July 2026 Meeting Minutes

Ben Farhner

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July 16, 2026

Fossil Cove Brewery, Fayetteville, AR

  • Attendance: 11
  • Homebrews: 18

David Johnson started the meeting at 7:00 PM with a toast by Keith Linn.

Last Month

  • Brewer of the Month: Kevin Elsken
  • Beer of the Month: Kevin Elsken’s English bitter, Ben Farhner’s Old Black 2026, and James Harvey’s Altbier (3-way tie)
  • Ass of the Month: Randy Germann

Guests

  • None

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

Old Business

Membership Dues

Members who have not yet paid their dues for the year should see Chris Abel.

Iron Brewer Competition

  • Q2 2026: Irish Red (15A), being judged this Saturday, July 18
  • Q3 2026: Rauchbier (6B), due October 15, 2026 at FLOPS
  • Q4 2026: Hydromel (M1), due January 5, 2027 at OZ
    • Hydromel is a strength designation (4–10%), not a style designation. Members need to be mindful how they enter their meads since the rules are different from beers.
  • Q1 2027: Weissbier (10A)
  • Q2 2027: Pre-Prohibition Lager (27A)
    • This quarter will always be a pre-prohibition style going forward in preparation for the HAM Hop-Off event (see below).
  • Q3 2027: Czech Dark Larger (3D)
  • Q4 2027: SMaSH beer

Hop Schedule

HAM Hop-off!

  • Great event, mostly OZ folks
  • People’s Choice: Mooi Blonde (BJ Peppers)

New Business

15th Annual Friendraiser River Rally

  • Beaver Watershed Alliance event
  • September 17th at 6:00–8:30 PM
  • The club is looking to have a presence at the event. David Johnson will coordinate club participation. This date does overlap with the September club meeting, so club officers will need to decide what to do that evening.

Potential Charities

  • Paige Stubblefield provided a list of local charities that could be options for the club to support:
    • CASA
    • Lifesource
    • 7 Hills Homeless Shelter
    • Peace at Home Domestic Violence Shelter
  • Ty Weston had previously reached out to 7 Hills, and they have an event in October, which may be difficult for the club to participate in.
  • Members discussed various approaches to how the club can raise money and help other charities raise money. It was determined that this topic merits further discussion.

Little Rocktoberfest

  • October 10, 6–9 PM
  • Atrgenta Plaza in North Little Rock
  • Signups are open here

FLOPSperiment

  • One example was present at the meeting tonight. Participants’ brews will be reviewed at next month’s meeting.

BOTY Update

  • Ty Weston provided an update on the current top 10 for Brewer of the Year.
  • Members need to contact Ty Weston to provide their points!

Miscellaneous

  • James Harvey: Asked for interest in visiting Kansas City for a KC Bier Meisters club meeting. He will reach out to them to coordinate.
  • Keith Linn: Shared an anecdote where he used Claude to recover old recipes from his old iBrewMaster iOS app that no longer worked.
  • Randy Germann: There is a BJCP tasting exam in Arkansas on September 21 for members interested in becoming BJCP certified.
  • Randy Germann: OZ is having their social event this Saturday, July 18 at 2 PM at Black Howler.
    • Randy Germann made a motion for FLOPS to join OZ at Black Howler as the club social event this month, David Johnson seconded the motion, and members approved it with a vote.

Education

  • Ben Farhner presented on brewing with herbs & spices.

Brewer of the Month

  1. Randy Germann & Ben Farhner (tie)
  2. Alex Smith, Keith Linn, and Tom Maddock (3-way tie)
  3. Kevin Elsken, Ty Weston, and Brandon Waters (3-way tie)

Beer of the Month

  • Keith Linn’s Lambic

Ass of the Month

  • David Johnson for showing up to the HAM Hop-off as FLOPS club president wearing all OZ gear.

Meeting closed at 8:55 PM, opening up to GODS, the Greater Ozark Drinking Society.

Ben Farhner