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Thanks to Jay Ankeney for writing such a great article about our Falcons Happy Hour in the May/June edition of Zymurgy magazine. 

Read the Article (AHA Members / Non-AHA Members)

Don't forget to sign up for an AHA Membership and support the organization that supports our hobby!

Feb. 16 Club Shop Brew Session - Dortmunder Adambier

Falcons, you won't want to miss the next monthly Club Shop Brew Session, coming up on Sunday, Feb. 16, as club president John Aitchison takes on a very rare and special beer - Dortmunder Adambier. John is a certified beer judge, and he leads the club's Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) training course, and he's won five medals with this recipe, so this is a terrific opportunity to learn from an a highly accomplished brewer. 

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Help Protect Your Rights - Contact Your Representatives!

Right now the great annual tradition of The Southern California Homebrewer's Festival is in danger of not happening. Thanks to the passage last year of AB 1425, the California ABC is trying to shutdown the 23 year old SCHF. The new bill heavily restricts the rights of homebrewers in the use of their beers. 

Being Water Wise

With drought an ongoing issue here in the Southland - how can home brewers do their part while still being water efficient?

In case you hadn't noticed - this is the third very mild (and currently freakishly warm) winter in a row for LA. With the warmth comes a decided lack of rain. Now, this in and of itself wouldn't be a bad thing except that the drought like conditions have extended all the way to other parts of the state that provide a large amount of our water. The Northern California snow melt that normally fills reservoirs and aqueduct is at 20% it's normal levels.

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Hangar 24 Pugachev's Cobra Keg Tapping at Crazy Harry's!

We're tapping a keg of Pugachev's Cobra!  For those of you who haven't had it - its a rare, boozy, Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout (13.8%).  We'll also be pouring Hangar 24 Vinacious and Double IPA along with 15 other rotating taps.

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The Best Brews of Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

Come and try some of Firestone's Reserves ALL ON TAP!!! Featuring...... Firestone XVII
Firestone Velvet Merkin Oatmeal Stout Aged in Bourbon Bbl’s
Firestone DBA Unfiltered
Firestone Sucaba
Firestone Pale 31 on Cask
Plus More……

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January 2014 Brews and News (corrected)

Volume: 
v. 40
Issue: 
i. 1
Newsletter Date: 
01/2014

Good afternoon fellow Falcons.  Here is your slightly late January Newsletter.  You should also be getting it via email if you are a paid member.  Drew Beechum sends out an email blast to all paid members every Thursday or Friday night.  If you are not getting them, check your spam folder.  If it isn’t there, please email membership@maltosefalcons.com and cc webmaster@maltosefalcons.com

 

December 2013 Club Shop Brew Session - Old Smokey Barleywine

The final Club Shop Brew Session of 2013, on Dec. 29, continued the 40th Anniversary theme of brewing historic and award winning Falcons' recipes during the Club Shop Brew Sessions and stockpiling plenty of mind-blowing beers to be poured at the big 40th Anniversary Banquet. December's brew session brought back a recipe that has become a club legend -  Old Smokey Barleywine. Brew crew leader Richard "Beanie" Webster led the team to brew this famously delicious barleywine using Falcon Tom Wolf's original recipe, which has won too many awards to list name here.

Jan. 18 Club Shop Brew - "Xerxes, Beer of the Gods" Belgian Strong

For the next Club Shop Brew Session set for Saturday, January 18, 2014, we're continuing the Maltose Falcons 40th Anniversary theme by inviting  Michael Bowe to lead the brew session.  Michael was a long-time Falcons member, who started out homebrewing ended up opening Angel City Brewing.

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All-grain Brewing And Equipment Class

Interested in all-grain brewing? Register for our upcoming class that will teach you how! We will cover all aspects from strike to sparge as well as building your equipment. Cost is $25. Please call the shop to sign up.

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Brew 101 Class

Our next new and improved Brew 101 class is coming up soon. Topics will include beer history, basic science, and extract brewing techniques, tips, and tricks. If you've been thinking about brewing beer at home and would like to see how it's done, all while enjoying some great homebrew call us to sign up! Cost is $15 dollars

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February Meeting - Chili Cookoff / Baltic Porter Judging

Come one! Come all to the second Maltose Falcons meeting of 2014! Starting at noon, we'll be up to our usual tricks with a special Grand Hydro presentation and then off into business and lots of homebrew. This month we have two special features:

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January Meeting

Come one! Come all to the first Maltose Falcons meeting of 2014! Starting at noon, we'll be up to our usual tricks with a special Grand Hydro presentation and then off into business, lunch ($5-6) and lots of homebrew.

If you want to get close feedback on your beer, bring a bottle or two for the Troubleshooter's Corner. If you want to share with the club in general - bring a six pack, growler or keg!

As always, we get started at noon and everyone is welcome to join us!

Home Beer Wine Cheesemaking Shop

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2014 Great American Beer Festival

The Great American Beer Festival is the premier U.S. beer festival and competition.

Each year, GABF represents the largest collection of U.S. beer ever served, in a public tasting event plus a private competition. GABF brings together the brewers and diverse beers that make the U.S. the world’s greatest brewing nation.

GABF was founded in 1982, and has been growing and evolving along with the American craft brewing industry ever since.

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December 2013 Brews and News

Volume: 
v. 39
Issue: 
i. 12
Newsletter Date: 
12/2013

John Aitchison talks about his awesome BJCP class that just finished up.

Announcement of the 2014 Doug King Memorial Homebrew Competetion

Falcon Noel d’Or shop brew by Kent Fletcher.

The Grand Hydrometer talks about ciders!

"Top 40" Old Ale shop brew by the Ale Wench.

"Thanks for the Toys" by Irene Kaplan.

Using Digital Temp Controller for Sous Vide Cooking

I have two digital temp controllers that I use for controlling the fermentation temperature in my chest freezers.  Well, chest freezER, as one is current broken and waiting to be replaced.  So, with an unused controller on my hands, I was excited to see an interesting post on Reddit discussing using a controller for sous vide cooking.

Cacao Nib Extract - The Drew Way

Cacao Nibs add a wonderful rich earthy roasted chocolate character to a beer, but getting the dose and timing right is a bit of a trick! Here's Drew's method of making a simple tincture with nibs and vodka. It's fast, cheap and fool proof!

I'm a big fan of tinctures for doctoring just about any beer and making new fantastic flavors. Chocolate is a favorite of brewers, but the problem is always how to get it in the beer without all the fat and other bits. Some folks like adding cocoa powder to the boil kettle, others like adding German Baker's Chocolate to various parts of the process. Others still like using chocolate flavored coffee syrups. I've tried them all and can't say I find them to right for me or easy to use consistently. (ok, except the syrups).

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Old Stout Porter

A bit of a throwback recipe, bumping up the gravity to the high end of the porter category and adding a healthy amount of brown malt to give it a full, complex, roasty character with some traditional English hops for an herbal, perfumed aroma with fruity notes. This was brewed on the shop system in September '13.
Brew Date: 
09/15/2013
Brewed By: 
Shop Brew Crew led by Cullen Davis
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Dec. 29 Club Shop Brew - Old Smokey Barleywine

The December Club Shop Brew on Sunday, Dec 29, will bring back a recipe that has become a club legend -  Old Smokey Barleywine. Join brew crew leader Richard Webster to brew this famously delicious barleywine using Falcon Tom Wolf's original recipe, which has won too many awards to name here. This is a big, rich, deep, complex beer that needs love and a long fermentation time, so we must brew it now to have it ready to pour at the Maltose Falcons 40th Anniversary Banquet.

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December 2013 Troubleshooter's Corner Notes

After a long and healthy Holiday ale tasting - we moved onto a quick swing around the block and performed lunch time examinations on the beer. Once again, nothing horrible.. just a few things dodgy and quickly corrected - (As always - brewers are anonymous unless they wish to share their name with everyone)

 

Possibly Too Thin Porter

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Thank You Falcons!!! Toy Drive a Huge Success!

Falcons,

I just wanted to send a note out to thank you again for ALL the wonderful gifts you brought to the meeting yesterday for our 5th Annual Toy Drive.  I was overwhelmed by your generosity in bringing so much for the kids.  

The Fire Department was amazed to see how heavy the bags were that we dropped off and they wanted me to thank you from them as well.

Have a very Happy Holiday and only the Best for the New Year.

Take care,

Irene (aka The Alewench)

   

Top Forty Old Ale

Shop Brew, in preparation for the 40th Anniversary Party that's just less than a year away. This brew maxed out the new 55 gal mash tun and we still had to add extract to get the BIG Old Ale we wanted.
Brew Date: 
11/24/2013
Brewed By: 
Steve Cook (crew leader), Kale Bittner, Alex Samovitz, Russell Rieder, Steve Rosolio, Chris Moon, Matt Myerhoff, Dennis Canevari
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2014 Doug King Memorial Competiton Official Rules

1. The Maltose Falcons' Doug King Memorial Competition is a BJCP-sanctioned homebrew competition open to all homebrewers.

Bastogne, Beer and Bullets

Stumbled across this story in the Stars and Stripes about how a trooper in the famed 101st Airborne discovered he had been immortalized in local Bastogne legend. Former Paratrooper Recalls WWII Incident that Led to Beer Fame

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