February 2026 Minutes of the Dead Yeast Society

Wednesday February 4^th, 2026
Adopted Dog Brewing
Lafayette, Louisiana

Attendance (18)

Officers

Jim President
Mark Vice-President
Kent Treasurer
Adrien Secretary
Martin Librarian-Quartermaster
Ben Sergeant-at-Arms

Charter Members

James

Members

Art
Bubba
Scott
Tad
Hugh
Brian
Toby
Cherie
Travis
Brittnay
Phil

Pre-meeting Brew Sampling

Rally Cap Imperial Praline (Stout with Pecans & Cacao Nibs) —courtesy of Hugh & Ben Tate
Dad’s Wit (Silver Medal Winner at Bataille des Bières 2026) —Bubba
Irish Red Ale —Travis
Pyment:Muscadine —Art

6:00 — Call to Order – Jim

6:01 — Announcements – Jim

Goals for 2026:

Sensory Analysis Sessions – hosted at Jim’s home, will cover Hop Aromas, Off Flavors, Malt Flavors, especially important for aspiring judges, but open to anyone who wants to learn more about evaluating Beer & Mead.
Mead Judging Evaluation – practice judging sessions with Toby (DYS Hivemaster), will begin in March, Scott Wilson & Brian Biggs both passed their online exam portion. Toby will take his soon.
BJCP Judge Testing – Adrien noted Sal advised we can include both Beer & Mead judges in tasting exam, likely to be held this year.

6:12 — Contests – Jim & Adrien

Tour de Brew – sponsored by the Bicycle Brew Club in Baton Rouge, cancelled in 2024 & 2025, not sure if it will return.
Doug King Memorial – recap, sponsored by the Maltose Falcons (oldest homebrew club in the U.S., est. 1974) held January 24th
- Brian Biggs – 1^st place Historic & Specialty for: Breaking Bad Bunny a 31A:Alternative Grain Beer, Gruit using Oat Malt, Wheat Malt, and Spelt, with Yarrow, Mugwort, Juniper, Heather & Rosemary
- Brian Biggs – 1^st place Fruit Beer for: Rabbit of Caerbannog a 29C:Specialty Fruit Beer, Gruit with same grains as above, but different grain bill, same herbal additions, also with Elderberry Syrup & Wildflower Honey.
- Brian Biggs – 1^st & 2^nd Place Best of Show for the above respective brews!
Bataille des Bières et Abeilles – recap
- Jim noted Sal applauded our use of electronic judging
- Toby noted Mead entrants very happy about our quick turnaround posting results and scoresheets
- Bubba Daugereau – 1^st place American Amber & Brown Ales & 2^nd place Best of Show for: Hickupin’ Hound a 27A2:Kentucky Common
- Bubba Daugereau – 2^nd place Belgian Ales for: Dad’s Wit a 24A:Witbier
- Paul Pitre – 1^st place Belgian Ales for: The Pale Tourist a 24B:Belgian Pale Ale
- Brian Biggs – 1^st place Traditional Mead & 3^rd place Best of Show for: Transcarpathia a M1C:Sweet Mead
- Brian Biggs – 3^rd place Fruit & Spice Mead for: Heidrun Viking’s Blood a M3A:Fruit & Spice Mead
- Brian Biggs – Top Beekeeper (most awarded Mead maker)
- Dead Yeast Society – Top Brew Club (most awards in Beer)
- Jim offered thanks to Adopted Dog Brewing for hosting the competitions and to Sitta Brew Hub in Houston & Brewstock in New Orleans for being designated entry drop-off points.
Boot Brew Fest Bottle Competition –Paul Pitre is the organizer, benefit for Acadiana Roots local music charity, accepting entries February 1^st, judging in March, winners announced Friday April 10^th before homebrew festival.

6:25 — Treasurer’s Report – Kent

^$3405.69 on hand total across all accounts, Adrien advised approximately ^$300–400 pending reimbursements for various expenses

Dues were due February 1^st!

6:27 — Who’s Brewing? – Jim

Toby – Hefe ready to be bottled, Alt #4 conditioning for Boot Brew Fest Competition, brewing a Coffee Stout tomorrow.
Martin & Mark – Heady Topper Clone #9 brewed Sunday
Travis – Block Party Amber Ale on deck, also will rebrew his Idaho-7 Wheat Ale, possibly adding Strawberries to part of the batch.
Jim – Yorkshire Ale 11C:Strong Bitter. Unlike ‘Fullers ESB’ which uses WY1968, this will ferment with WY1469 producing a drier beer, also will brew Irish Red #9 soon.
Bubba – French Saison on deck for Boot Brew Fest Country-Clash Tent

6:35 — Brew Science Q&A

Travis inquired about how to use fruit, particularly Strawberries in beer. Adrien & Toby advised to use a freeze-thaw-smash cycle and/or Pectic Enzyme to break up the cell walls of the fruit and extract maximum flavor. (Adrien also advised to use a fine Muslin bag to hold fruit in fermenter and be sure to squeeze out juice before packaging)

Bubba noted a happy accident with a suspected pH meter that had lost calibration. His Kentucky Common tasted a bit tangy in the fermenter samples, so he added a ½ teaspoon of baking soda, and that indeed worked to raise the pH and remove the tang. Bicarbonate levels can be an issue, especially when brewing Amber and darker styles. He also advised how well a floating diptube works to package and serve exceptionally clear beer.

6:44 — Festivals – Adrien & Mark

Crescent City Winterfest – recap, Mark noted we were quite disappointed in the quality of brews offered this year, not worth the ^$40 entry fee. Lots of off-flavors and some infections. Many of their brewers don’t seem to pay much attention to quality control, especially during fermentation.
Boot Brew Fest – April 10–11^th, Lakeview Park & Beach in Eunice

Call for Beverages

If you plan to bring a beverage, brew it soon!

Brewer	Style	Gallons
Jim	Yorkshire Ale, Irish Red	5
Bubba	French Saison	2.5
Mark	tbd	2.5
Adrien	tbd	2.5
	Total Committed So Far:	12.5

Boot Brew Fest beer donation commitments as of February 4^th, 2026

Gulf Brew – Saturday September 19^th, 2026
Oktoberfest – Big Mike’s BBQ in Houma (new location opening soon), Saturday October 24^th, 2026
Ville Platte – potential new fest in the initial planning stages, no date set

6:58 — Thirsty Third Thursday – February 19^th

Members voted to hang out at Burgersmith in Lafayette this month.

7:00 — Other Club Business & Beer Sampling – Adrien

Four Kentucky Common Bataille des Bières entries were served during this segment with noted comments:

David Little’s Scale-up winner – prominent corn aroma and flavor, used Grits, Chico yeast
Mark’s entry – some fruity esters from fermentation, Kölsch yeast
Travis’ entry – roasty, malty and balanced, Chico yeast
Bubba’s entry – similar to Travis’ but more rich, depth of flavor and clear, Chico yeast

TeePublic – Brian Biggs suggested we use this merchandise site where we can upload our logo for anyone to purchase DYS branded schwag without us having to carry inventory. Members weren’t sure of any real benefit, with concerns over logo control, and had questions about if we made any money from the sales. Consensus was to gather more info and report back at future meeting.

Homebrewcon – June 19–20^th, 2026 Asheville, NC, possibility of road-trip caravan, about 4–6 members interested in attending so far, awaiting more details from the AHA.

Sampling Cups – Hilton’s Restaurant Supply provided quote on 4 sizes, Adrien will get a 125ct. sleeve of the clear 3.25 ounce version for the next meeting. If we like it, then we’ll order a case of 2500 for about $80+tax.

Bataille Awards – Adrien offered options for colors, members agreed to keep Black & Silver for Beer, use Black & Gold for Mead. Adrien will send info and place order this week.