group
Club meetings are cordial and filled with good cheer,
Discussions are cogent and range far and near;
IBM versus Mac,
Or the war in Iraq,
The focus, I fear, is just seldom on beer.
THE YAHOOS DISCUSSION GROUP
The lovely verse above addresses a major problem for the person — usually me — assigned to take notes at club meetings. Most of the
time at meetings the YAHOOS present are involved in conversations that rarely deal with beer and almost never with the brew under
consideration. It is very difficult to get anyone to focus on rating the beer at hand. This is not all bad — it just means that we all enjoy
each other’s company and share wide-ranging interests. Perhaps we don’t have enough time together to enjoy each other’s company
in open-ended conversation, as we do at the summer picnics. Perhaps we should have occasional meetings at which no beers are rated.
Perhaps we should take pub crawls with a rented van with a designated driver — Sparky comes to mind. Something to think about.
ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATION
Academy Award nominations were announced this past week. However, the awards committee has just announced an additional nomination for Best Actress in a Supportive Role — Henrietta Lachman. The most recent YAHOOS meeting was held
at the Lachman manse on Apple Tree Lane. Obviously, Nessie, in agreeing to host the session, had overlooked the fact that
January 16th also happened to be the Lachman’s forty-fifth wedding anniversary. What should have been a romantic evening
of candlelight and fine wine in a gourmet restaurant was instead a raucous assembly of noisy, questionable characters, humor
of questionable taste and ravenous destruction of the lovely spread set out. Through it all, Henrietta was serene, beatific and
beautiful (more lovely than in her wedding photo, which was on display). Surely, the best acting performance of the year, worthy
of the highest possible award. Incidentally, and perhaps of no significance, EX and I were also wedded for forty-three years.
February 2007
The Brewer’s Bugle
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February 2007
The Brewer’s Bugle
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January Meeting Results
January 16, 2007
STYLE
BREWER
BRAND
Host: Nessie & Henrietta
NOSE
LOOKS
TASTE
BODY
OVERALL
TOTAL
(12)
(3)
(20)
(5)
(10)
(50)
COMMENTS
1
Spiced Mead
Hazel
40
Honey, tart, heather, pepper, clean, mid-sweet, “Sweetness of flowers”
(Pivo), sparkling. Private honey source in East Lyme. OG 1.091, 12.5 %
ABV. Did he reveal the spices?
2
Sparkling Cider
Nemo
40
Fresh apples, tart, very spritzy, refreshing, very clean. Great!
2006 Beardsley apples. Forbidden Fruit yeast.
3
B.J.Machete Ale
AKA Old Kentucky
Mik & Darvon
8
3
14
4
8
37
“Smokey” (Chicken), “Something going on (as in phenols)” Coq2, “Wet
wood” Haystack, alcohol, crème brulée (Chickenman). Tastes better than
it smells. Famous 2006 stuck mash.
4
Chocolate Oatmeal
Stout
Nemo
8
3
13
3
7
34
“I like, give me more” (Dubblecoque), “I taste gypsum” (Count), “More
roast” (Hazel), dryer finish than expected for this style, and light for
style.
5
Imperial Stout
Haystack
9
3
15
4
8
39
“Roasted coffee” (Mik), “Lactic nose”, (Jim), smooth, wrinkley fruit, complex, not cloying, “Nice roast/hop balance” (Jim)
OG 1.094. BHBofE.
6
Doppelbock
Salvator
35
Color a little light, “Looks like a Salvator” (Somebody), “More of a drinking beer than an Optimator” (Jim), “Doppelbock light” (Hazel)
7
Winter Ale
Samuel Smith Winter
Warmer
32
“Winter diacetyl ale” (Chickenman), “English Winter Ale” (Pivo), “Dusty
aroma (Hero), “Non-hop bitterness” (Haystack), not particularly hoppy, “I
kinda like it” (Conti)
8
Belgian Chocolate Ale
Ommegang
28
“Burnt rubber, like German army retreating from the Battle of the Bulge”
(Hero), lacking Belgian character, roasty, chocolate.
9
Scotch Ale
McEwans
25
Plain, grainy nose, vegetables, “Acetic acid” (Count), “Diacetyl” (Mik), no
maltiness, oxidized. A good beer shelf spoiled.
10
Gouden Carolus
Grand Cru of the
Emperor
42
Fragrant, gorgeous color, alcohol, dark fruit, oxidized, very slight phenols
(cloves). Discussion of what constituted Belgian Empire. Sons-in-law are
good for something.
11
Hefeweizen
Schneider Weisse
12
Affligem
Noel
13
Banratty
White Wine with Hone
& Herbs
Clovey, which is good, rather than bubblegummy, which is bad.
Refreshing, especially on a hot balmy January day in Connecticut.
Group past anything as boring as scores.
Strong, but light and refreshing, something bright here, perhaps pepper.
White wine with honey and herbs describes it exactly, very sweet. The
group was not offended.
SUMMARY: Anyone who values their fingers should not drop food on the floor at Nessie’s.
THE BREWER’S BUGLE is a sometimes-monthly publication of the Underground Brewers Club of Connecticut. The contents herein are © 2008, except for the parts we stole. Editor: Hero; Contributor: Darvon; Photographer: The Count.
For a subscription: send $5.00 to David “Chickenman” Gies, 43 Stoddard Pl, Beacon Falls, CT 06403
Stouts, Porters & Brown Ales at Chickenman's
February 20
This has been the YAHOOS NEWSLETTER