FLOPS
Fayetteville Lovers of Pure Suds
445 East Township Street
Fayetteville, Arkansas 72703
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FLOPS/
FLOPS is a social organization committed to the art of homebrewing. FLOPS meets beginning at 7:00 PM on the 3rd Thursday of each month at The Home Brewery in Fayetteville.
2003 Officers
Tom Ford Lynn Gann
Andy Sparks Dr. John Griffiths
Steve Foley Keith Besonen
Daniel Linton
Wow, Oktoberfest was a blast! Thanks to all of you who could join us. I hope everyone had as much fun as I can recall having. Everything got kind of got fuzzy after we floated the keg of The Dog and I switched to rum and Baileys with a splash of hot chocolate. This will definitely become a repeat occasion, but in the meantime you can look forward to our next party in the spring, probably around Paddy’s Day, when we will celebrate our baby’s christening.
Yes, the Beer Baby’s arrival inches ever so closer. (Due date: Christmas Day.) We start Lamaze classes next week, which just makes it that much more real. It looks like I am in for one Hell of a holiday season! More on that later as the minutes are very long this month, so I will cut my ramblings short. See you at Social Night!
Social Night
Social Night for November will be at Ghazi’s Pesto Café on North College in Fayetteville. You will find it enclosed within the Chief Motel. Meet there on Friday, November 15th around 7PM. Check out the menu in advance at www.PestoCafe.com. See you there!
Also, Beer Camp is tentatively scheduled for November 29th & 30th. Attend the next meeting for details.
Twenty
years a child;
twenty years running wild;
twenty years a mature man,
and after that, praying.
- Irish Proverb
The November regular meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 21st at The Home Brewery. (Don’t worry, Thanksgiving is the following Thursday.) Plan to arrive around 7PM; business begins around 7:30.
I just love breweries founded by homebrewers. And another thing I truly love is a satisfying American brown ale. Pete’s Wicked Ale fits that bill. Hailed as the original American brown, it has a smooth malty sweetness of pale and caramel barley. And what hop do you suppose this Washington brewed American ale is balanced with? Why, cascade hops, of course! This beautifully colored and enjoyable brew weighs in at 5.3% ABV.
Homebrewer founded breweries have a true respect for the craft that the major commercial swill producers will never understand. For example, Pete’s Wicked, in its earlier days, came packaged in squat, twist off bottles to save money. But the brewery eventually switched to crowned longnecks. Why? Consumer preference. (And who will argue with that?) But just try to push that past the bean counters at one of the American big 3. If they had their way, I think canning would be the only means of packaging available. Pete’s will also answer rather specific questions regarding their beers if e-mailed. Their site will reveal such information as specific gravities of their beers. For grins, I once asked such a question while on a tour of an Anheuser-Busch brewery in St. Louis. As expected, the tour guide looked at me as if my balls were hanging from my chin. Maybe I should have asked how they go about selecting the “finest grains of rice” for their prestigious beers, but I digress…
Learn more about Pete’s Brewing Co. and their fine selection of ales at www.PetesWicked.com.
The October meeting was well attended as Andy passed on the torch. This was the first meeting for our new officers (who are noted at the top of the newsletter). Since we had no old business, we began with an update of the red ale brewed at the September meeting. It is still undergoing single stage fermentation, however Steve volunteered to take care of bottling the batch for the November meeting. So we will review that process as we enjoy the finished product at the next meeting.
Last month’s Social Night was a Wednesday happy hour at the brewpub where Red Dragon porter and Oktoberfest were enjoyed. The party moved to Grub’s, where they currently have Blue Moon wit beer on tap. Moving Social Night around to other nights of the week seemed to be favorable as members who are regularly occupied on Thursdays were able to join us, so we should consider this again in the future.
Another reminder of the Oktoberfest party was provided followed by a detailed report of Bikes, Blues & BBQ on Dickson Street (which drew 65,000 participants) was provided by Andy. It sounded like a really good time, so try to catch it next year if you missed it. Autumn Fest on the Fayetteville town square came and went utterly unnoticed and the general consensus is that the festival is now officially lame. Spring Fest on Dickson Street, on the other hand, continues to grow. Why? Well, for starters, on is on the square where bars shutdown for not paying taxes and the “brewpubs” do not serve microbrews while the other is on Dickson Street. Enough said?
Speaking of West Mountain Brewing Co., the longest anticipated brewery ever, I called and asked when they would be serving their own beers and I was told that they would possibly be available in early November. Of course, this has been the story for some time now, but we, as a club, continue to support them and continue to look forward to their first batch. We intend to join them for the first night they serve their own beers, so I will let everyone know about a spontaneous social night if I hear anything. In the meantime, it was decided the next social night would be at Ghazi’s in Fayetteville. (See above for details.)
It did not go unnoticed that Wal*Mart is selling brew-your-own kits this holiday season, which is rather disconcerting. The beer kit is a real boil kit with hops pellets and all, however it is designed to make 4 cases but it only includes at best a quarter pound of extract for each. Just as I feared, the directions instruct the would-be homebrewer to “add sugar,” thus resulting in a cidery batch of crap.
As many of you know, this is how I got into the hobby, but fortunately I found The Home Brewery and learned why the final product did not come out as expected. I wish the manufacturers of these kits would stop trying to provide 4 batches of crap and would instead provide enough malt extract for one decent batch. All they end up doing is making people think homebrewed beer is bad and discourage them from the hobby. And who would spend the time along with $29.95 + tax to make 4 cases of American standard? You are better off just picking up The Beast blue label or maybe some PBR. On the other hand, the wine kit looked like it make actually make some decent wine, but again, 30 bucks for 4 bottles? The Wine Arts kits are just as easy and make 30 bottles at a cost of only $45. (And they are good too!)
After climbing off my soapbox, I shared a sample of a new diet beer from Anheuser-Busch called Michelob Ultra. While it’s certainly not my bag, I think this is a timely product. It is taking advantage of the “low-carb” diet market as this is a low carb beer. It tastes like any other American light (read: tasteless), but perhaps a little more watered down, if you could believe it. It is the ultimate college chick beer. However, it’s not a bad idea to have a few around at your next party.
The interesting marketing note is that Michelob seems to be loosing their classic teardrop bottle in favor of a sloped shoulder longneck. They are also taking a queue from FLOPS with their new label. Just like our Spring Fest giveaway flyer that reads “FREE BEER (equipment kit)”, the new Mick label reads, “IMPORTED (hops)” in an apparent attempt to draw drinkers away from Heineken and Amstel Light.
On the subject of new beers and marketing, I revealed the recipe for the new Sam Adams Light. The ingredients are 12 ounces of Samuel Adams’ Boston Lager and 6 ounces of pure water. Pour the Boston Lager into a 20-ounce or larger glass and carefully stir in the water. Enjoy. Or not.
Tulsa, OK, in addition to the Kilkenny traditional Irish public house, also has a beautifully authentic London restaurant as well. When last in town, my parents treated us at The White Lion just off 71st Street between Sheridan and Yale. While waiting for a table, you can enjoy a stogie in the Churchill room. The draught beers are all English favorites and even the meal portion sizes are authentic (tiny). So you Yanks might leave a little hungry, yet satisfied. Check it out next time you are in town.
I brought some samples of Diamond Bear beer this month, which is supposedly an Arkansas beer. This was according to the 6-pack carrier I picked up at the liquor store, however a closer inspection of the label shows that it is actually brewed in Minnesota. WTF? It seems that the Little Rock brewery supplies kegs to taverns, but the bottled beers are contracted out. While some thought their product was just okay, I personally thought this was the worst beer I think I have ever purchased (at least for more than $5 a 6-pack). It had a finish of metal. Ugh. I cannot believe they had the gall to put “Beer of Arkansas” on the carrier; I felt a little ripped off. Oh well, try it and judge for yourself.
On the subject of judging beer, Dave Justice, our professional beer judge, was in town for the meeting, (I think he also attended a Razorback game since he happened to be in town to visit us.) We all had a very nice conversation that you really had to attend to appreciate. A lot of good information was passed around during an open Q&A at the end of the meeting. One good idea that came up is that we should gather a variety of commercial beers and try our hand at judging the various styles. If you have an interest in becoming a beer judge, Dave can help you reach that goal. See a club officer for details.
Until next time… Cheers!