March 20, 2025
Fossil Cove Brewery, Fayetteville, AR
- Attendance: 15
- Homebrews: 25
Meeting started at 7:15 PM. Keith recognized 2 past members of FLOPS that passed away recently: David Johnson, who joined in 1993, and Ash Goodwin, who was president about 15 years ago. The Elks Lodge in Fayetteville held a celebration of life on Saturday, March 22, 2–6pm. Keith Linn opened the meeting with a toast to David and Ash.
Last Month
- Brewer of the Month: Tom Maddock
- Beer of the Month: Tom Maddock’s chocolate stout
- Ass of the Month: Kevin Elsken
No guests were present.
Beers were introduced and an intermission taken to sample the beers.
Old Business
Membership
- Membership dues for 2025 are due. Members should see Chris Abel, Treasurer, to pay their dues.
Frost Fest 2025
- The weather was surprisingly nice for a Frost Fest.
- Ty Weston, Ric Bailey, Kevin Elsken, and Ben Farhner served 9 different beers, including 2 gruits.
- Thanks again to Fossil Cove for including us!
Iron Brewer Competition
- Q4 2024: Bière de Garde (24C) results:
- 1st place: Keith Linn
- 2nd place: Randy Germann
- 3rd place: Matt Daniels
- Q1 2025: Irish Stout (15B), due April 17, 2025 at FLOPS
- Q2 2025: Kentucky Common (27), due July 1, 2025 at OZ
- Q3 2025: Doppelbock (9A), due October 7, 2025 at FLOPS
- Q4 2025: Belgian Dark Strong (26D), due January 15, 2026 at OZ
New Province Brewing King for a Day
- Good experience. Several beers from that event were present at the meeting.
Sensory Evaluation Tasting Session
- The second session was held Saturday, March 22, 10am at Black Howler.
New Business
Barrel Project
- The next date to pull and fill is Saturday, April 5, 10am at Doc Farmer’s house.
- The next opportunity to participate is in August.
- Doc needs an additional person to pull 5 gallons. Interested members should reach out to Doc for more information.
Women’s Shelter Fundraiser
- The Women’s Shelter Fundraiser event is April 12, 12–3pm at Bentonville Brewing.
- The registration form has been shared in the Facebook group.
Big Brew Day
- The 28th annual Big Brew Day is May 3.
- OZ is going to New Province.
- Ben Mills of Fossil Cove offered to brew a batch on the smaller system and give wort to FLOSP members.
- David Johnson made a motion for FLOPS to collaborate with Fossil Cove, James Harvey seconded the motion, and members approved it with a vote.
Jack McAuliffe, Hall of Famer
- Jack McAuliffe was inducted into the American Craft Beer Hall of Fame this year.
- It was suggested that FLOPS put on an event to celebrate the occasion. James Harvey made a motion to have an event, Ben Farhner seconded the motion, and members approved it with a vote.
- James Harvey, Keith Linn, and Kevin Elsken volunteered to form a committee to coordinate the event.
2024 FLOPS Brewer of the Year
- Members with 3000+ Points:
- Ben Farhner
- Greg Newman
- Keith Linn
- Kevin Elsken
- Members with 4000+ Points:
- Matt Daniels
- Member with 5000+ Points and the 2024 FLOPS Brewer of the Year:
- Randy Germann
2024 FLOPS Ass of the Year
- There were 11 Ass of the Month “winners” in 2024! The club reviewed the candidates and the reasons they won Ass of the Month.
- It was decided to put it to a vote, requiring more than 50% of the vote for a single candidate in order to win. Two rounds of voting revealed Larry McCallister at the 2024 FLOPS Ass of the Year.
Hop Schedule
- 2025 St. Louis Microfest
- May 10 in St. Louis, MO
- Registration closes April 18
- $10 per entry
- Judging on April 22–26
- More info here
James Harvey’s Germany Trip
- James Harvey is planning a group trip to Germany in September 2025, which will be comprised of 2 days in Stuttgart, 2 days in Munich for Oktoberfest, and 3 days in Bamburg
- There are currently 8 people going, but he would like to reach 10. Members should reach out to James if they would like to join.
FlopsWear
- Keith Linn proposed the club do a group buy once a year at cost as a benefit to members.
- Greg Newman made a motion to do an annual group buy, no one seconded the motion, but members passed it with a vote anyway.
- Members need to put in their order in with Keith Linn by April 1. Only current FLOPS members may participate in the group buy.
Miscellaneous
- It was proposed to have a club social event at Orthodox Farmhouse Brewery in Goshen. Members passed it with a vote.
- The club social will be Saturday, April 5, 1pm at Orthodox.
Education
- David Johnson presented on brewing the Kentucky Common historical beer style in preparation for the Iron Brewer Competition for Q2 2025.
Toast to Ben Mills
- Club members raised a toast to Ben Mills in honor of the birth of his child, Baker Atom Mills (BAM).
Meeting closed at 8:35 PM, opening up to GODS, the Greater Ozark Drinking Society.
Brewer of the Month
- Tom Maddock
- Ben Farhner
- Forrest Adams
Beer of the Month
- Tom Maddock’s Vienna lager
Ass of the Month
- Daniel Stubblefield for being MIA.
Meeting concluded at 8:57 PM.
