April 2026 Meeting Minutes

Ben Farhner

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April 16, 2026

Fossil Cove Brewery, Fayetteville, AR

  • Attendance: 11
  • Homebrews: 23

David Johnson started the meeting at 7:04 PM with a toast by Keith Linn.

Last Month

  • Brewer of the Month: Ben Farhner
  • Beer of the Month: Kevin Elsken’s Saison Impériale
  • Ass of the Month: Randy Germann

Guests

  • Steve from OZ
  • Darin from OZ

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

Old Business

Dues

  • Membership dues are due! Members can pay online or pay Chris Abel next month.

Iron Brewer

  • Q1 2026: Vienna Lager (7A), due at this meeting
  • 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

King for a Day

  • Good turnout, doubled attendance from last year.
  • Ben Farhner won King for a Day, Kevin Richter won the Jack award.

Women’s Shelter Home Brew

  • Saturday, April 18
    • Setup is at 9 AM–11:30 AM
    • Event is at 12 PM–4 PM
  • Tables, ice, and lunch are provided
  • 1 slot available on the club jockey box
    • David Johnson bringing 1
    • Kevin Elsken bringing 3

The Art of Home Brew Showcase

  • Saturday, May 16
  • Patrick Bohannan may be doing pro-am again this year. To be confirmed.

Hop Scheduler

  • From James Harvey’s post in the Facebook group:
    • Here are some upcoming competitions in Texas, Missouri, Louisiana and Tennessee:
      • Sprit of 76: Arlington, TX, entries by May 15
      • Big Batch Brew Bash: Houston, TX, entries by May 22
      • Fredericksburg Craft Beer Festival: Fredericksburg, TX, entries by June 1
      • Lunar Rendezbrew: Webster, LA, entries by June 12
      • Larry Brew Fest: Mandeville, LA: entries by June 12
      • Summer SMaSH: St Louis, MO, entries by July 6
      • Tennessee State Fair: Lebanon, TN, entries by July 10
      • New South Brew Off: Clarksville, TN, entries by Sept 5
    • More info here
  • Homebrew ZOO’s Open Season

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

New Business

Barrel Project

  • The joint barrel project has been going since May 2021.
  • 1 person is still needed to pull from the barrel.

Keith Linn’s Retirement Party

  • Saturday, May 9, 2 PM–5 PM at Black Howler. Invitation is open to members and spouses.

Big Brew Day 2026

  • May 2
  • Ric Bailey has volunteered to host, and would like to ferment the whole batch in his 1 bbl fermentor.
  • Pre-prohibition porter recipe will be brewed. OZ and FLOPS clubs will split the expenses. Final beer will be entered in the Weiz Guys Big Brew Competition for each club.
  • The brew day will start at 9 AM, and it will be a potluck event.
  • The clubs need commitments on who will take home finished beer.

Iron Brewer 2027

  • FLOPS needs to select 2 styles for 2027, for Q1 and Q3.
  • OZ wants to do a pre-prohibition style for Q2 for the HAM Hop-Off in Little Rock
  • Members suggested 10 styles and voted on them, selecting Hefeweizen (by a coin toss) for Q1 and Czech Dark Lager for Q3.

Washington County Charities

  • Next month, members should come with charities in Washington County they would like to support, ideally tangentially related to brewing, or that do an event where the club could add beer serving.

Miscellaneous

  • Randy Germann is signed up to take the BJCP tasting exam at Homebrew Con in Ashville and is looking for members who are interested in doing 2 tasting sessions: an off-flavor tasting and a classic styles tasting. Several members expressed interest.
    • Ric Bailey and Dave Kappel are going to Homebrew Con with Randy as well.
    • If any other members are interested in the BJCP certifications, they have a few seats available.
  • Tom brought a 50 lb bag of Briess Brewers malt from Greg Newman to sell. Ty bought it.
  • Keith asked when Ken Gill is moving away—end of June
  • Keith said Eureka Spring Brewery has reopened under new ownership.
  • Keith said on April 4th FLOPS turned 33 years old.
  • David Johnson mentioned Black Apple was purchased by Core Brewing.
  • Ty shared about the FLOPSperiment. It will likely be in July or August, and he will provide the ingredients.

Education

  • Next month, Crystal Crook from the U of A will be at the club to talk about yeast. Invite was extended to OZ members to attend the talk.
  • Ty Weston facilitated a panel discussion on hazy IPAs.

Meeting closed at 8:56 PM, opening up to GODS, the Greater Ozark Drinking Society.

Brewer of the Month

  1. Keith Linn
  2. Alex Smith
  3. Ty Weston

Beer of the Month

  • Keith Linn’s 13-year-old mead

Ass of the Month

  • Chris Abel for being absent too many times this year!

Meeting concluded at 9:02 PM.

Ben Farhner