Susquehanna Brewing Company (SBC) was founded in 2010, but their roots in brewing go back much further. Their story starts in 1836, when Charles Stegmaier, at the age of 15, worked as a brewing apprentice in his hometown of Gmünd, Wurttemberg, Germany. He went on to serve as brewmaster for several large breweries in Gmünd before setting sail for America. Charles, with his father-in-law George Baier, founded the Baer and Stegmaier Brewing Co. of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1857. 40 years later, Charles purchased the George W. Flock Brewing Co, which was renamed the Susquehanna Brewing Co. It operated until 1920, when it closed due to prohibition.
On the other side of the country, Joseph Maier of Bavaria founded the Maier Brewing Co. of Los Angeles in 1875. In 1917, Edward R. Maier, married Kathleen Stegmaier, granddaughter of Charles, and two beer families were merged.
In 1974, Ed Maier, great-great grandson of Charles Stegmaier, closed the Stegmaier Brewing Co., selling the labels to the Lion Inc. of Wilkes-Barre. He went on to purchase other beer distributorships, including partnering and merging with Mark Nobile – who controlled Wyoming Quality Beverage and whose parents owned the Cat and Canary Tavern in West Pittson - to form United Beverage of NEPA. Finally, in 2010, Ed, Mark and Ed’s son J. Fred formed the Susquehanna Brewing Company in Pittston.
Six generations later, this family of brewers are still going strong. Susquehanna Brewing Company operates a state-of-the-art brewhouse designed and built by BrauKon GmbH, Truchtlaching, Germany (an initial investment of $8-10 million).
