Central Arkansas Fermenters Off To a Great 2016 Start!

Well that was fun! The Central Arkansas Fermenters (CAF) homebrew club, to which I belong, had their initial membership meeting for the year 2016 (goes through January 31, 2017) and 2016 Membership Drive. Our host of the night was John Lee, brewmaster of one of the newest, soon-to-be-open breweries in Little Rock, AR: Rebel Kettle Brewing Co. What a treat it was to be there to celebrate homebrewing, which is where Lee also got his start 20 years ago. More on Lee in a bit...

As you may know, I served as the 2015 CAF Secretary and inherited a membership list of about 80 members. By the end of my tenure, we had 150 members, an achievement of which I know my fellow officers and I are proud. Of those members, we would see about 40-50 members per meeting. In mingling with some long-time CAF members, they remember the days of no more than 8 to 20 people at someone's house or a small backroom of a brewery or similiar establishment. Last night was something else, however... There was an estimated 80-90 bodies inside Rebel Kettle Brewing Co., a number we had never seen before at a CAF meeting. A good portion of those in attendance were first time members!

While enjoying both commerical and homebrew samples with chicken wings, we reigned in some new and returning CAF officers: Kenny Roberts (President), John "Bonz" Rogers (1st VP of Social Activities), Josh Davis (2nd VP of Competitions), Kimberly Morton (Secretary), Terje Stoneman (Treasurer), and Graham Linder (Immediate Past President). Josh Davis, probably one of Little Rock's winningest homebrewers, has established a lineup of six healthy CAF-only competitions with prize awards and strongly likelihood of Pro-Am opportunities at the local breweries. The first two will be an American Pale Ale with a Pro-Am at Vinos, and the second will be a Helles Bock with a Pro-Am at Stone's Throw Brewing. Better get at it homebrewers! We also learned about the establishment of two committees: Welcoming Committee (chaired by Andrew Teague) and the Education Committee (chaired by Troy Ellis). We got to hear from the 2016 Little Rocktoberfest chair, Jllian Linder, who says the committee is working hard to establish a venue and recruit key teamplayers to make this a success. Lastly, we got to hear from Rebel Kettle Brewing Co.'s brewer, John Lee. Lee made several heartwarming statements about his love of homebrewing and the incredible homebrewing community that we have, together which propelled him to where he is now as a professional brewer. He left us with some wise words of homebrewing wisdom for making quality beer: 1) make sure you have good temperature control during fermentation, 2) make sure you have adequate and healthy yeast pitch rates, 3) get some brewing software to dial in your recipes and techniques, and 4) start paying more attention to your brewing water.

As I reflect on last night's meeting more, this had me thinking. What are the driving forces behind this incredible surge of new members??? In no particular order...

Force #1: Craft beer is taking strong foot as an alternative to the run-of-the-mill offerings at restaurants, pubs, grocery stores, and package/liquor stores. I know craft beer drinkers are asking for alternatives, distributors are showcasing commercial alternatives, and local breweries are working hard to get a tap or two.

Force #2: Craft beer drinkers, especially homebrewers, are evangelizing craft beer to anyone they can. As an example, I was at BJ's Brewhouse in North Little Rock last month meeting one of my raquetball friends. As we were waiting for our checks, I looked to my right at the bar and noticed a young guy all by himself eating a plate of wings and washing it down with a pint of beer. Out of curiousity, I asked the guy what he was drinking. He responded, "A Bud Light." And then it happened... in a loving, compassionate, and non-disparaging way, I asked a second question, "Is there any reason you chose that Bud Light over, say, one of those many beers on tap? After all, you are in BJ's BREWHOUSE." His response? "I never thought to try, and don't know what they taste like." In two seconds flat, I turned to the bartender and asked for a sample of the blonde ale for my new friend. He gratefully accepted and chucked it back like a shotglass, saying, "This is good!" I'll forgive him for not taking that sample a little slower, but perhaps at that moment, I turned this prospective candidate into a craft beer drinker. My raquetball friend, on the other hand, was quite amused at how I went out of my way to do what I did.

Force #3: The craft beer phenomenon is a bit like the chicken-and-egg scenario, but either the rise of craft beer drinking is causing more breweries to open, or more breweries are opening up with the "Build it and they will come mentality." I really think it's both... For both craft beer drinkers and breweries alike, there is an interesting desire to emulate the drinking cities of Bend, OR, Asheville, NC, or San Diego, CA to name a few. When I first moved to Little Rock in 2008, I wasn't even a craft beer drinker, dabbling more in red wine, whiskey and Coke, and, yes, Bud Light and Corona Light. The only beers outside of the mainstream I had had up to that point was a Weinstephaner or a Newcastle Brown. In 2013, I became a homebrewer after my father got a Mr. Beer kit from my brothers for Christmas. Homebrewing and learning about beer styles go hand-in-hand, and it was like the light turned on. I was blind, but now could see! All those beers at the store that I glossed over were now screaming my name! I spent more time pouring over the internet looking up beer-related stuff, and Facebook followed suit in shamelessly showing me beer-related ads and events. Every time an event popped up about a new beer, a tap takeover, a firkin tapping, I just HAD to be there! I was at the soft-openings of Stone's Throw Brewing, Lost Forty, Damgoode Pies, Flyway Brewing Co., Blue Canoe Brewing Co., and BJ's Brewhouse. I was Diamond Bear's new location and Alehouse when they jumped the river. These are all right here in Little Rock, and don't get me started on what's been happening in parallel in Northwest Arkansas. You know what I'm talking about here... if you were at last night's meeting, you had a sneak-peek of Little Rock's newest brewery soon-to-be open that you just HAD to be there, and in the company of nothing short of craft beer afficionados and homebrewers of all walks of life! We are waiting with bated breath for Leap of Faith, Blood Eagle, Slate Rock, Buffalo Brewing, and Asana Alehouse.

Force #4: Little Rock has TWO local homebrew stores (LHBS) from which to shop: Fermentables and Homegrown Hobbies (Mike Byrum, owner, 3915 Crutcher St, North Little Rock, AR 72118) and The Water Buffalo Brewing and Gardening Supply (Nolen Buffalo, ownwer, 106 S Rodney Parham Rd, Little Rock, AR 72205)! With two stores, it's easier to get your ingredients, have questions answered by knowledgable owners and employees, and receive great customer service in the process! I'm all for investing in my local community, these two owners love giving back to the community as well. In case you didn't know, Byrum is the founder of our humble club. He probably never envisioned it would grow to what it is today!

Force #5: Growler stations everywhere!!!! Fill a growler, even on Sundays!!! Need I say more?

Force #6: The rise of beer festivals. In Little Rock alone, we have the Little Roctoberfest (put on annually by CAF), the Food and Foam Festival, the Arkansas Times Craft Beer Festival, and the Great Arkansas Beer Festival. Last summer we had the Arkansas Brewers Festival put on by the Arkansas Brewers Guild. And within close driving distance, there's the Hot Springs Craft Beer Festival (Hot Springs) and the Arktoberfest (Arkadelphia)! Often times, there can be upwards of 200+ beers to try and where better than to get beerducated quickly one sample at a time! One does not have to like everything, but there really is something for everyone!

Force #7: The friendships and support between homebrewers, between breweries, and between homebrewers and breweries. I wrote about this very thing in my January 17, 2016 blog post "Serving Your HomeBrew Community: It's Worth It." One good piece of evidence that breweries are embracing homebrewers is by creating opportunities for a Pro-Am tap to winners of local competitions. Right now, Stone's Throw Brewing, Damgoode Pies, and Lost Forty have made that possible. I fully expect there to be more!

Force #8: Writers/bloggers/homebrewers who keep us informed! I'm talking about folks like John the Beer Snob (www.johnthebeersnob.com) and Scott Parton (arkbeerscene.blogspot.com). Get subscribed and in the know!

Well, I've run out of steam and have a job to go to... if you were there last night, you're probably still thinking about how great it was. If you weren't there last night, you sure missed out, but it looks like 2016 has more to come for CAF. Look us up at www.centralarkansasfermenters.com and our Facebook Group. And with that...

Happy Fermenting!

Sam