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{{Short description|Oldest homebrewing club in America}}
{{Short description|Oldest homebrewing club in America}}
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{{AFC submission|d|reason|Potentially notable? But contains a load of minutiae not appropriate for Wikipedia. I think you can cut about 50% of this draft out.|u=Drewbeechum|ns=118|decliner=Qcne|declinets=20250628185248|ts=20250619175837}} <!-- Do not remove this line! -->


{{AFC comment|1=In accordance with Wikipedia's [[Wikipedia:Conflict of interest|Conflict of interest policy]], I disclose that I have a conflict of interest regarding the subject of this article. <!--Comment automatically added by the Article Wizard--> [[User:Drewbeechum|Drewbeechum]] ([[User talk:Drewbeechum|talk]]) 07:41, 19 June 2025 (UTC)}}

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== References ==
== References ==

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[[:Category:Clubs and societies in California]]
[[Category:Clubs and societies in California]]
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[[Category:Homebrewing]]

Latest revision as of 21:28, 28 June 2025

Maltose Falcons Homebrewing Society
Formation1974; 51 years ago (1974)
FounderMerlin Elhardt, John Daume
TypeNonprofit
Legal status501(c)(7) organization
PurposeLearning to make the best beer possible
HeadquartersWoodland Hills, California
Membership150 (2025)
President
Tiffany Ashrafi
Websitemaltosefalcons.com

The Maltose Falcons Homebrewing Society (aka "The Falcons") is a non-profit organization founded in 1974[1] in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. Recognized as the oldest active homebrew club in the United States[2], it played a pivotal role in the legalization of homebrewing, established a model of educational and promotional activities for later clubs and promoted the rise of the American Craft Brewing industry[3].

The Falcons were involved in lobbying for state and federal legislation that legalized homebrewing, including H.R. 1337 signed by President Carter in 1978[4].

The club has been recognized nationally, winning the Anchor Brewing “Homebrew Club of the Year” award multiple times and receiving the American Homebrewers Association Radegast Award in 2015.

[edit]

The Falcons worked to legalize homebrewing at the state and federal level alongside other early clubs, including the Draught Board, Underground Brewers of Connecticut and the San Andreas Malts, as well as homebrewers like Lee Coe and Nancy Crosby[5] Efforts succeeded with California's "Bates Bill[6]" and President Jimmy Carter's signing of H.R. 1337 in 1978.[4] Legalization allowed the open discussion of small scale brewing, leading to growth of the hobby and the nascent craft beer industry[3][7].

In 2016, the club worked with the California Homebrewers Association to change state rules to allow homebrew in licensed establishments (bars, breweries, restaurants, festivals)[8]. These changes legalized homebrew club meetings at local breweries and clubs pouring at non-profit beer festivals [9]

Club Activities

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The club runs multiple activities through the course of the year to promote homebrewing and craft beer. This includes monthly educational meetings[10], virtual happy hours[11] and brewing sessions[12], as well as annual festivals and competitions. Meetings are open to the public with other events requiring membership.

The Mayfaire Competition

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Since 1979, the club has held an annual public competition that is the nation's oldest continually running homebrew competition.[13] A number of winners have worked extensively in the hobby or moved into the professional brewing world.

The Mayfaire serves as one of three competitions that awards points for medals towards the Sierra Nevada California Homebrewer of the Year Award[14]

"The Bird" Trophy - Hashiell Dammett
"The Bird" Trophy - Awarded since 1990
Notable Past winners[15]
[edit]
  • John Maier - founding brewmaster of Rogue Ales[16] (1985, 1986, 1987)
  • Jamil Zainasheff - Ninkasi Award winner, beer author and podcast host, founder of Heretic Brewing.[17] (2002, 2003, 2007)
  • Mike McDole - Sam Adams Long Shot winner, podcaster and beer educator[18] (2005, 2006)
  • Mike Mraz - California Homebrewer of the Year, founder of Mraz Brewing[19] (2008, 2012)
  • Nick Corona - California Homebrewer of the Year, founder of Five Suits Brewing[20] (2015, 2017)

Awards and Accolades

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  • 1988 - John Maier - National Homebrewer of the Year from the AHA.[21]
  • 1989 - Anchor Brewing's California Homebrew Club of the Year[1]. The club would win this award again in 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004, 2007, 2011[22] and 2014[23]
  • 2015 - AHA's Radegast Homebrew Club of the Year Award[24]
  • 2023 - Drew Beechum awarded the AHA Governing Committee Recognition Award[24]

Notable Members

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References

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  1. ^ a b Kelleher, Kathleen (1992-10-02). "A Work in Progress : For the Maltose Falcons, one of the nation's largest, oldest and most competitive clubs of home brewers, beer is always". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
  2. ^ Ortega, Eric (2017). "THE GOLDEN STATE OF BREWING: CALIFORNIA'S ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL INFLUENCE IN THE AMERICAN BREWING INDUSTRY. PART II" (PDF). Brewery History (172): 14–15.
  3. ^ a b Stoller, Gary. "Oldest Homebrew Clubs Helped Spark The Craft Beer Explosion". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  4. ^ a b "Jimmy Carter: American homebrew hero?". americanhistory.si.edu. 2019-09-30. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
  5. ^ says, Rick Herron (2013-05-21). "The Audacity of Hops: The Cliff Notes". TomAcitelli.com. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
  6. ^ Walls, Patrick (2017-05-27). "Bill Owens: A US Craft Beer Pioneer, 1982-2001". USCD Theses.
  7. ^ "OAH | The Craft Beer Explosion: Why Here? Why Now?". Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  8. ^ "Help Protect Your Rights - Contact Your Representatives! | Maltose Falcons". www.maltosefalcons.com. Archived from the original on 2015-05-04. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  9. ^ Carter, Andy. "AB 2172: Signed Into Law". California Homebrewers Association. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  10. ^ Li, Kathy Yan (2020-03-04). "Canadian Invasion—A look into an American homebrew club". Canadian Homebrewers Association. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
  11. ^ Drew (2020-06-23). "Maltose Falcons Homebrew Club Launches Weekly Happy Hour to Support Local Breweries". Hopped. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
  12. ^ Verive, John (2014-01-14). "L.A.'s original home brew club Maltose Falcons is turning 40 with a bang". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
  13. ^ "Oldest U.S. Homebrew Club turns 40 in '14, partners with Eagle Rock and Firestone Walker - BeerPulse". 2013-12-25. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
  14. ^ DuRose, Jenny (2009-01-01). "QUAFFers Guide to Homebrew Competitions The 2009 Competition Season" (PDF). Quaff.org. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
  15. ^ "Hall of Champions". Maltose Falcons. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
  16. ^ a b Morrison, Lisa (2011-03-17). "John Maier – Born To Be Rogue". The Beer Connoisseur®. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  17. ^ "BeerTools Articles On Brewing Beer - Competition Corner: Jamil Zainasheff". www.beertools.com. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  18. ^ "Beer Birthday: Mike "Tasty" McDole". brookstonbeerbulletin.com. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  19. ^ Kellum, Krysten (2013-08-21). "Small batches ferment creativity at Mraz Brewing Company". Mountain Democrat. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  20. ^ "From Dreams to Reality – Five Suits Brewing". Retrieved 2025-06-28.
  21. ^ Abatzoglou, Anna (2016-08-22). "John Maier: 1 Brewmaster, 20,000 Brews By the Sea". CraftBeer.com. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
  22. ^ geokills (2010-12-04). Maltose Falcons - Anchor Home Brew Club of the Year Announcement with Bob Brewer. Retrieved 2025-06-24 – via YouTube.
  23. ^ Davis, Cullen (2014-12-01). "We Win" (PDF). Brews & News. 40 (11): 1–4.
  24. ^ a b "American Homebrewers Association Awards". American Homebrewers Association. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
  25. ^ Duncan (2025-03-07). "Director's Cut: The AHA Is Going Independent!". American Homebrewers Association. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  26. ^ Bryson, Lew (2020-01-14). "Seen Through a Glass: Sierra Nevada is 40 -- an interview with Ken Grossman". Seen Through a Glass. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
  27. ^ Fullpint, Franny (2012-06-06). "Angel City Names New Brewmaster, Changes Ensue". The Full Pint - Craft Beer News. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  28. ^ a b Clemens, Randy (2014-10-15). "On the House". LAmag - Culture, Food, Fashion, News & Los Angeles. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
  29. ^ Bosch, Rodney (2000-01-01). "Creative Spirits". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  30. ^ "Key Players in the Craft Beer Movement". The Marvel Life. 2016-10-25. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
  31. ^ Roark, Cortney. "Velas' lifetime of brewing leads to dream come true in Fanatic Brewing Co". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
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