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 home brewing. FLOPS meets beginning at 7:00 PM on the 3rd Thursday of each month at The Home Brewery in Fayetteville.
2003 Officer
Tom Ford Lynn Gann
Andy Sparks Dr. John Griffiths
Steve Foley Keith Besonen
Daniel Linton
Yeah, I said Primary! Yes, El Presidente Sparks has hung up his stein and passed the FLOPS reins to yours truly for the next 12 months. (Actually, Andy will serve as our Secondary Fermenter now.) I would like to thank Andy for his fine leadership over the years. I hope to serve you well and keep the hobby going for our dedicated little group. As you may know, I did not have much of a campaign platform, but I am planning a bitchin’ victory party at my place on October 19th for Oktoberfest. More details to follow via e-mail, but I hope everyone can make it. FYI – I am inviting my people from work to this, as they really need to blow off some steam (kind of a post-pilot party for our project), so beware of the geeks!
Social night for September in Eureka Springs was reportedly a blast for the (ahem…) TWO attendees. Apparently it was Hot Rod Weekend in old Eureka and we missed some pretty sweet action. That said, for anyone who might be interested, the first weekend of October is always Corvette Weekend in Eureka, so anyone who would like to join me should drop me a line at L48Shark@Yahoo.com.
Not much else to add right now. I am looking forward to our meetings for the next year! If there is anything in particular you would like to do, just let me know.
Social Night
Join us for Social Night at the brewpub! Meet at Ozark Brewing Company on Dickson Street in Fayetteville on Wednesday, October 9th around 7PM. Remember that Wednesday’s are happy “hour” night and draws are just $2.25 all evening long!
Here’s to a long life and a merry one.
A quick death and an easy one.
A pretty girl and an honest one.
A cold beer—and another one!
-Old Irish toast
The October meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 17th at The Home Brewery. Business begins around 7:30PM.
Abbey ale from Fort Collins, CO is a Belgian dubbel ale touted as “enough to make you don a monk’s habit and consider celibacy.” While I personally would not go to such extremes as to choose between beer and sex, as one typically leads to the other, I will agree that this is a very fine drink.
Almost a meal in and of itself, it certainly qualifies as a respectable dessert or accompaniment thereof. As a bottle conditioned brew, it forms a substantial head as it hits your glass with a strong bouquet of fruit and spice. Underneath lies a very complex, amber, and malty brew. Be sure to chill this crafted ale only to cellar temperatures in order to fully appreciate its intricate aromas and flavors and take your time while enjoying its satisfying qualities.
Learn more about this and other fine ales, such as the popular Fat Tire ale, at www.newbelgium.com. Be sure to check out the story of the brewery’s beginnings, as it is very inspiring.
The meeting for September was rather enjoyable. It provided the unique opportunity to see if Andy and Steve still remember how to make beer. I have to admit they did pretty well. At least, that is, until it was time to rack the wort to the primary fermenter. But hey, who knew the funnel was cracked? We actually caught the first one, but inexplicably the second one was cracked to. There was a bit of a mess, but there should still be plenty of red ale to enjoy in a few weeks. The brewing was fun and I hope we do it again soon.
Officer election followed the brewing activities, and attendees Andy, Steve, Tony, Bill, Daniel, Russ, Dr. J and myself had no trouble choosing who to vote for since our outgoing president’s last act in office was not a mass pardon of scandal embroidered buddies, but rather an autocratic appointment of new officers. However, the election process was so ruthlessly efficient and painless no one complained. As noted in the heading of the minutes, your new FLOPS representatives are:
Brewus Emeritus – Dr. John Griffiths
By the way, I have to offer an apology to Keith on two accounts. Not only did I have his title of office incorrect, but I have been spelling his last name wrong too. Sorry about that. Just to clarify, Keith is out Ambassador at Large. Not sue where I got “Member at Large,” but I guess on a subconscious level, I thought it was pretty damn funny.
There was not much in the way of new business for this gathering, although we did have a nice conversation about becoming a certified beer judge. If you are interested, Andy has a bit of information on how the club can help and support you.
An Oktoberfest celebration is planned at the Ford household for Saturday, October 19th. All members are invited to come and christen our new biergarten. Details will be distributed via e-mail soon. I hope to see everyone there.