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A supertaster is a person who experiences the sense of taste with far greater intensity than average, with some studies showing an increased sensitivity to bitter tastes. It may be a cause of selective eating. Read more here: FLOPS_Supertaster
BREW ON!
Here is a nice write up about Amber Ales: FLOPS_AmberAle
BREW ON!
So, yeah, FLOPS swept Iron Brewer for Q4 2021. Here is a nice explainer about Winter Warmer styles: FLOPS_WinterWarmers
BREW ON!
Brian Sorenson from the Fayetteville Flyer posted a great article about the joint brewing project of Old Toe Sucker, a recipe honoring Jack McAuliffe, performed by Fossil Cove Brewing and the FLOPS Club.
BREW ON!
FLOPS Club Meeting Minutes
December 16, 2021
Fossil Cove Brewery, Fayetteville
7:12 PM – Meeting called to order with toast by Forrest, welcome by club President Tom Maddock
New attendees
Justin – Invited by Chris, has made some homebrew on borrowed equipment
Old Business
The club acquired a new display banner. Tom is in possession.
Elections – Nominations for officers will be held in June
Iron Brewer – January 4, 7 pm, at Natural State Brewing. Winter Warmer is the style,
2022 Iron Brewer styles are:
Q1 – Czech Pils
Q2 – Belgian Blond
Q3 – American Wheat
Q4 – Doppelbock
Barrel Project: Old Toe Sucker was brewed by Fossil Cove on Saturday, July 11. Jack McAuliffe was able to join us for the brewing session. Brian Sorenson and James Spencer joined us and hopefully they will be able to share the story of the event more widely. Ben Mills at Fossil Cove has ordered whiskey barrels, in which the brew will age. Anticipated release is fall of 2022.
A number of club members took wort home to ferment – the club would like to hold a tasting event at a future date so that we can compare all of the club members’ efforts, as many different yeasts have been employed.
New Business
December social/Xmas party is this Saturday at Greg’s house. Begins at 5 pm, bring food and beer if you can.
Membership Dues for 2022 are payable to Chris in January. The price remains $20.
Be sure to review your Brewer of the Year points activities and get them to Keith and Tom.
Greg reminded everyone that we can post recipes on the website, be sure to post on social media anything abut you brewing efforts.
Larry McAlister mentioned that an updated version of the 2015 BJCP style guidelines are due to be released this month. A few changes of note:
New England IPA is now called Cloudy Sewer Runnings Hazy IPA and will located in the IPA category
Trappist Ale category is now Monastic Ale
Brut IPA is now a specialty IPA
Clone Beers are now Commercial Specialty Ales
Daniel Stubblefield will have a “Beginners All Grain” class at North Tunnel Supply on January 8th at 10 am. All are welcome to attend.
A motion was made to close the meeting. Seconded and passed.
Education
Keith shared what was allegedly a commercial Helles beer brought to him from New York. It was actually a pretty tasty “Mixed Fermentation Sour Beer”. The point is that even the pro brewers mess it up.
Brewer of the Month:
Ben Farhner – he brought a 5 year old Gruit that was absolutely wonderful. Thanks for that!
Ass of the Month
Lots of holiday cheer in the nomination process for AOM. I believe someone nominated a beer stool, though this was not confirmed. In the end, reliable Tom Maddock got the nod. Seems he was trying to buy votes with cookies.
November 18, 2021
Fossil Cove Brewery, Fayetteville
7:14 PM – Meeting called to order with toast by Forrest, welcome by club President Tom Maddock
The club members voted for Fossil Cove as our meeting location going forward.
New attendees
Jessica – lives in Rogers, relocated to NWA from Maryland, did not bring crab cakes
Ben – relocated from Seattle, did not bring coffee
Lester and Verbeen – from Austin, passing thru…
Old Business
Club bike and beer ride was good fun – visited Fossil Cove, Crisis, Nomads and Apple Blossom
Germanfest was also well attended.
North Tunnel will be having a Black Friday sale. New website due soon.
Next Iron Brewer – January 4 at Natural State – Winter Warmer is the style
Xmas party – December 18 at Greg’s house. Pot luck, look for a sign-up sheet.
Officer elections: Due to the ongoing challenges of COVID, all the officers have agreed to remain through 2022. A motion was made to conduct elections in September 2022 for 2023 term of service, with all nominations due no later than June 2022. Motion was seconded and passed.
Club Banner – a motion was made, seconded and approved to buy a new banner for the club. Keith Linn is coordinating.
Barrel Project – unfortunately Jack McAuliffe is in the hospital and his attendance at the December 11 brew is uncertain. Ben at Fossil Cove has reviewed the recipe and ordered ingredients. Start time is 7 am, but the brew will take at least 7 or 8 hours to finish. If you bring a carboy you can take home 5 gallons of wort, but you will need to pitch yeast when you get home.
A motion was made to close the meeting. Seconded and passed.
Education
Tom brought some leftover beers from Brewtoberfest which everyone had fun tasting and judging 100% blind. Guessing a beer style with your taste buds can be a challenge.
Brewer of the Month:
Tie – Larry McCalister and Patrick Bohannon
Ass of the Month
Tom Maddock – for forgetting the AOM competition last month. Other nominees included James (who??) Spurlin, Kevin Elsken, and Greg for sending one lousy picture from Florida. He better bring back some beer…
Name:
BJ Peppers
Age:
46
Occupation:
Data Science & Analytics
Years Brewing:
3 years consistently (3⅔ technically)
Brewing History:
1st brew was an all-grain IPA kit that I converted to a pale ale and added orange zest. I did this and my next 3 brews on the stove top. I used 2-gal fermenter buckets and bottle conditioned.
About that same time, I started attending the OZ meetings and soon learned about kegging, boil kettles, etc. So Christmas of 2018, my system was upscaled to its current phase with numerous additions as I learned new things. I currently have 10 kegs in rotation.
From the beginning, I have brewed all-grain beers. I want to try an extract beer just to do it. With upcoming projects (this week and next), I will have had my 50th brew. Of the 50, there have been 28 different styles. These styles are mostly beers but also include 9 hard ciders, a hard seltzer, and a brewed ginger ale.
What got you interested in brewing to start:
I loved to drink craft beer and have cooked at different levels all my life. My oldest son bought me a kit for my birthday, because he thought I would really enjoy it.
What kept you brewing:
I really enjoy it. 😉 The discovery and learning; the art and science; the fellowship when needed and the alone time when needed – not to mention, having your favorite brew on tap is pretty cool.
Current brewing rig:
2 16-gal Brewer’s Beast kettles; mash tun has a false bottom and a bazooka filter; I also use my boil kettle to heat my sparge water. I currently use buckets to transfer. I hope to upgrade to pumps this next year. I have three stainless (2 7-gal SS Brewtech & 15-gal Blichmann) conical fermenters and two plastic (7-gal Big Mouth Bubbler & 16-gal Speidel.)
Any rules you have for brew day:
Just my day-before checklist to make sure I can actually brew what I planned. Everything else is fairly casual. Kegging, cleaning, and reorganizing tends to occur during the waiting periods.
Best brewing advice you were given (by whom if you can remember):
Boil the wort. (Larry McCallister)
Most influential brewing tip you learned:
Boil the wort. LOL Tons of great advice from everyone in the clubs and pros: water pH, checking the mill gap, mash consistency, Vorlaufing, chilling, O², pitch rate, fermentation temps, carbonation methods, etc. I picked up the first bits from reading and everything else has been shared at club meetings or by guest brewers joining me on brew day. Now that I listed it all out, I guess using O² boosting has brought the biggest benefit given that most of my brews are high gravity. I had heard it mentioned many times, but I was helping Doc Farmer brew when I got to see it in action. I have used an O² wand ever since.
Your tip for new brewers just getting started:
Buy a kit and get going. Start small; there is plenty of time to grow. Invite someone to help; you will be amazed at how much more you learn from a “helper” than you do from a book that you haven’t finished reading.
Go to beer style for consumption:
Imperial Stouts (all of them)
What’s on tap at your brew house right now:
1) Ever Shining Frutilla (Amer. Blonde w/ Strawberry)
2) Gopher Juice (Amer. Barleywine)
3) ChocOATookie with Milk (Chocolate Oatmeal Cream Stout)
4) Admiral Chocoff (Adjuncted Russian Imperial Stout)
Plus assorted bottles
Favorite beer style to brew:
High Gravity. If I’m using at least 25 lbs of grain on a 5 gallon batch, it’s my favorite.
What’s your next brewing related project:
Wee Heavy with a parti-gyle 60/.
What do you want everyone to know that wasn’t asked here:
Beyond the great hobby, I have met some of the best folks in the brewing community. I don’t know that I have ever seen this much comradery in such a diverse group of people.
Fossil Cove Brewery, Fayetteville
7:22 PM – Meeting called to order with toast by Forrest, welcome by club President Tom Maddock
First off a thanks to Ben Mills at Fossil Cove for offering the old bar area as a meeting space for FLOPS.
New attendees
Tom encouraged everyone to become a member at the American Homebrewers Association.
Daniel Stubblefield reminded everyone that North Tunnel Brewing gives 10% discount to FLOPS, OZ, AHA members and military personnel both active and retired. North Tunnel is still in the process of transitioning the shop and is always looking for feedback on what products local brewers are interested in having available.
Tom thanked all for supporting Brewtoberfest. Apparently a big success.
Old Business
Barrel Project – tentatively scheduled to brew at Fossil Cove on Saturday, December 11th. Keith and Ben at Fossil Cove are working to identify the best barrel for the project.
FLOPS project at Core Brewing – Core had offered to let FLOPS make a beer on their small system and serve it at the brewery. Keith forwarded Jamie Conway’s contact info to Kevin Elsken for follow up. Given the barrel project is planned for December, early 2022 is when it might make the best sense to do this.
Meeting location:
This was our first meeting at Fossil Cove. Feedback from attendees was generally positive. The room is a little “echo-y”, making it seem a bit loud. However, it is a nicely sized space with plenty of seating, a monitor for presentation, and a rest room. Also the location is favorable for many attendees, plus being adjacent to an open tap room might draw in a few people that otherwise might not come by. Tom will follow up as needed and decide whether to hold November’s meeting here.
Christmas Party – Greg Newman is tentatively planning a get together at his house. Date TBD.
New Business
Learn to Homebrew Day is November 6th. North Tunnel will be having an event that day so stop by and support North Tunnel and encourage any new brewers to join the fray.
Next Iron Brewer style is Winter Warmer and will be judged at the OZ monthly meeting, January 4th 2020 at Natural State Brewing.
Officer Reports
Greg – BJ Peppers will be featured brewer in November.
Social
October Social is a bike and brew ride, which will start at Apple Blossom at 1 pm on October 23rd.
Education
Larry McAlister provided a sample of a decidedly infected beer for us to taste and experience. We were all happy to taste a little vomit, thanks Larry.
7:58 – Motion to close meeting, seconded and adopted.
Brewer of the Month:
Tie – BJ Peppers (Russian Imperial) and Randy German (Cider)
Ass of the Month
The club president forgot to seek nominations for this ward, so there the AOM is Tom Maddock.
Iron Brewer Results (8 entries) – Barleywine
1st – Keith Linn
2nd – Keith Linn
3rd – Larry McAlister
FLOPS Club Meeting Minutes
September 16, 2021
Saddlebock Brewery, Springdale
7:15 PM – Meeting called to order with toast by Forrest
New attendees
Storm Adams
Debbie Stanley (new member)
Daniel Stubblefield (brewer at Ox Bend Brewing Company in Ozark, AR)
Daniel has purchased Steve’s Brew Shop and is reopening it as North Tunnel Brewing and Supply.
Old Business
Tom reminded everyone to include their FLOPS membership information in their member profile at the American Homebrew Association (look under My Account -> My Profile and scroll down to “Your Homebrew Clubs”. If FLOPS is not shown, click “Add or Edit Homebrew Clubs”.)
Also Daniel assured us that the FLOPS and OZ members would continue to get a 10% discount at North Tunnel.
Barrel Project – nothing to report
FLOPS/OZ booth at Brewtober – Kevin said he would man the booth if Tom made it available.
Iron Brewer – FLOPS to host judging next month. Barleywine is the style.
Meeting location:
This was our first meeting at Saddlebock. It is a nice space with TV monitors available for presentations and a low noise level. Unfortunately it is not exactly centrally located.
Other options – Fossil Cove does have a space which could work, Chris will talk with Ben at Fossil Cove and see if we can try it out. Also Bike Rack in Springdale does have a suitable space which we have used before. If Fossil Cove does not pan out we will pursue further. Daniel also offered his brew shop space as another option.
New Business
Bottle Share – some interest expressed in doing this on an ongoing basis, but no official plans were made.
Christmas Party – need to plan something, perhaps jointly with OZ? Target early December.
Officer Elections – elections were postponed in 2020 due to COVID, but we need to hold them soon. Consider candidates, including yourself.
Officer Reports
Keith – there is some homebrew equipment coming up for sale, will link in FB. Core Brewing expressed interest in brewing Kevin’s Golden Strong and making a donation to the club. Also, Keith will be going to visit Heretic Brewing to meet and brew with Jamil Zainasheff.
Greg – always looking for a Brewer of the Month. Post pics on social media f you brew. Greg also has flyers available if need them and can promote the club.
Randy – Bentonville Oktoberfest is a “go” after all, September 25th. Other info will be posted on FB.
Social
Voted to make Brewtober the club social this month.
Education
Keith Linn gave an educational presentation on Winter Warmers, this will be the Iron Brewer style for 4th quarter 2021, judged in January.
Motion to close meeting, seconded and adopted.
Brewer of the Month:
Keith Linn
Ass of the Month
Keith Linn (enough of that damn IPA, already!) 😉
August 19, 2021
Core Brewing Springdale
7:15 PM – Meeting called to order with toast by Forrest
Darin Dickson of Girls on the Run gave an update on the High Gravity Homebrew Competition. Unfortunately the board of directors is probably going to cancel the event due to ongoing Covid 19 concerns.
No new attendees.
Steve’s Brew Shop is for sale and apparently there are two parties interested in acquiring it. The transaction seems likely to occur before the end of 2021.
Discussion of alternative sites for monthly FLOPS meeting. While Core Brewing has been generous, the bar area was quite crowded and noisy during this month’s meeting. Alternatives discussed included Saddlebock Brewing and Fossil Cove Brewing. Any other member suggestions are welcome. Note: see below, there is a social planned for Saddlebock, gives a chance for everyone to see the space.
Barrel project – Keith contacted Sierra Nevada brewing and they were quite generous in sharing information about the anniversary Black Barleywine made to celebrate the 30th anniversary of New Albion. Keith is working to finalize plans for the brew.
Kevin and Randy met to discuss external promotions of FLOPS, but unfortunately many potential events have been cancelled. We are still planning a booth event at Brewtober Fest.
In regards to promotion, Randy discussed the opportunity to have FLOPS themed t shirts made using similar vendor as Oz club. Keith has been working with a friend whose daughter is expanding an embroidery business, which could afford us a chance to have FLOPS themed merchandise made at a low price.
North and South competition, i.e., Iron Brewer: the Oz club had selected beer styles for the 4th quarter of 2021 as well as the 2nd quarter of 2022. Even though the Big Cheese (i.e. Tom) was not present, the FLOPS membership who actually were present took it upon themselves to select 1st and 3rd quarter beers for the competition. Thus through careful consideration the following beer styles have been selected:
3rd Quarter 2021 – Barleywine (BJCP styles 17D English and 22C American)
4th Quarter 2021 – Winter Seasonal (BJCP style 30C)
1st Quarter 2022 – Czech Premium Pale Lager, i.e. Pilsner Urquell (BJCP style 3B)
2nd Quarter 2022 – Belgian Blond Ale (BJCP style 25A)
3rd Quarter 2022 – American Wheat Beer (BJCP style 1D)
Keith Linn’s NHC Gold Medal winning beer has been brewed at Saddlebock. The release party is planned as a FLOPS social for Saturday, September 4th at Saddlebock, time TBD.
Updates on competitions:
Track 94 Brewey in Seneca, MO is looking for homebrewers for an October 7th event
Red Coat Challenge in Denton, TX for English beer styles, deadline is September 17.
The Arkansas State Fair has opened for entries.
The Bluebonnet competition is currently planning for 2022.
And that Brewtober thing…
Keith Linn gave an educational presentation about a keg and/or carboy cleaning system utilizing a simple quarter horsepower sump pump and a five gallon plastic bucket. Very neat.
Motion to close meeting, seconded and adopted.
Brewer of the Month:
We had a tie this month:
Keith Linn – Octoberfest (Marzen style)
Kevin Elsken – Belgian Golden Strong Ale (Jesse Core wants to brew this, he claimed)
Ass of the Month
Since we had a tie for BOM it was only appropriate we had a tie for Ass of Month:
Tom Maddock (he was in Montana, and we were not)
Greg Newman (designated scapegoat)
