May 21, 2026
Fossil Cove Brewery, Fayetteville, AR
- Attendance: 20 (14 members)
- Homebrews: 10
Keith Linn opened the meeting with an ode to yeast and Dr. Crook.
Last Month
- Brewer of the Month: Keith Linn
- Beer of the Month: Keith Linn’s 13-year-old mead
- Ass of the Month: Chris Abel (absent)
Guests
- John from OZ
- Stephanie and Stephen
- Adam and friend, new to the area, found FLOPS on Facebook
- Rose (Ty’s better half)
Beers were introduced and an intermission taken to sample the beers.
Old Business
Iron Brewer Competition
- Q1 2026: Vienna Lager (7A)
- 1st place: Alex Smith
- 2nd place: Randy Germann
- 3rd place: Steve Offutt
- Q2 2026: Irish Red (15A), due July 7, 2026 at OZ
- Q3 2026: Rauchbier (6B), due October 15, 2026 at FLOPS
- Q4 2026: Hydromel (M1), due January 5, 2027 at OZ
Hop Scheduler
- Historic Arkansas Museum Hop-off: Little Rock, AR, event on July 10
- Arkansas State Fair: Little Rock, AR, TBD (mid-September)
- Summer SMaSH: St. Louis, MO, entries by July 6
- Limbo Challenge: Dallas, TX, entries by July 21
- Honey Beer: St. Louis, MO, entries by July 31
- Dogg Dayzz: Kansas City, MO, entries by Sept 4
- Mead (& Cider) Me: St. Louis, MO, entries by Sept 4
- New South Brew Off: Clarksville, TN, entries by Sept 5
- Dixie Cup: Houston, TX, entries by Aug 29
- Music City Brew Off: Hendersonville, TN, entries by Oct 2
Upcoming Events
- Little Rocktoberfest
- NWA Oktoberfest
Women’s Shelter Home Brew
- Brewer’s Choice: Randy Germann for his sweet blueberry pie cider
Big Brew Day
- Attendees: Alex Smith, Ric Bailey, Randy Germann, et al.
- The Pre-Prohibition Porter was brewed on Ric Bailey’s system.
- Cheers to Keith Linn for his retirement party that many enjoyed attending!
The Art of Home Brew Showcase
- 24 beers were present
- A lot of local Siloam Springs brewers participated (50% of brewers, anecdotally)
- 1st place: Ben Farhner’s black IPA with spruce tips
- Will be brewed at Black Howler
- People’s Choice: Brian Tims
- Brewer’s Choice: Ben Farhner
New Business
Historic Arkansas Museum Hop-off
- Friday, July 10 in Little Rock
- Pre-prohibition beer styles only
- Free entry
- More info here
Miscellaneous
- FLOPS wants a tablecloth, which supposedly will be under $150 and therefore needs no vote. Pres. Johnson wants one. so by executive decree we will likely get one.
- At The Fermentary, Larry McCallister has a Guest Brewer Program: create a beer that will be paired with a dish. Members that are interested in participating should email Larry (larrymccallister2nd@gmail.com). This will be based on turnover of the beer but will likely be a monthly or every other month program.
Education
Dr. Crystal Crook gave a presentation on yeast: Yeast Are Not Ingredients: Brewing as Yeast Husbandry
- Brewing is stressing yeast—you can’t avoid it!
- Yeast are living organisms. They don’t care that you are brewing beer; they are trying to survive.
Brewer of the Month
- Randy Germann
- Alex Smith, Johnathon (from OZ), and Forrest Adams (3-way tie)
Beer of the Month
- Randy Germann’s Belgian Dark Strong
Ass of the Month
- James Harvey for not bringing his Altbier in spite of promising that he would.
