WILKES-BARRE — In 1974, Ed Maier thought the legacy of Charles Stegmaier was gone.
“In 1974, we made the very tough resolution to shut Stegmaier Brewing Firm and promote the model to Lion Brewery, Inc.,” Maier stated. “Though we had been among the many final 50 breweries to outlive because the American brewing business was collapsing, it was a stunning actuality that this was then finish of a proud and profitable 117-year-old household enterprise.”
Immediately, 165 years after Charles Stegmaier, alongside together with his father-in-law, George Baer, based the Baer and Stegmaier Brewing Co. of Wilkes-Barre in 1857, his great-great-grandson — Edward R. Maier — bought again his nice great-grandfather’s “Stegmaier” model from The Lion Brewery.
Maier closed Stegmaier Brewing Co. in 1974, promoting the labels to the Lion Brewery. In 2010, he fashioned the Susquehanna Brewing Firm (SBC), with companions, Mark Nobile, and his son, J. Fred Maier.
The Stegmaier label will now be a part of Susquehanna Brewing Firm, seeing household possession of the Stegmaier model come full circle, reaching into the sixth technology.
“My thought was that the legacy of Charles Stegmaier was gone,” Maier added. “Not as soon as within the subsequent 47 years did I think about that the household title would come again to us.”
However, in late 2021, the chance to buy again the model was offered to Maier by the administration of the Lion Brewery.
“My response was ‘completely,’ as I knew instantly that this was meant to be,” Maier stated. “The legacies of Charles Stegmaier and the Stegmaier Brewing Co. are again within the household’s fingers. My objective is to as soon as once more brew Stegmaier creations that will make Charles Stegmaier and the beer-loving residents of NEPA proud.”
Maier stated getting the Stegmaier model again within the household was emotional for him.
“It’s just like the dream I by no means had,” Maier stated.
Maiuer stated the primary Stegmaier product to be brewed at SBC will seemingly be the Stegmaier Pumpkin beer, in all probability to be launched in August.
“A variety of work must be accomplished,” he stated.
Maier additionally stated the acquainted Stegmaier Gold Medal beer will in all probability not be on the brewery’s to-do listing for now. He stated SBC’s Susquehann Goldencold lager is quite a bit just like the previous Stegmaier Gold Medal.
“Our subsequent Stegmaier brew will in all probability be Stegmaier Porter,” he stated. “And we are going to take a look at a number of throw-back brews accomplished the highway.”
Beer is of their blood
By the age of 15, Charles Stegmaier was apprenticing in his native city of Gmund, Wurttemberg, Germany, to study the artwork of brewing. In 1849, after serving as brewmaster in a number of of the most important breweries in Wurttemberg, he set sail for America.
He brewed the primary lager in NEPA in 1851, beneath the employment of John Reichard after which labored as a brewer for Orchard Brewery in Pottsville, earlier than founding the Baer and Stegmaier Brewing Co. in 1857.
On the time, the enterprise was situated on Hunt Avenue in Wilkes-Barre. The beer was brewed in a picket kettle and saved in an deserted mine tunnel to maintain it cool. Within the early days, Stegmaier personally delivered every barrel of beer with a goat-drawn cart. Inside a number of years, they erected a small brewery on South Canal Avenue.
The Baer & Stegmaier Brewery grew to become the C. Stegmaier & Son Brewery in 1863. A brand new brewery advanced was accomplished in 1894 on the nook of East Market and Baltimore streets.
In 1897, the brewery was integrated because the Stegmaier Brewing Firm. On the time, Stegmaier Brewing Firm was operated by Charles and his sons. After prohibition, Stegmaier Brewing Co. grew to become one of many largest unbiased breweries in North America. The six-story brick brewhouse in Wilkes-Barre nonetheless stands at this time, housing many federal workplaces.
Some 40 years after founding Stegmaier Brewing, Stegmaier bought the George W. Flock Brewing Firm in Nanticoke, after which a yr later, in 1898, he renamed it the Susquehanna Brewing Co. The Susquehanna Brewing Co. operated till 1920, when it closed on account of prohibition.
In 2004, Ed Maier, now a beer wholesaler, merged Premium Manufacturers with Mark Nobile’s Wyoming High quality Beverage to type United Beverage of NEPA. In 2012, Maier and Nobile, together with J. Fred Maier, fashioned the Susquehanna Brewing Co. in Pittston. Similar to Stegmaier Brewing Co., SBC is a family-run operation using technology of each the Maier and Nobile households.
‘Coming full circle’
“Rising up, Stegmaier appeared like historic historical past,” stated J. Fred Maier. “It was a closed chapter earlier than I used to be even born, however it has at all times been a really proud a part of my household.”
Having the chance to purchase again the model is sort of surreal. It’s an incredible instance of life coming full circle.”
“Once we had been based mostly in Wilkes-Barre, my dad used to joke that It’s been six generations and 150 years, and we’ve made it 1 / 4 mile down the highway. I feel the one factor that stunned my dad essentially the most, was the truth that folks nonetheless care in regards to the legacy of Stegmaier,” Maier added. “With all the decisions accessible, it might be all too simple to overlook in regards to the title. I look ahead to the chance to maintain the custom alive. Now I can actually say that I acquired to be part of it.”
Nobile added, “Once we had been rivals, I had great respect for the Maier household and their dedication to Northeastern PA. Once we merged, I discovered them to be unimaginable companions and we’ve had the good success of rising our companies collectively. I’m so blissful they had been in a position to reclaim their household legacy and look ahead to this new chapter for these manufacturers and Susquehanna Brewing Firm.”
Susquehanna Brewing Firm’s first beer, Goldencold Lager, a German-inspired beer, was a tip of the hat to Charles Stegmaier and his gold-medal profitable beer.
Attain Invoice O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.