Draft:Maltose Falcons Homebrewing Society
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Comment: In accordance with Wikipedia's Conflict of interest policy, I disclose that I have a conflict of interest regarding the subject of this article. Drewbeechum (talk) 07:41, 19 June 2025 (UTC)
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| Formation | 1974 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Merlin Elhardt, John Daume |
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Legal status | 501(c)(3) organization |
| Purpose | Learning to make the best beer possible |
| Headquarters | Woodland Hills, California |
| Membership | 150 (2025) |
President | Tiffany Ashrafi |
| Website | maltosefalcons |
The Maltose Falcons Homebrewing Society is America's oldest homebrew club. It was founded in 1974 in the Woodland Hills suburb of Los Angeles, California.[1] It is second in age only to the Durden Park Beer Circle in London (founded in 1971). [2] It predates the founding of the American Homebrewers Association (AHA)
The club was founded prior to the legalization of homebrewing in California or the United States. Members worked with other early clubs, like the San Andreas Malts, and homebrewers like Lee Coe[3] to legalize homebrewing at the State and Federal level, succeeding with Jimmy Carter's signing of H.R. 1337 in 1978.[4]
The club is a founding member of the California Homebrewers Association and an AHA Registered Club.
Membership is open to any person of legal drinking age with an interest in making home brewed beverages.
Club Activities
[edit]The membership meets on the first Sunday of the month for education and beer sharing. It hosts three festivals per year (Mayfaire, Sunfest, Oktoberfest). Since 2020 the club holds regular virtual happy hours paired with local breweries to support the industry[5]
The Mayfaire Competition
[edit]Since 1979, the club has held an annual public competition that is the nation's oldest continually running homebrew competition. It was originally named "Springfest" (as opposed to the club's other fest - Oktoberfest. It was changed in 1987 to Mayfaire to better reflect when the festival occurred.[6] A number of winners have moved into the professional brewing world.
Starting in 1990, the Best of Show winner has been awarded "The Bird" - a black statuette based on "The Maltese Falcon", the club's name sake.
Past winners
[edit]- 1979 - Brent Wilson
- 1980 - Brent Wilson
- 1981 - Bob Sheperd
- 1982 - Maynard Diamond
- 1983 - Tony Abell
- 1984 - Tony Abell, Brent Wilson
- 1985 - John Maier
- 1986 - John Maier
- 1987 - John Maier
- 1988 - Dennis Fink, David Sherfy
- 1989 - Brent Wilson, Daniel Farber
- 1990 - David Sherfy
- 1991 - Kevin Verble
- 1992 - Jeff Mellem, Susan Mellem
- 1993 - Norman Dickenson
- 1994 - Markus Brutsch, Grover Vos
- 1995 - Paul Sedgwick
- 1996 - Bruce Brode, Brian Vessa
- 1997 - Mike Smith
- 1998 - Richard Mansfield
- 1999 - Tom Wolf
- 2000 - Todd Etzel
- 2001 - Mike Riddle
- 2002 - Jamil Zainasheff
- 2003 - Jamil Zainasheff
- 2004 - Bruce Brode
- 2005 - Mike McDole
- 2006 - Mike McDole
- 2007 - Jamil Zainasheff
- 2008 - Mike Mraz
- 2009 - Steve Kirby
- 2010 - Steve Cook
- 2011 - Chuck Ferguson
- 2012 - Mike Mraz
- 2013 - Brian Holter, Toby Kingsley
- 2014 - Daniel Owens, Matt Peterson
- 2015 - Nick Corona
- 2016 - Jeff Koehler
- 2017 - Nick Corona
- 2018 - Israel Arrietta
- 2019 - Mike Neice
- 2020 - Jeff Koehler (The "Latefaire" due to COVID)
- 2021 - John Warner
- 2022 - Jeremy Stacy
- 2023 - Eli Palma
- 2024 - Trevor McGuire
- 2025 - John Aitchison
Notable Members
[edit]Many members of the club have gone on to be involved with the professional brewing world.
- John Aitchison - Tavern Services
- Drew Beechum - author, Experimental Brewing podcast, founding board member of the AHA
- Chuck Bennett - designer of Sierra Nevada Brewing's early labels[8]
- Michael Bowe - founder of Angel City Brewery
- Mark Jilg - founder of Craftsman Brewery
- John Maier - retired brewmaster at Rogue Ales
- Maribeth Raines - founder of Great Beer Company, Brewtek Yeast
- Marty Velas - founder of Fanatic Brewing
References
[edit]- ^ 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.
- ^ "Who Are The Falcons?". Maltose Falcons. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
- ^ says, Rick Herron (2013-05-21). "The Audacity of Hops: The Cliff Notes". TomAcitelli.com. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
- ^ "Jimmy Carter: American homebrew hero?". americanhistory.si.edu. 2019-09-30. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
- ^ Drew (2020-06-23). "Maltose Falcons Homebrew Club Launches Weekly Happy Hour to Support Local Breweries". Hopped. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
- ^ "Oldest U.S. Homebrew Club turns 40 in '14, partners with Eagle Rock and Firestone Walker - BeerPulse". 2013-12-25. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
- ^ "Hall of Champions". Maltose Falcons. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
- ^ 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.