January 2026 Meeting Minutes

Ben Farhner

·

·

January 15, 2026

Fossil Cove Brewery, Fayetteville, AR

  • Attendance: 12
  • Homebrews: 16

David Johnson started the meeting at 7:09 PM with a toast.

Last Month

  • Brewer of the Month: Ben Farhner
  • Beer of the Month: Tom Maddock’s Chocolate Stout
  • Ass of the Month: Kevin Elsken (absent)

Beers were introduced and an intermission taken to sample the beers.

Old Business

2026 Officers

  • President: David Johnson
  • Vice President: Ty Weston
  • Treasurer: Chris Abel
  • Secretary: Ben Farhner
  • Social Media Chair: Alex Smith
  • Hop Scheduler: James Harvey
  • Mug Watcher: Keith Linn

Dues

  • Member dues for 2026 are due. Chris Abel was absent at the meeting, but David Johnson was accepting payments.

Frost Fest 2026

  • February 7
  • Setup is 9am–12pm
  • 4 spots are available
    • Ben Farhner, Greg Newman, Daniel Stubblefield, and BJ Peppers will supply beer.

Iron Brewer Competition

  • Q4 2025: Belgian Dark Strong (26D), due at this meeting
    • Members should let David Johnson know if they are interested in judging
  • Q1 2026: Vienna Lager (7A), due April 16, 2026 at FLOPS
  • Q2 2026: Irish Red (15A), due July 7, 2026 at OZ
  • Q3 2026: Rauchbier (6B), due October 15, 2026 at FLOPS

New Business

King for a Day

  • This is a brewing challenge put on by New Province Brewing where all contestants receive the same wort and are dared to be as creative as they’d like. Results are judged and the winning beer will be brewed on New Province’s pilot batch system.
  • Wort pickup day: February 14
  • Serving event: March 21

Goals for 2026

  1. Charity involvement and events
    • The Beaver Watershed Alliance hosts a yearly event in the spring, and the club is interested in bringing homebrew to that event.
    • There is discussion of a potential Brewtober Chilifest spiritual successor event in the spring or summer.
      • The event would be hosted by St. Joseph’s, Patrick Bohannan’s church, and it is in need of an organizer.
    • The club is open to additional ideas.
  2. Recruitment and outreach
    • The club is looking to boost current recruitment methods and experiment with new ideas.
    • The club is looking to increase club outreach. Some outreach ideas include the following:
      • Hosting seminars
      • Advertising at charity events
      • Increasing collaboration with other clubs and breweries
      • Enhancing social media presence
    • James Harvey got an email from AHA about attracting new members and will see what the club can incorporate

Hop Schedule

  • James Harvey shared that the AHA event website has been revamped.
  • Blue Bonnet
    • Still has openings (1100/1500 entries) through Jan 24 or until full.
    • More info here
  • Kansas City Bier Meisters
  • Master Homebrewer Program also has a list of competitions (a lot of overlap with AHA events).
  • David Johnson also shared that Mead Stampede is coming up in OKC

Miscellaneous

  • Black Apple Hard Cider has sold and is closing their taproom.
  • David Johnson proposed getting an Ass of the Year trophy for Kevin Elsken.

Education

  • Ty Weston presented on ideas for education segments this year.

Social

  • Mad Rooster on Saturday 24 at 2pm. Iron Brewer judging may take place there as well beforehand.
  • James Harvey shared about his Belgium beer tour in June.
    • Ric Bailey is already planning to go.

Meeting closed at 8:20 PM, opening up to GODS, the Greater Ozark Drinking Society.

Brewer of the Month

  1. Ben Farhner
  2. Daniel Stubblefield
  3. Alex Smith, BJ Peppers, & Ken Gill

Beer of the Month

  • Ben Farhner’s Old Black 2022 Belgian dark strong ale

Ass of the Month

  • Kevin Elsken for being Ass of the Year and not showing up

Meeting concluded at 8:25 PM.

Ben Farhner