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1996 Homebrew Club of the Year BY Brian Vessa (Published in the December 1996 Brews and News)
WE'VE DONE IT AGAIN!!! The Maltose Falcons are the California State Homebrew Club of the Year for 1996! Greetings Fellow Falcons this is not a joke or a false alarm, we really have won the Anchor award again for the 3rd time! I was at Stern Grove in San Francisco on Saturday November 16th for the State Homebrew Competition judging. That evening, Bruce Joseph from Anchor opened the envelope and announced that we were their pick for Club of the Year. I jumped out of my seat and yelled "YEAH!!", while members of other clubs stared in envy and disbelief. They all came up later and congratulated us warmly, and many said they just couldn't believe we had won it again after only 2 years. Bruce told me that 25 clubs entered, and they narrowed it down to 3 clubs. They deliberated for a while, but it was really obvious that the Falcons should get it. He also said that we do the most of any club that he knows of, and was very sincere in congratulating me. He said that we would be in touch very soon to pla the major party in Febrewary. To top it off, Michael Bowe won the Sierra Nevada Homebrewer of the Year award for the 2nd year straight--a feat that has only been attained one other time in the history of the award. What a night! I was so glad that we were both made it up there to share in the excitement. After receiving the trophy, I took off the mug on top an quaffed an entire beer right then. It was kind of funny since they had run out of Liberty Ale, the mug was filled with Sierra Nevada Pale! After enjoying this and several other brews out of the famous mug, I returned the trophy to Bruce to take back to the brewery. We will receive the trophy officially at the party in Febrewary, and will then keep the trophy until the next party in 1998! I'll keep everyone posted on the details as they unfold..... Wow, after an event like that, I am really ready for the holidays! I would like to wish each and every one of you a very happy and enjoyable holiday season. We have had a great year full of great events, competitions, learning experiences and fine brew and to top it off, we won Homebrew Club of the Year! But what really makes this club great are the people people who know how to brew great beer and know how to share that knowledge with others. The Falcons as a group really enjoy each other, and truly know how to party! I have had some really great times as a member of this club, and I plan on many more. Thank you all for making this club the fun experience that it is! The November meeting was a lot of fun--check out Doug's Minutes for the details. I missed the Anheuser-Busch tour and the Weber's Oktoberfest, but by all accounts they were excellent. Gary's enchiladas were first rate, and I really enjoyed Ken's demo handout. There were a lot of people asking questions and bantering ideas about, so I would call it a success! Thank you, Ken, for making it happen. We had pretty good interest in Troubleshooters Corner, and then came the Lambic tasting, which really knocked me out! Bruce came up with some great examples, which we tasted and discussed, and then MB shared some of her knowledge on the subject. Having recently returned from a trip to Europe, she lent a lot of insight to what this style really tastes like over there. Then, she showed us the progression she went through trying to learn to brew one. There were several interesting experiments, but the one she served last really hit the style on the money. I know she led a Lambic brew on the shop system on the 9th, maybe there will be a report on another page of this issue. I can hardly wait to taste it.... At the December meeting, we will have a long-awaited demo by Doug King on brewing with cereal grains, and how to deal with them. He poured an example of a rice lager and a corn lager at the last meeting, and I can attest that he knows what he's talking about! Gary will be serving stew for a hearty holiday repast, and is planning to make enough for 30 Falcons, it seemed like we were getting so many leftovers that we've agreed to cook for less than more, so get a lunch ticket early and come and watch the demo. After lunch will be the yearly Holiday Beer tasting, where we will surely try the Anchor and Sierra Nevada offerings, as well as several others Mr. Hydro may surprise us with. This is not to be missed by anyone who appreciates the fine brews of the holiday season! Speaking of holiday tastings, the yearly tasting at the Stuffed Sandwich in San Gabriel will commence at 1PM on Saturday December 14th. Contact David Janss (818) 881-1738 if you want to attend, and send him your money so you can confirm your reservation. Sam and Marlene have always shown us a good time, and the menu of beers will include several from their incredible cellar. The food is really good, too, and you have to buy some in order to participate in the tasting, so plan to show up early for lunch and then taste some very fine beers. It's always a great time! I heard that Crown City is having a Holiday Beer tasting on the 11th for $30. Give them a call for details if you want to go. Thanks to Dean Lynn, we now have attained a non-profit status as an organization. The next step is to apply on the state level, and then after that we can actually apply for insurance and other legal stuff.....(Hmmm, maybe ignorance really is bliss......) Congratulations to Tom Wolf, who brewed the Saison we will be sending to the AHA Belgian Blockbuster competition. His beer finished first out of 7, followed by Bruce Brode's Belgian Strong Ale. Let's take home a ribbon this time! We are looking at doing another hands-on yeast demo at the end of January. The date probably will be Saturday the 25th. The last one was really incredible, 30 people participated and took home yeast to grow and brew with. Even if you don't fancy yourself a biologist, this class will teach you a tremendous amount about the least known subject in homebrewing, and it's a lot of fun, too. A lot of Falcons signed up to be on an Email broadcasting list to be apprised of things in between newsletters. Email me if you want to get on the list. I sent out a broadcast about the Anchor award, so if you didn't get it, your not on the list or I have your address wrong. I am also working with Jeff Jost to get a bulletin board section on the web page so people can freely post stuff. Sounds good to me.... At the meeting, we will start to formulate plans for our trip to Anchor. Bring any ideas you have, and don't forget to bring holiday brew if you have it! I'll see you December 8th!
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