June 20, 2024

Fossil Cove Brewery, Fayetteville, AR

• Attendance: 15
• Homebrews: 15

Meeting started at 7:15 PM by Kevin Elsken with a toast by Keith Linn.

Last Month

• Brewer of the Month: Ben Farhner
• Beer of the Month: Ben Farhner’s sour gruit stout
• Ass of the Month: Keith Linn

Guests

• Harold and Rex

Beers were introduced and an intermission taken to sample the beers.

Meeting reconvened at 7:42 PM.

Old Business

Budget

• Kevin Elsken reviewed this year’s proposed budget and pointed out that the club is short on its membership goal for the year by about 12 members. The club is open to ideas on driving membership.

Iron Brewer Competition

• Q2 2024: Pepper Beer (30A), due July 2 at OZ
• Q3 2024: Imperial Stout (20C), due October 17 at FLOPS
• Q4 2024: Bière de Garde (24C), due January 7 at OZ

Brewer of the Year Points

• Kevin Elsken clarified the rules around points for charitable events
  • If a member supplies any quantity of beer to a charitable event, they receive a flat 200 points.
  • If a member serves or volunteers in one or more capacities at a charitable event, they receive a flat 100 points.
  • If a member supplies beer and volunteers, they may receive a maximum of 300 points.
  • Big Brew Day does not count a charitable event, but it does count as a brew-in.
• Kevin Elsken addressed large versus small homebrew competitions, noting that members are responsible for supplying Greg Newman with information about the competition, including how many beers were entered and any other relevant information so the officers may decide if it qualifies as large or small.

AHA Membership

• Kevin Elsken encouraged members to join the AHA if they haven’t already.

Great Southern Beer Festival

• The event was moved to Saturday, June 22.
• Club members discussed equipment being brought to the festival, including jockey boxes, tents, and banners.
• Kevin Elsken made a point of stating that he is indeed in possession of both banners.

New Business

Arkansas Gazette

• The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette featured an article about small town breweries, featuring an interview with Patrick Bohannan about Black Howler—but no mention of FLOPS!

Weiz Guys Big Brew Day Competition

• The club submitted Keith Linn’s two Big Brew Day beers to the competition.
• Kevin Elsken proposed amending the Brewer of the Year point schedule for next year to encourage participation in this event. Greg Newman seconded the motion, and the club passed it.
• The club needed to select a charity in the event that FLOPS places in the competition. Greg Newman proposed the Benton County Relief Fund or similar tornado relief fund for the area. Kevin Elsken made a motion to support this, Greg Newman seconded it, and the club passed it.

Plan for the Second Half of the Year

• Kevin Elsken reached out to Dr. Scott Lafontaine at the University of Arkansas about their brewing program, and reported that he is primarily focused on rice beers and low-to-no-alcohol beers at this time. He also suggested some students may be able to come to the club meetings to give presentations. Kevin left the ball in his court.
• Kevin Elsken also reached out to Dr. Amanda McWhirt at the University of Arkansas about their hop breeding program, but has not heard back yet.
• The club would like to do a collaboration brew with Boston Mountain or Black Howler, but no plans have been made yet.
• The club would also like to focus on growing membership the rest of the year and is looking for ideas.
  • Greg Newman will reach out to lapsed members to see what the club can do to draw them back in.
  • Potential cross-marketing with the cooking community.
  • More emphasis on wine & cider.
  • Members are encouraged to suggest other ideas!

Club Administration

• The club officers plan to have new club bylaws completed by the end of the year.
• Keith Linn introduced an SMS marketing campaign at the May meeting. The club officers will discuss refinements to this system at the next officers meeting before rolling it out full scale.

Hop Schedule

• Historic Arkansas Museum Hop-Off
  • July 12 in Little Rock, AR
  • Entry deadline is ?
  • No entry fee
  • $200 cash prize!
  • More info here
• The Hard Redz Summer Brew Off
  • July 13 in Newton, KS
  • Entry deadline is June 29
  • $8 per entry
  • More info here
• Summer SMaSH 2024
  • July 13 in St. Louis, MO
  • Entry deadline is June 30
  • $10 entry fee
  • More info here
• Mead Stampede
  • July 18 in Oklahoma City, OK
  • Entry deadline is June 30
  • $10 per entry
  • More info here
• 2024 Ozarks Open Season
  • July 20 in Springfield, MO
  • Entry deadline is July 12
  • $9 per entry
  • More info here
• 7th MO MASH IN
  • August 16 in St. James, MO
  • Entry deadline is August 12
  • $9 entry fee
  • More info here

Miscellaneous

• Club social
  • Club members voted for Great Southern Beer Festival as the primary club social this month.
  • Club members also plan to attend Mad Rooster’s 1st Anniversary event on June 29 at 1 PM.
• Officer reports
  • Greg Newman encouraged members to host a brew-in or be a featured brewer.
  • Daniel Stubblefield has talked to several prospective members at the brewery in the past week, but no bites yet.
  • Keith Linn designed and printed stickers for FLOPS. He would like to give them out at events, festivals, etc. to raise awareness about the club (and potentially raise money, too).
  • Greg Newman reported that Greenhouse Aleworks in Rogers is out of commission right now due to the tornado, and their building is getting torn down.
  • Keith Linn also reported that Anuway is only taking online orders while they clean up from tornado damage.
• James Harvey gauged club interest in doing some volunteer food packing on a Saturday morning. He will send out more information about this.
• James Harvey also extended an invitation to join a group already planning to attend the Oktoberfest in Tulsa this fall. He will send out more information about this as well.
• Ric is planning a brew-in on July 13. Randy Germann suggested he be a featured brewer too.
• Kevin Elsken took a moment to rant about the lime & coconut Kölsch that took Brewer’s Choice at the Art of Home Brew Showcase last month.

Education

• Kevin Elsken presented on and hosted a discussion about yeast, including dry vs. liquid yeast, repitching yeast, etc.

Brewer of the Month

• 1st place: Keith Linn
• 2nd place: Kevin Elsken
• 3rd place: Greg Newman

Beer of the Month

• Keith Linn (tied with Kevin Elsken but Keith being brewer of the month broke the tie)

Ass of the Month

• Patrick Bohannan for not mentioning FLOPS in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette article! For shame.

Meeting concluded at 8:57 PM.

May 16, 2024

Fossil Cove Brewery, Fayetteville, AR

• Attendance: 14
• Homebrews: 18

Meeting started at 7:20 PM by Daniel Stubblefield.

• Tim & Kim Penhallegon brought smoked meatloaf. Fantastic as always!
• No guests were present.

Old Business

Last Month

• Brewer of the Month: Randy Germann
• Beer of the Month: Larry McCallister’s Helles
• Ass of the Month: Daniel Stubblefield

Membership

• Membership fees are due for 2024. Members need to see Chris Abel, Treasurer, to pay up!

Brewer of the Year Points

• Members were reminded to let Greg Newman know if they participate in any events that qualify towards Brewer of the Year so he can accurately track the points.

AHA Membership

• If enough club members join AHA, it benefits the club through insurance reimbursement. The club just needs the members’ AHA numbers.

Iron Brewer Competition

• Entrees for Q1 2024: Specialty Cider (C2F) were judged after April’s meeting:
  • 1st place: Randy Germann
  • 2nd place: Matt Daniels
  • 3rd place: James Harvey

Great Southern Beer Festival

• The event got rained out last month and the date has been moved to June 22nd.
• They are still looking for volunteers to help with the event. Members should contact Larry McCallister to sign up for volunteering.

Club Tent & Banner

• Keith Linn used the tent twice. He hasn’t broken it yet and he knows where it’s at!
• Daniel Stubblefield used the banner, and he brought it back.

Big Brew Day

• Successful Big Brew Day event at Black Howler on May 4th, with around 25 people in attendance.
• Around 80 gallons of Dagobah Dunkel wort was given away from the 3.5 barrel batch!

New Business

Club Social

• Black Howler is having their grand opening event this Saturday, May 18th, 11 AM–11 PM.
  • Randy Germann made a motion for this event to be the club social, David Johnson seconded the motion, and the club passed it with a vote.

Events & Competitions

• The Art of Home Brew Showcase in Siloam Springs was this past weekend on May 11th.
  • Keith Linn won judge’s choice for his Orange Creamsicle Milkshake IPA.
  • Dave Kapple won brewer’s choice for his Lime and Coconut Kölsch.
  • Justin McGinnis won people’s choice for his Mango Lassi Sour.
• Brew Pig Sooie at Baum-Walker Stadium was also this past weekend on May 11th.
  • Around 1,100 people bought tickets to it and there were 20+ breweries.
• Big Paws Block Party is this Friday, May 17th, 5–9 PM.
  • Boston Mountain will have a special Lemon Shandy on tap, the proceeds of which will go to Big Paws. Additionally, $1 from every other pint sold during the event will go to Big Paws.
• Hop-Off at Historic Arkansas Museum in Little Rock is coming up on Friday, July 12th.
  • There are cash prizes, and entries are limited to pre-1900 styles or recipes.
  • More info here.
• Weiz Guys Big Brew Day Competition 2024 is coming up in June. Registration opened on May 4th.
  • The club can enter 2 beers that were brewed on Big Brew Day.
  • Keith Linn also brewed the Empire Strikes Back Dark Ale recipe that could be considered for entry.
  • The club would need to pick entries and submit them before the next club meeting.
  • More info here.
• Daniel Stubblefield shared that there is no update on the CAF joint event. It may be pushed to next year.

Miscellaneous

• David Johnson shared again that OZ is hoping to have the head brewer of Toppling Goliath in Decorah, Iowa visit to do an education presentation in June or July. No firm dates yet.
• Keith Linn announced a new FLOPS SMS marketing campaign with flyers and QR codes as a way to communicate with members and interested parties about meetings and events. Text “FLOPS” to 57780!

• Randy Germann is now apparently the backup Hop Scheduler.
• Daniel Stubblefield will reach out to the University of Arkansas again about getting some of the experimental hops for the club to use.
• Steve Weathers offered for beers to be canned with his canner at Boston Mountain. Members just need to pay for the cans! Members should reach out to Steve Weathers or Daniel Stubblefield to coordinate canning.
• Ben Farhner brought a box of miscellaneous brewing supplies to give away.

Education

• No presentation was planned for the meeting. Instead, Greg Newman facilitated a round table discussion about brewing.
• Matt Daniels volunteered to do a presentation on overnight mashing at the July meeting.

Brewer of the Month

• 1st place: Ben Farhner
• 2nd place: Keith Linn
• 3rd place: a three-way tie between Matt Daniels, Tim Penhallegon, and David Johnson!

Beer of the Month

• Ben Farhner’s sour gruit stout, An Unexpected Party

Ass of the Month

• Keith Linn for showing up late and leaving early (sounds familiar…)

Meeting concluded at 9:01 PM.

April 18, 2024

Fossil Cove Brewery, Fayetteville, AR

• Attendance: 16
• Homebrews: 16

Old Business

Last Month

• Brewer of the Month: Alex Smith
• Beer of the Month: Alex Smith’s Hazy IPA
• Ass of the Month: Randy Germann (for choosing family over FLOPS? Hm…)

Membership

• Membership fees for 2024 are due. Members should see Chris Abel if they haven’t paid up yet!

Brewer of the Year Points

• Kevin Elsken reminded members that if they do anything besides attend a meeting or win Brewer/Beer of the Month, they need to make sure to let Greg Newman knows about it so he can track the points!

AHA Membership

• Kevin Elsken asked members to consider joining AHA for the benefits it offers to both members and the club.

Iron Brewer Competition

• Entrees for Q1 2024: Specialty Cider (C2F) were collected at the meeting.
• Kevin Elsken requested volunteers for judging the ciders over the weekend.
• Planning to judge the ciders at Black Apple with Trey Holt.

Great Southern Beer Festival

• Coming up soon on Saturday, April 27th.
• Larry McCallister said they could use more volunteers. There is a meeting for volunteers on Wednesday, April 24 at Grove Comedy Club (next to GOAT LAB in Lowell, AR). If any volunteers can’t make it, they’ll need to show up early on Saturday, April 27th.
• Larry McCallister recommended bringing a tent if you have one, since there’s a 59% chance of rain at the event.

Club Pop-up Tent

• Kevin Elsken set it up to look at it and shared a photo, and it looks good!

New Business

Big Brew Day

• May the 4th be with you
• OZ has planned an event at Black Howler, and last month FLOPS voted to join them. Patrick Bohannan will be brewing the Dagobah Dunkel recipe and providing wort to interested brewers.
• OZ has requested $100 from FLOPS to help cover food costs. James Harvey made a motion to provide a hundred and one dollars for the event. Greg Newman seconded the motion, and members voted to pass the motion.
• OZ will share a SignUpGenius for food signups.

Weiz Guys Big Brew Day Competition 2024

• Opportunity for the club to enter up to 2 beers that were brewed for Big Brew Day.
• Winners will be featured in Zymurgy magazine and have a portion of their entry fees donated to a charitable organization.
• The club will need to decide which beers to enter and enter by June 15th, with beers due by June 24th.
• Judging will take place in July.

Club Administration

• Club social
  • Kevin Elsken made a motion for the next club social to be Big Brew Day at Black Howler. Greg Newman seconded the motion, and the motion was passed by the club.
• Officer reports
  • Greg Newman requested that members let him know if they will be hosting a brew-in or want to be a featured brewer.
• Miscellaneous
  • Daniel Stubblefield reported no update on the CAF collaboration yet.
  • David Johnson reported that the owner of Toppling Goliath Brewing in Iowa visited OZ, and they are hoping to have him back to do an education presentation in June or July.
• New breweries
  • Big Brew Day will be the second soft opening of Black Howler. Official grand opening will be May 17 or 18.
• Brew Pig Sooie
  • April 28th at Baum-Walker Stadium.
  • Boston Mountain Brewing will be there and will be promoting FLOPS as well.

Upcoming Education

• May–December topics still to be determined.
• Presenters on deck:
  • David Johnson to do a presentation on koji starter for brewing sake.
  • Connor to do a presentation on building a keezer? Not present at the meeting to confirm.
  • Randy Germann to do a presentation on ciders and/or lagers.
• Potential topics in need of presenters:
  • Managing yeast
  • Biotransformation in dry hopping
  • Hops (bring in someone from U of A?)
  • Water
  • Lagering beer
  • Oaking beer
  • Impact of mash temperature

Education

• Kevin Elsken presented on water as a follow-up to Greg Newman’s Bru’n Water presentation last month.

Meeting was closed at 8:14 PM by a motion from Patrick Bohannan, which was seconded by Daniel Stubblefield and passed by the club.

Brewer of the Month

• 1st place: Randy Germann with 14 votes
• 2nd place: Larry McCallister with 11 votes
• 3rd place: Matt Daniels with 10 votes

Beer of the Month

• Larry McCallister’s Helles with 11 votes

Ass of the Month

• Daniel Stubblefield for showing up late, leaving early, and taking the banner.

Meeting concluded at 8:58 PM.

March 21, 2024

Fossil Cove Brewery, Fayetteville, AR

• Attendance: 18
• Homebrews: 19

Meeting called to order at 7:15PM with an airhorn and toast by Kevin Elsken.

Reviewed new beer voting and feedback tag system for members to use throughout the meeting.

New Attendees

• Ric, just moved to Springdale, was a member of CAF
• Jeff, friend of Greg’s from outside Oklahoma City
• Matt, friend of Greg’s from outside Oklahoma City

Old Business

Reigning Brewer of the Month

• Larry McCallister

Reigning Ass of the Month

• Tom Maddock

Membership

• Kevin Elsken reminded members to renew their membership for 2024 if they haven’t already.
• Kevin Elsken encouraged members to consider AHA membership, which benefits the club through insurance reimbursement.
  • The AHA is rolling Homebrew Con into GABF for 2024.

Iron Brewer Competition

• Q1 2024: Specialty Cider (C2F), April 18 (FLOPS)
  • The club discussed reaching out to Black Apple about partnering for judging this round.
• Q2 2024: Pepper Beer (30A), July 2 (OZ)
• Q3 2024: Imperial Stout (20C), October 17 (FLOPS)
• Q4 2024: Bière de Garde (24C), January 7 (OZ)

Great Southern Beer Fest

• Saturday, April 27. More info here.
• The club discussed available jockey boxes to bring to the club tent in the Homebrew Holler.
• Larry McCallister announced a paid opportunity to help move the stage the day before and the day after the event.

New Business

Brewer of the Year Points

• Kevin Elsken presented the updated Brewer of the Year point schedule to the club, and clarified requirements to communicate participation to Greg for accurate scoring.

Events of Interest

• Mead Stampede
  • Entries will be accepted April 1–June 30.
• Joint event with CAF
  • The event is still in the early stages of planning, but may take place in the Clarksville area.
  • The club discussed forming a more concrete vision of the event to keep the planning process moving forward.
  • James Harvey mentioned pairing the event with a visit to the University of Arkansas’ hop research station in Clarksville.
• Big Brew Day
  • Saturday, May 4. More info here.
  • Patrick Bohannan volunteered to host at Black Howler. James Harvey made a motion to have Big Brew Day at Black Howler, Kevin Elsken seconded, and the club passed the motion.
• The Art of Homebrew Showcase
  • Saturday, May 11. More info here.
  • Patrick Bohannan said it would be a pro-am competition, and the winning beer would get brewed as a commercial 1 bbl batch.

Tent and Banner

• The club has a new banner. And Kevin Elsken found the old banner… it was at Fossil Cove the whole time!
• A club tent has been ordered.

Club Administration

• Club officers have been tasked with writing new bylaws for the club.
• Kevin Elsken filed form 990-N with the IRS as well as submitted the Arkansas annual report with the Secratary of State, both of which need to be done annually for the club’s 501(c)3 status.
• Bank of Fayetteville checking account approved check signers
  • The club officers need to remove the following people as check signers as they are no longer current members:
    • Andrew Sparks
    • Katherine McGraw
    • William Gibson
  • The club officers need to add the following current members as check signers:
    • Kevin Elsken
    • Greg Newman
    • Ben Farhner
  • The club officers proposed opening a CD in the amount of $4,000.00 at the Bank of Fayetteville.
  • Ben Farhner made a motion to approve removing old check signers, adding new check signers, and opening the CD. The motion was seconded by Kevin Elsken and approved by the club officers.

Upcoming Education

• April–December education topics still to be determined
  • David Johnson had volunteered to do a presentation on koji starters for sake, but was not present at the meeting.
  • Connor had volunteered to do a presentation on building a keezer, but was not present at the meeting.
  • Randy had volunteered to do a presentation on making ciders and/or lagers, but was not present at the meeting.
• Potential topics:
  • Managing yeast
  • Biotransformation in dry hopping
  • Hops (could we get someone from the U of A to do a presentation?)
  • Water
  • Lagering beer
  • Oaking beer
  • Impact of mash temperature
• James Harvey mentioned that he’ll be building a Son of Fermentation Chiller soon and could do a presentation on that process.

Miscellaneous

• Club social for March/April
  • Greg Newman made a motion to join OZ at Bike Rack Brewing on Saturday, March 23 at 12:30pm for this month’s social, Kevin Elsken seconded, and the club passed the motion.

Education

• Kevin Elsken shared some brief stats about the Beaver Water District water quality.
• Greg Newman presented his process for using the Bru’n Water spreadsheet for water adjustment.

Kevin Elsken closed the meeting at 8:25pm, opening GODS.

Brewer of the Month

• 1st place: Alex Smith
• 2nd place: Matt Daniels
• 3rd place: Ben Farhner

Beer of the Month

• Alex Smith’s Hazy IPA

Ass of the Month

• Randy Germann for choosing his family over the club during spring break

Meeting concluded at 9:01pm.

February 15, 2024

Fossil Cove Brewery, Fayetteville, AR

• Attendance: 19
• Homebrews: 20

Meeting called to order at 7:11PM with an airhorn by Kevin Elsken and a toast by Keith Linn.

New Attendees

• Bradford, used to deliver craft beer in the area
• Connor, brought his first 2 homebrews
• Tyler, invited by Ben Farhner

Old Business

Reigning Brewer of the Month

• Greg Newman

Reigning Ass of the Month

• Kevin Elsken

Homebrew Feedback Sheets

• Discussed feedback sheet QR code solution with bottle hang tags.
• Kevin Elsken suggested adding a flag to the tags to indicate if feedback is wanted.
• Larry McCallister suggested partitioning the beers wanting feedback on a separate table.
• Discussed adding lines to the tags for writing beer name & style to avoid having to scan the tags for basic info.

Membership

• Club membership dues for 2024 are due! Talk to Chris Abel or pay online.

Frost Fest 2024

• Fossil Cove is looking for feedback on the event.
• Daniel Stubblefield suggested moving it to the spring, but they’d have to change the name!
• Randy Germann suggested switching from individual brewery tents to large tents with multiple brewers set up underneath to avoid issues with small tents blowing over.

Iron Brewer

• Judging completed for Q4 2023—English Porter
  • 1st place: Matt Daniels
  • 2nd place: Greg Newman
  • 3rd place: Tom Mattock
  • Special recognition for Ken Gill in a close 4th place.
  • Thanks to David, James Harvey, James Spurlin, Larry, Ty, and Alex for judging this round.
• Upcoming rounds:
  • Q1 2024: Specialty Cider (C2F), April 18 (FLOPS)
  • Q2 2024: Pepper Beer (30A), July 2 (OZ)
  • Q3 2024: Imperial Stout (20C), October 17 (FLOPS)
  • Q4 2024: Bière de Garde (24C), January 7 (OZ)

Upcoming Events

• National Homebrew Competition 2024
• Great Southern Beer Fest 2024
  • April 27, 4–9PM
  • Turnbow Park, Springdale, AR
  • Need more volunteers! Sign up here.
    • Need around 180 volunteers total, expecting 1200–1800 people in attendance
    • The more volunteers FLOPS provides, the more FLOPS gets financially

Club Budget

• Need to look into getting a P.O. box.
• Larry McCallister will put the club officers in touch with his contact in Little Rock for a custom club tent.
• Randy Germann asked what percentage of club members need to be AHA members in order to qualify for AHA club insurance.
• Patrick Bohannan made a motion to approve the proposed budget. The motion was seconded and approved by the club.

Brewer of the Year Points

• Asked for more ideas of activities that support the club.
  • Larry McCallister suggested referring a new member.
  • Larry McCallister suggested becoming a certified BJCP judge.
• David Johnson suggested covering competition entry fees instead of awarding BOTY points.
  • The club bylaws to provide for covering competition entry shipping costs already, but not entry fees.
• Larry McCallister made a motion to point reduction for Ass of the Month.
• Patrick Bohannan made a motion to take the month to think about the changes. We’ll revisit in the March meeting.

New Business

Brewer of the Year 2023

• 1st place: Randy Germann with 2857.5 points!
• 2nd place: Keith Linn with 1040 points
• 3rd place: Larry McCallister with 765 points

Ass of the Year 2023

• Daniel Stubblefield took the bobble donkey.

Upcoming Education Presentations

• February: Patrick Bohannan to do a presentation on pepper beers.
• March: Greg Newman to do a presentation on using the Bru’n Water spreadsheet.
• April–December: TBD
• Ben Farhner to do a presentation on using herbs & spices sometime this year.
• Connor, the new attendee, to do a presentation on building a keezer. He just built one recently.
• No one claimed the “cookbook method” education suggestion. Maybe Tom?
• David Johnson volunteered to do a presentation on preparing koji for making sake.
• Randy Germann volunteered to do a presentation on making ciders or lagers.
• Daniel Stubblefield mentioned the University of Arkansas has a certain amount of hops from their research program that they can allocate to the club (2–3 lbs). The club members could brew beers with the hops and discuss the results as an education piece.

Upcoming Events

• Kevin Elsken (Little Boy Brewery) to host a brew-in/birthday party on February 24, 2024.
• David Johnson brought up the Mead Stampede. More info here.
  • Entries due April–June.
  • Judging July 18.
• Daniel Stubblefield brought up doing a joint homebrew event with CAF (Central Arkansas Fermenters) at a midway point, possibly at the new Prestonrose location.
• Randy Germann gauged club interest in another Big Brew day in May.
  • Discussed collaboration opportunities with Fossil Cove, New Providence, and Boston Mountain.
  • Randy will explore options.

Miscellaneous

• Club agreed that Kevin’s brew-in will be the club social this month.
• Club officers had nothing new to report.
• No new breweries to report.
• Kevin Elsken presented the idea of a club library of brewing books. There was no interest from club members.

Education

• Patrick Bohannan did a presentation on pepper beer (BJCP style 30A: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer)
  • Patrick offered hot peppers to club members.

Kevin Elsken made a motion to close meeting at 8:26PM. Seconded and approved, opening GODS (Greater Ozark Drinking Society).

January 18, 2024

Fossil Cove Brewery, Fayetteville

• Attendance: 19
• Homebrews: 25

Meeting called to order with a toast by Keith Linn.

New Attendees

• John Lee
• Brian & friend, were sitting in the room before the meeting started
• Patrick, walked through the wrong door but was interested in the club!

Old Business

Reigning Brewer of the Month

• Greg Newman

Reigning Ass of the Month

• Steve Weathers

New Officers

• Kevin Elsken is the new President.
• Ben Farhner is the new Secretary.
• Ken Gill is the new Hop Scheduler.

Frost Fest

• February 3rd 2–7pm at the Washington County Fairgrounds.
• Ty & Alex interested in serving.
• James Harvey made a motion for the club to buy & maintain a CO2 tank for events. Motion was not seconded.
• Randy Germann will bring a tent for FLOPS to use.
• James Spurlin made a motion for the club to buy a tent for events. Kevin Elsken seconded the motion, but it was not put to a vote.

Club Financials

• Time to renew memberships! Members can give $20 to our treasurer, Chris Abel, or pay $22 online via PayPal.
• Kevin Elsken presented an overview of the financials from 2023 and where the club stands today.
• The officers need to finalize a budget before the next meeting to present to the club.

Iron Brewer Competition

• Q4 2023: English Porter entries were due at this meeting. Judging will happen this or next weekend, possibly at Social Project.
• Q1 2024: Specialty Cider (C2F), April 18 (FLOPS)
• Q2 2024: Pepper Beer (30A), July 2 (OZ)
• Q3 2024: Imperial Stout (20C), October 17 (FLOPS)
• Q4 2024: Bière de Garde (24C), January 7 (OZ)

Upcoming Competitions

• Bluebonnet Brew-Off: Entries accepted January 2–27
• National Homebrew Competition: Entries can be registered January 27–March 15. Must be an AHA member before registering! Entries due May–June (specific dates forthcoming)
• NWA Women’s Shelter Home Brew: February 17 12:00pm–3:00pm. Social Project will brew a batch of the winning beer! Sign up here.
• Home Brew Showcase in Siloam Springs: May 11
  • Room for around 25 brewers
  • Looking for feedback on the event
  • A lot of voiced support for brewer’s choice award
  • They will add the club logo to marketing material to help promote the club

New Business

Brewer of the Year Points

• Over the last few months of 2023, beer of the month was also tracked in addition to brewer of the month.
• Kevin Eslken made a motion to recognize beer of the month with points in 2024. Patrick seconded the motion, and the motion passed with a vote.
• Kevin Elsken made a motion to create a subcommittee to review the brewery of the year point system and propose any changes to club. Greg Newman seconded the motion, and the motion passed with a vote. The subcommittee is composed of Kevin Elsken, James Spurlin, and Ken Gill.

Beer Feedback

• By show of hands, there was a consensus that club members want feedback on their beers.
• Greg Newman created a QR code that links to a Google Form for providing feedback as an alternative to writing on the voting sheets, which was distributed for a trial run at the meeting.
• Greg Newman proposed redesigning the voting sheets and laminating them for reuse, possibly assigning numbers to beers to simplify submitting feedback.

Club Social

• Randy Germann made a motion for Frost Fest to be the club social this month, even though it’s in February. Kevin Eslken seconded the motion, and the motion passed with a vote.

Officer Reports

• Chris Abel reported that the club has money!
• Keith Linn gave an update on the finance committee: Keith has worked out a preliminary budget, and will reconvene the committee to review it before presenting it to the officers at the next officers meeting.

New Breweries

• Origami Sake is putting on a tasting at Maxine’s Taproom on Monday, January 22 at 5pm, featuring Japanese pub snacks. Origami Sake will also be at Frost Fest.
• Greenhouse Aleworks is now open in Rogers.

Miscellaneous

• James Harvey is going to Oktoberfest 2024 in Munich, Germany and is extending the invitation to club members to go along with him.
• Ty Weston made a motion for the club to pay for Frost Fest tickets for club members who want to go, but the motion was not seconded.
• Greg Newman suggested a pre- or post-Frost Fest social event to avoid the cost.
• James made a motion to do a joint club social with both FLOPS and OZ members at a local brewery each month. I don’t recall if this motion was seconded or voted on but I like it.
• Patrick Bohannan offered to do an education piece on brewing pepper beers. He also offered peppers to anyone who wants them, because he has so many.

The Great Southern Beer Festival

• The event is on April 27 in downtown Springdale. Larry McCallister shared the vision for the event, which is being put in partnership with Ale-truism.
• There will be a separate homebrew village with its own entry fee.
• FLOPS can support the event by providing manpower, particularly to help monitor the event exits along the bike trail. FLOPS will get credit for any manpower they provide, whether or not members are bringing or serving beer.
• James Spurlin is leading the committee for day-of planning. Their first meeting is January 31 at GOAT LAB. James will send out an email with more details.

Education

• Kevin Elsken handed out index cards requesting education topic ideas. Gathered lots of ideas!
• Kevin Elsken gave a presentation on yeast pitch rates.

Brewer of the Month

1. Greg Newman with 9 votes
2. Randy Germann with 6 votes
3. Tom Maddock with 4 votes (missed his sheet before announcing)
4. Alex Smith & Kevin Elsken tied with 3 votes (announced as 3rd place before Tom’s sheet)

Beer of the Month

• Greg Newman with 5 votes for his FOMO IPA

Ass of the Month

• Kevin Elsken, new president and self-proclaimed Mr. Asshole, took the vote

December 21, 2023
Fossil Cove Brewery, Fayetteville

Attendance: 14
Homebrews presented: 17

7:15 PM – Meeting called to order with toast by Patrick

New Attendees

Naomi, Alex’s daughter, and her partner Sarah. Pleasant to meet you.

Miscellaneous

• Green House Aleworks in Rogers – now open, positive reviews
• Black Howler – shooting for March opening
• American Beer Company – East of Rogers on Highway 12 – not yet open according to website

Old Business

• Reigning B.O.M.: David
• Reigning A.O.M.: Casey
• Christmas party was held at Black Howler. A bit of a ways out, but great time and great food. The brewery looks interesting, biggest BIAB operation I have ever seen. Good luck, Patrick.
• Financial update delayed until January.
• Iron Brewer – bring entries (English Porter) to January meeting

New Business

• FLOPS annual membership dues are payable at next month’s meeting.
• Upcoming competitions: NHC and Bluebonnet

Education

• Patrick on fermentation.

Brewer of the Month

1. Randy and Greg (tie)
2. Steve
3. Alex

Beer of the Month

• Greg Newman

Ass of the Month

• Steve Weathers

November 11, 2023

Fossil Cove Brewery, Fayetteville

Attendance: 21

Homebrews presented: 23

7:15 PM – Meeting called to order with toast by Patrick

New Attendees

None

Miscellaneous

Green House Aleworks in Rogers – near opening?

Black Howler – moving equipment Saturday

Flyway Brewing now open in former Apple Blossom location 

Old Business

Reigning B.O.M.: Alex Smith

Reigning A.O.M. : Daniel Stubblefield

Brewtoberfest results:

1. Bobby Peppers
2. Randy Germann
3. Tom Maddock

Germannfest was a great success – 24 beers plus one batch brewed

The final budget proposal will be presented and approved at December officers meeting and results shared in January regular meeting.

Iron Brewer – bring entries (English Porter) to January meeting

New Business

December Social: Christmas Party – Saturday, December 16, 6:30 pm at Black Howler. Address:

11782 North Highfill Avenue, Gentry, AR 72713

Bring a Dirty Santa gift if you can: not a gag gift, but something of nominal value that other members might enjoy having: a beer, a mead, a jar of homemade pickles, something along those lines.

Various upcoming beer competitions and events:

Happy Holidays – St. Louis, MO – registration open November 13th thru December 1st. 

Be on lookout for Foam Cup and NHC competitions in early 2024.

Brewer of the Month rues are being adjusted slightly in order to be sure and recognize individual beers that get the most votes, and not just the brewer who gets the most collective votes for all of their beers.

Ben Mills has invited FLOPS and Oz to participate in Frost Fest, February 3rd 2024. More info to come, but if you would like to participate let Patrick know ASAP and of course make a good beer.

If you have not been a featured brewer then let Greg know so he can schedule a slot for you.

2024 Officer Elections

Nominations were taken and voting conducted to elect 2024 club president. The winner (?) was Kevin Elsken. It should be noted that the electorate was drinking heavily at the time they cast their ballots.

Nominations were taken to replace Kevin as Club Secretary. Ben Fahrner was elected to man the pen and make the coffee. He is from Seattle, you know.

Ken Gill is the new Hop Scheduler.

Education

Dr. Scott Lafontaine from the University of Arkansas came by to talk about the Brewing Science program.

Brewer of the Month

• Ben Fahrner and David Johnson (tie for first)
• Kevin Elsken 

Beer of the Month

Greg Newman (Cider) and Kevin Elsken (Belgian IPA) received 4 votes each

Ass of the Month

Big news! Fresh Ass this Month! Casey Kirkpatrick, possibly a masochist for his self-nomination, was bit rude to our guest.

October 19, 2023

Fossil Cove Brewery, Fayetteville

• Attendance: 23
• Homebrews presented: 26

7:16 PM – Meeting called to order with toast by Keith Linn

New Attendees

• Dan (Ken’s older brother)
• Detlef (actually not new, but been awhile)

Miscellaneous

Kim and Tim brought sausages with sauerkraut and red cabbage. Curry powder in your mustard, who’d a thunk?

Beer intros completed.

Black Howler will be looking for helpers to move things into the brewery. Watch social media if interested on helping out.

New Business

Iron Brewer Info

Iron Brewer Competition style for 3rd quarter was Kölsch. Results:

1. Randy Germann
2. Larry McAlister
3. Alex

Style for 4th Quarter in English Porter. Entries turned in at FLOPS January meeting.

Also Ty and Randy (best of show) placed well in the Girls on the Run competition. Thanks to Darin Dickson for running a good event. 

Various upcoming beer competitions and events

FOAM Cup – Tulsa, OK – registration open October 8th thru November 5th. Judging week of November 13th

Happy Holidays – St. Louis, MO – registration open November 13th thru December 1st. 

Officer Nominations

In November we need to nominate members for officer positions. All existing officers, except for President, are available to serve another term. You can still nominate someone to run against the incumbent. But we will definitely need to elect a new President for 2024.

Social events approved for remainder of 2024

• October – Brewtoberfest, October 28th
• November – Germannfest, November 4th from 2 to 8 at Randy’s
• December – Xmas party at Black Howler, dates TBD

Selected styles for the 1st and 3rd quarter Iron Brewer: Pepper Beer and Bier de Garde

Education

Kevin talked about Real Ale.

Brewer of the Month

1. Alex
2. Kevin
3. Matt

Ass of the Month

Tiger Woods could not equal Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 major golf championships. Can Daniel equal Tom Maddock’s record for Ass of the Month selections? He is giving it one hell of a run.

September 21, 2023
Fossil Cove Brewery, Fayetteville

Attendance: 30

Homebrews presented: 26

New Attendees

• Joel
• Daniel
• Greg
• Jeff
• Erin and Bryn
• Alicia

Miscellaneous

Kim and Tim brought delicious gumbo. Beer intros completed. Easy on the habanero, pardner.

New Business

No officers meeting this month.

Iron Brewer Info

Iron Brewer Competition style for 3 rd quarter is Kölsch. Entries due at OZ monthly meeting, Tuesday,

October 3at the GOAT Lab brewery. Judging date TBD.

Style for 4 th Quarter in English Porter. Entries turned in at FLOPS January meeting. FLOPS needs to select beer styles for 1 st and 3 rd quarters of 2024. Selection will be made at next meeting.

Recent used styles:

• Saison
• Winter Warmer
• Brown Ale
• SMASH
• Amber Ale
• Barleywine
• Czech Premium Pale Lager
• Belgian Blond
• American Wheat
• Doppelbock
• Hazy IPA
• Black Lager
• Red Ale

Note that the selection does not necessarily need to be a BJCP style…

GOAT Lab Oktoberfest is Saturday, September 23 rd from 3 pm to 9pm. Randy Germann and Darin Dickson will be serving their festbiers. Voted as September Club Social Event.

 

Friday, October 13 th at Boston Mountain Brewing: Tapping into Re-Kindled Red Ale with benefits toward Fayetteville Firefighters Association.Various upcoming beer competitions and events:

• Girls on the Run – High Gravity – October 6 th
• Roger Octoberfest – October 14 th
• Brewtoberfest – October 28 th
• Germannfest – November 4 th
• Red Coat Challenge, Denton, TX – registration open thru October 13 th , judging November 4 th – English Styles
• FOAM Cup – Tulsa, OK – registration open October 8 th thru November 5 th . Judging week of November 13 th
• Happy Holidays – St. Louis, MO – registration open November 13 th thru December 1 st .
• Education

Patrick reviewed English Porter style.

Meeting closed at 8:01 pm.

Brewer of the Month

1. Randy Germann

2. Daniel (newbie, brought some very good mead)

3. Ken Gill

 

Ass of the Month

Daniel, Daniel, Daniel…Daniel!!! Are you listening, my friend? Never, ever, ever blame your wife for something even if it is her fault. No good will come of it. None. And because you don’t seem to understand, your friends in FLOPS staged an intervention and voted you Ass of the Month. And remember when your friends call you an ass that is not a problem, but when your wife calls you an ass, note that, as my wife has pointed out more than once, you have to go to sleep sometime…