Susquehanna Brewing Co. acquires Stegmaier brand
WILKES-BARRE — In 1974, Ed Maier thought the legacy of Charles Stegmaier was gone.
“In 1974, we made the very difficult decision to close Stegmaier Brewing Company and sell the brand to Lion Brewery Inc.,” Maier said. “Although we were among the last 50 breweries to survive as the American brewing industry was collapsing, it was a shocking reality that this was then end of a proud and successful 117-year-old family business.”
Today, 165 years after Charles Stegmaier, along with his fatherin-law, George Baer, founded the Baer and Stegmaier Brewing Co. of Wilkes-Barre in 1857, his greatgreat-grandson — Edward R. Maier — purchased back his great great-grandfather’s “Stegmaier” brand from The Lion Brewery.
Maier closed Stegmaier Brewing Co. in 1974, selling the labels to the Lion Brewery. In 2010, he formed the Susquehanna Brewing Company (SBC), with partners, Mark Nobile, and his son, J. Fred Maier.
The Stegmaier label will now be part of Susquehanna Brewing Company, seeing family ownership of the Stegmaier brand come full circle, reaching into the sixth generation.
“My thought was that the legacy of Charles Stegmaier was gone,” Maier added. “Not once in the next 47 years did I imagine that the family name would come back to us.”
But, in late 2021, the opportunity to purchase back the brand was presented to Maier by the management of the Lion Brewery.
“My response was ‘absolutely,’ as I knew immediately that this was meant to be,” Maier said. “The legacies of Charles Stegmaier and the Stegmaier Brewing Co. are back in the family’s
hands. My goal is to once again brew Stegmaier creations that would make Charles Stegmaier and the beer-loving citizens of NEPA proud.”
Maier said getting the Stegmaier brand back in the family was emotional for him.
“It’s like the dream I never had,” Maier said.
Maiuer said the first Stegmaier product to be brewed at SBC will likely be the Stegmaier Pumpkin beer, probably to be released in August.
“A lot of work needs to be done,” he said.
Maier also said the familiar Stegmaier Gold Medal beer will probably not be on the brewery’s to-do list for now. He said SBC’s Susquehann Goldencold lager is a lot like the old Stegmaier Gold Medal.
“Our next Stegmaier brew will probably be Stegmaier Porter,” he said. “And we will look at a few throw-back brews down the road.”
Beer is in their blood
By the age of 15, Charles Stegmaier was apprenticing in his native town of Gmund, Wurttemberg, Germany, to learn the art of brewing. In 1849, after serving as brewmaster in several of the largest breweries in Wurttemberg, he set sail for America.
He brewed the first lager in NEPA in 1851, under the employment of John Reichard and then worked as a brewer for Orchard Brewery in Pottsville, before founding the Baer and Stegmaier
Brewing Co. in 1857.
At the time, the business was located on Hunt Street in WilkesBarre. The beer was brewed in a wooden kettle and stored in an abandoned mine tunnel to keep it cool. In the early days, Stegmaier personally delivered each barrel of beer with a goat-drawn cart. Within a few years, they erected a small brewery on South Canal Street.
The Baer & Stegmaier Brewery became the C. Stegmaier & Son Brewery in 1863. A new brewery complex was completed in 1894 at the corner of East Market and Baltimore streets.
In 1897, the brewery was incorporated as the Stegmaier Brewing Company. At the time, Stegmaier Brewing Company was operated by Charles and his sons. After prohibition, Stegmaier
Brewing Co. became one of the largest independent breweries in North America. The six-story brick brewhouse in Wilkes-Barre still stands today, housing many federal offices.
Some 40 years after founding Stegmaier Brewing, Stegmaier purchased the George W. Flock Brewing Company in Nanticoke, and then a year later, in 1898, he renamed it the Susquehanna Brewing Co.
The Susquehanna Brewing Co. operated until 1920, when it closed due to prohibition.
In 2004, Ed Maier, now a beer wholesaler, merged Premium Brands with Mark Nobile’s Wyoming Quality Beverage to form United Beverage of NEPA. In 2012, Maier and Nobile, along with J. Fred Maier, formed the Susquehanna Brewing Co. in
Pittston. Just like Stegmaier Brewing Co., SBC is a family-run operation employing generation of both the Maier and Nobile families.
‘Coming full circle’
“Growing up, Stegmaier seemed like ancient history,” said J. Fred Maier. “It was a closed chapter before I was even born, but it has always been a very proud part of my family.” Having the opportunity to buy back the brand is kind of surreal. It’s a great example of life coming full circle.”
“When we were based in Wilkes-Barre, my dad used to joke that It’s been six generations and 150 years, and we’ve made it a quarter mile down the road. I think the one thing that surprised my dad the most, was the fact that people still care about the legacy of Stegmaier,” Maier added. “With all of the choices available, it would be all too easy to forget about the name. I look forward to the opportunity to keep the tradition alive. Now I can honestly say that I got to be a part of it.”
Nobile added, “When we were competitors, I had tremendous respect for the Maier family and their dedication to Northeastern PA. When we merged, I found them to be incredible partners and we’ve had the great good fortune of growing our businesses together. I’m so happy they were able to reclaim their family legacy and look forward to this new chapter for these brands and Susquehanna Brewing Company.”
Susquehanna Brewing Company’s first beer, Goldencold Lager, a German-inspired beer, was a tip of the hat to Charles Stegmaier and his gold-medal winning beer.