There’s a different energy in the studio when we have guests, and when we welcome two guests that I consider friends, it’s even more fun. Today we welcomed Leo Orlandini and Darel Matthews from Lion Brewery to taste their Stegmaier Oktoberfest. Now I know you may be thinking we’re pushing the season, but keep in mind the real Oktoberfest celebration in Munich Germany actually starts on Sept 18th and ends by Oct 3rd…so we’re right on.
Oktoberfest as we know it started as a wedding celebration in 1810. Prince Ludwig of Bavaria wanted his subjects to share in his wedding celebration so he organized a horse race and a pretty major party attended by over 40,000 guests. Today the 16-day celebration draws close to 7 million people, and perhaps even more this year as they celebrate the 200 year anniversary. It’s also fun to note that each year 5.5 million litres of beer are consumed in Munich and the tents can hold close to 100,000 people.
Lion Brewery produces a seasonal Oktoberfest beer every year in support of the Oktoberfest tradition. It’s a really interesting and tasty fall beer and a seasonal beer I look forward to every year. It’s fun to hear the brewing details of this beer from the guys that brew it, and really fun to taste Oktoberfest with Leo & Darel as well. It was also interesting to hear the capacity that Lion Brewery has to brew beers. We’re all too used to talking to brewers with 100-gallon capacities so it’s an interesting contrast to compare that to Lion’s 45,000-gallon lagering tanks (see photo). Fortunately this makes Lion products available to more and more beer lovers.
I really enjoyed having two friends on as guests…and of course the Oktoberfest was yummy..
Thanks
to Leo, Darel, John, Nancy, Joe & Bosco for yet another fun Friday.
The Friday Beerbuzz…bringing good beers and good people together.
As always you can check out the video on-line at the WILK Friday Beerbuzz page by clicking HERE
Nice show and another great guest. I'm not sure how you keep managing to bring in these local brewers but I love hearing them. My father drank Stegmaier beers and now I can too. Thanks for letting me know the Oktoberfest is out. I'll be heading out to buy some Oktoberfest beer today.
ReplyDeleteMartin
Nicely done. I give you guys an A+ for promting good local beer.
ReplyDeleteGosh I just assumed octoberfest was a beer. I didn;t know it was a festival and a beer style too. Rock on buzzers.
ReplyDeleteWhy no beer cam?
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone. Yes there is considerable tradition behind the Oktoberfest beer and celebration. It was a lot of fun to have Leo & Darel on the show. They and all of Lion Brewery are reaching out to craft beer lovers and I'm excited to see what comes next.
ReplyDeleteBeer cam has a busy social calendar so he was not available today....BUT....no worries...he will be back again (and again) ;)
ReplyDeleteA+ I love Stegmaier and I didn;t know Oktoberfest was out yet.
ReplyDeleteI really like what your beer show is doing for our local beer community. Now all of my friends listen in too. You guys have a great show and you keep finding great beers. I look forward to next weeks beer, but in the mean time I'm going to track down some Steg Oktoberfest.
ReplyDeleteJJ
Still no stout? I'll give you a break because my dad always drank Steg and I have their porter in my refridg now. But Damn you now I have to go out and buy Octoberfest. This one snuck up on me. I checked Lion's website and didn't see Octoberfest was out.
ReplyDeleteRyanW
I've given my hubby his marching orders. I wasn't aware that our local Oktoberfest beers were out until the show so now we'll need to go get some.
ReplyDeleteAmy
Lion has been a fixture in NEPA for a long time and once upon a time they slipped a little bit into the "taken for granted" category...DON'T MAKE THAT MISTAKE!
ReplyDeleteLeo and Darel make consistently good and always affordable beers and you owe it to yourself to give their Stegmaier Oktoberfest and all their other beers a try! You'll be glad you did. And no need to thank me, just doin' my job. lol
Thanks Leo, thanks Darel, and thank you Bill! Another great Friday BeerBuzz!
John
webster@wilknewsradio.com
Steg is one of my favorite fest beers. I think the balance is great and the color is perfect. I checked their web and it doesn't show up so I'm glad you let us know it's available. Now off to Krugels to get some.
ReplyDeleteJoe
Good show and great guests. Keep it up best beer show in the world =}
ReplyDeleteJason
Thanks everyone. Leo & Darel really know their stuf when it comes to brewing and it shows in their beers. I'm excited to enjoy a few Oktoberfests this weekend as well.
ReplyDeleteFall has arrived when Oktoberfest beers come out. Looking forward to Steg.
ReplyDeleteA+ Loved the guests too. I get Lion beers whhenever I can. Thanks to Leo and darrell
ReplyDeleteTell me you all don't have fun doing this show!
ReplyDeleteI have to check the web more often. I didn;t know Oktoberfest was out from Lion yet.
ReplyDeleteJason
More great guests on the friday buzz. Thanks guys.
ReplyDeleteSo how do you book these guests? You've really had some great brewers on the show and I love that you promote the local beer scene. For that we local beer lovers thank you but say please keep it going.
ReplyDeleteTom
Thanks everyone and thanks Tom. We've had some very nice guests that have come on with us over the last few months. How do we "book" them? We just ask.
ReplyDeleteI heard the dancing thing today although I'm a terrible dancer I do want to see how bad the beerbuzz crew is.
ReplyDeleteAnon...trust me no you do NOT want to see how bad we were ;(
ReplyDeleteHow do I get a job like yours? WHat fun it must be to get to do this every Friday.
ReplyDeleteJake (Scranton)
Webster you chose the right beer show to go with. I really like how you do the show and I really have fun listening. The old show is torture now. I love Lion Oktoberfest and I didn't know it was out in Sept. Good news for me.
ReplyDeleteSteve
friday beerbuzz = great
ReplyDeletenuf said!
I'm already excited for the holiday beers you'll do on the show in the future. You've been dead on and thanks to you guys my wife buys three philosophers just about every time she goes to Wegmans. The bad news is she drinks most of it too. Hopefuly I can send her for some Steg Oktoberfest too.
ReplyDeleteCharlie K
How about doing some Hooegarden? My wife and I order it wherever we go.
ReplyDeletePT
Thanks everyone...we really enjoy doing the show...and PT you never know what we may sample on the show...stay tuned. I can tell you fall and winter beers are some of my absolute favorites so watch for some exciting beers over the next 4 months.
ReplyDeleteI think you guys have oficially converted Nancy to being a beer lover too. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteAmy
PS Now even Corbet talks about beer. Next thing we have to get Snedeker involved
Heading to Sabatinis now to look for Stegmaier. I'll send in an update when I get home.
ReplyDeleteTT
great show and great beer too.
ReplyDeleteLarry
Fun stuff!
ReplyDeleteYous show woke me up. My father and grandfather always drank Steg, but as a craft beer lover I never gave them the time of day. I did hear about their IPA but I figured it was all marketing and very little IPA. But now I'm interested. I read back through mybeerbuzz after the show and I see you liked the Steg IPA and I trust your judgement because just about every beer you do on the show I end up loving. I'm going to get some Stegmaier IPA and hopefully Oktoberfest this weekend and give it a try. I'm actually excited about Stegmaier like my dad was. I can;t wait to try it again.
ReplyDeleteLenny (Wilkes-Barre)
Thanks Lenny. DO try the IPA & Oktoberfest. I've really enjoyed both and I look forward to WInter Warmer coming later in Oct too. Be sure to also check out the new Pale Ale. These are not your father's Stegmaiers...they're even better!
ReplyDeleteSteg Oktoberfest will be the featured brand at my annual Beer, Bands, and Bonfire extravaganza Saturday October 9. Bil, you coming?
ReplyDeleteCool Sam...sounds like fun but we have other Oktoberfest plans for the 9th.
ReplyDeleteLenny, glad you came around but cant help thinking of the word "snob." to not try a beer made in your hometown because of 40 year old prejudices is about as close minded as you can get.
ReplyDeleteand regarding thinking that steg ipa was "marketing"-- what marketing does the lion do?? If anything this thread shows that they NEED to do some marketing-- they release a seasonal and no one knows about it, even in their hometown. How about some point-of-sales or website promotion, lion???
Not to be a jerk, but I think we'll all be better off if we formulate our opinions AFTER we try something. that goes for everything in life, not just beer.
Hi Prof. I wasn't trying to be a snob at all. Stegmaier just only recently came up on my radar. I guess I really didn't see much Steg around so I didn't know they were doing craft stuff. Not like I saw it and ignored it. I'm actually glad mybeerbuzz put them on the map for me. I did recently hear about the IPA but I was thinking it was just a name and not a real craft IPA. I'll take the blame for that.
ReplyDeleteLenny
PS I just bought Steg IPA, Pale and Oktoberfest and they're getting cold now.
Ok, thanks Lenny. That is helpful in that it clearly shows the Lion is deficient at promoting their beer. the fact that a beer lover in W-B wouldnt have them on their radar screen shows they have work to do beyond just brewing good beer at a good price. Most of us here are old time fans of the brewery and we want to see it get the respect it deserves.
ReplyDeletehope you enjoy those coldies!
Nice show. Being in SE PA (Chester Co.), Stegmaier is almost non-existent. I push for it, but I am only one guy. Could someone answer a few questions?
ReplyDelete1. are the pale and IPA yet available outside of the variety pack?
2. is Stegmaier available in Wegmans? I saw a little quite awhile ago in Nazareth. I asked my local Wegmans but they claimed distribution headaches - perhaps I'll try again.
3. Besides pestering retailers (my local distributors could not care less about it), any suggestions besides driving to Maryland or NEPA?
Thanks, and enjoy a Steg Ofest for me.
Hi Anon...I can try to answer...
ReplyDelete1) Yes Leo Orlandini mentioned on the show that the next batch of IPA and Pale will be sold in solid cases so you won't have to buy the variety pack to get the IPA. 2) I believe our local Wegmans does have Steg. 3) It's never an easy answer. I do hear form people outsode NEPA that struggle to get Steg. Unfortunately there isn;t an easy answer outside pestering. Pester your distributor, pester their distributor and contact Lion to see if anyone can help.
Thanks...we'll enjoy an OFest for you tonight ;)