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As Seen In |
The March of the Mayfair BY Brian Vessa (Published in the March 1997 Brews and News)
Greetings fellow Falcons! The dinner at Anchor Brewing on Febrewary 8th was nothing short of perfection. The beer was excellent, the food was sumptuous, and the crowd was ready to rock! The Maltose Falcons Brews Band put on a set of dance tunes, and I saw people grooovin' on the sides and in the back as well as in front. Bruce and Fran from Anchor went out of their way to make this party memorable for the Falcons, and I want to thank them wholeheartedly on the club's behalf. The entire weekend went very smoothly, and I want to thank David Janss for a great job in putting the trip together-yeah Dave! Steve Keppler had some buttons made for the occasion that are going to become collectors items, and we passed them out to everybody there. I also want to thank Steve and Gina for taking the first turn at the paraphernalia table for the big rush, and to Gary Rich for relieving them later in the evening. The small mugs were very popular, and we sold out of all we brought (there are a few more that will be aailable at the meeting). The tall wheat beer glasses sold well, but didn't sell out, and will also be available at the March meeting. To say the least, we showed the other clubs and the folks at Anchor that the Falcons really deserve the cup, and know how to show their appreciation. It was an event which will not be forgotten for a long, long time. The weather Saturday was picture-perfect in San Francisco, and I enjoyed the day cruising the wharf area in search of seafood and Bloody Marias. To top off the great weekend, a few Falcons judged or participated in the Toronado Barleywine Festival on Sunday, which from all accounts was excellent. Somehow, after a night of partying at Anchor I just couldn't imagine judging Barleywines at 9AM........I saw the list of beers later, and it was mighty impressive......... The March meeting will feature the annual Chili Cookoff. Anyone with a mean streak for chili should contact Gary Smith at (818) 991-5943 to participate. The club will judge your entry along with the others, and cash prizes will be awarded to the top three contestants. Please bring other items that go with chili, such as beer bread and, of course, beer! We have had some really killer chilies in the past, and I am really looking foward to this year's offerings! The board has not met yet as of this writing, so I am not sure what activity is planned for the meeting. We are looking at the possibility of tasting Anheuser-Busch's new American Originals at a meeting soon, and also a guest speaker from Firestone Brewery-I'll let you know as things develop. The Mayfaire competition is already upon us, as it is a month earlier than previous years. Everyone should have received a mailer a few weeks ago with details and entry forms. They are also available on the web page: www.westval.com/mfalcons if you want to download the forms from there. For those of you that don't know, the Mayfaire is one of the biggest and most respected competitions in the state. We regularly get over 200 entries, and we may hit 300 this year because we got the word out early. Sierra Nevada uses it as one of 3 competitions to determine the California Homebrewer of the Year. Every club I talked to at Anchor knew of the Mayfaire, and spoke of it very highly. One of the big reasons we won the Club of the Year award is our participation in competitions and our committment to furthering the art of homebrewing. This competition is entirely organized by our club, and is THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT of the spring for the Falcons. The entry deadline is 5PM Wednesday, March 19th for beers and ees to be at the Home Beers Shop. It is $6.00 per entry. We recognize more different styles and categories of beer than any other competition that I know of, so there has to be a place for YOUR brew. Don't be scared or shy-enter the Mayfaire and get some feedback on your beer from BJCP judges. You might just win a ribbon.....or THE BIRD......Speaking of judges, we need all we can get for the judging on Saturday, April 5th. If you can't make it that day, there are probably going to be some preliminary rounds ahead of time, which will count for points in the BJCP program. I will be contacting the local judges in the database. If you want to judge, please call me or email me-you can also sign up on the web page. Even if you are not a judge, you can help by stewarding on April 5th. Call or Email Dave Stark if you want to help-after all, the stewards get to taste all the best beers from the judging........and, it's fun! After the hard work of putting on the judging, etc., we will have the Mayfaire festival on Saturday, April 19th. David Janss is looking into locations, and will probably have an answer by the March meeting. We are also looking into locations for the Sunfest, so bring your suggestions to the meeting. Also in March-the annual Mead Tasting will be at the shop on the 15th at 1PM. This is guaranteed fun for all, and I am always amazed at how the mead makers in this club just keep getting better. So does old mead.......Contact Bruce Brode if you'd like to participate.
Well, that's all for now. See you on March 2nd. |
