The homebrewing community mourns the loss of a truly great man. Marlon Lang, contributor and member of the Brew Your Own editorial review board, passed at his home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on the morning of Friday, July 13, 2007. Marlon was sixty-four. He is survived by his two children, Paul and Anne, and his wife Carolyn.

A long time member of the Redstick Brewmasters Homebrew Club, Marlon was a prolific and technical brewer who specialized in Belgian and hoppy beers. Any brewer who wondered if their beer tasted hoppy enough could take it to Marlon hoping to receive the coveted moniker of a “Lang Beer.” He took special joy in learning the technical sides of brewing and sharing that knowledge and his experienced opinions on various online resources, especially the “Brews and Views Bulletin Board” on the Homebrew Digest at http://www.hbd.org.

Weekends were a special place at Marlon’s home, known as “Party Central,” where homebrewers from his club would sit on the patio and drink homebrew, craftbrew and talk of all things homebrewing with occasional left turns into NASCAR and other subjects — good friends, good beer, good conversation. These perpetual weekend rendezvous are as missed as the man who made them special.

One of the more unique aspects of Marlon’s style was his affinity for adoption. Marlon accepted many homebrewers into his life and each person selected knew the moniker of “Adopted Son” was something special. When you were adopted by Marlon, you were referred to as “Son,” praised for your accomplishments (in brewing and in life) and felt like part of his family. Marlon’s ability to befriend and inspire was a gift of his charismatic personality that few people possess.

Marlon became a fixture at the Dixie Cup, an annual competition in Houston. Each year he would make the trip west from Baton Rouge at exactly fifty-five miles per hour. Any faster, he would say, and gas would be wasted. Besides, he’d add, he’d get there just the same as those nuts traveling faster. He would come to the competition to work, either judging or stewarding, and would leave with cases of anonymous “mystery beer.” If you have wondered where that third bottle went for entries that did not go to the best-of-show round, there is a good possibility Marlon and those lucky enough to enjoy “Party Central” sampled it. At the competition he was good for a funny story and brewing-related news from the Pacific Northwest, which he visited often, touring many of the area breweries.

Marlon’s dedication to the hobby, his outlook on life and his love of friends, beer, family and country made him a special person who stood out, even in a crowd of often-unique homebrewing characters. He was respected, loved and honored — and now missed immensely. Though there are many good brewers and competent mentors, there was, and will only ever be one Marlon.

Godspeed, Dad. From all of your proud adopted sons.