Had It For The First Time Today!

I had my first bottle of Lionshead beer today. It has a smooth and lite taste, kinda has a little sweetness to it. The Alcohol% is 4.5 and don't forget puzzles under the cap! Yes it is a cheap beer by way of price but it is not bad at all, so I think. And we here in PA have to support our own too!

History of The Lion Brewery.

The Brewhouse was built in approximately 1905. At this time, the Delaware and Hudson Company sold the land to The Luzerne County Brewing Company. On March 20, 1905 the land was sold in the sum of $1.00 under the express condition that The Luzerne County Brewing Company would have erected or cause to be erected within one years time, a brewery of 100,000 barrels per year and sell each barrel for no less than $1.00 each. If The Luzerne County Brewing Company used the land for anything else or did not cause a Brewery to be constructed, sole ownership of the property reverted back to The Delaware and Hudson Company.

So, Brewery construction began. The Brewery survived from construction through Prohibition. During the Prohibition period, The Luzerne County Brewing Company survived by making cereal beers. These were beers that contained one half of one percent of alcohol (.5%) and were made from wheat and grains used to make cereal. The beer was referred to as "Near Beer" because of its low alcohol content. After Prohibition, the Brewery was re-acquired.

In 1933, Ted Smulowitz and Leo Swartz purchased the Brewery from The Luzerne County Brewing Company. At this time, it was renamed The Lion Brewery, Incorporated. Mr. Swartz remained only a few years with The Lion and left quickly. Ted Smulowitz was left with the large investment and decided to bring his family into the operation. From this point on, it became a privately owned, family run Brewery. The Smulowitz family owned and operated the Brewery up until 1993. They spent 60 years in the Brewing business before they decided to hang up their hats.

Under the Smulowitz family operation, The Lion was able to acquire the Stegmaier family of brews. In 1974, when the Stegmaier Brewery closed its doors, The Lion began making the famous brews of Gold Medal, Porter, and Light. This marked a huge milestone is The Lion's history. After The Lion acquired the Stegmaier family of brews, it became the only remaining Brewery in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The Lion was able to survive the nearly 28 breweries, which once stood between Scranton and Nanticoke.

The Smulowitz family operated the brewery until 1993, leaving the brewing industry after 60 years. At the time, the Brewery was sold publicly to The Quincy Partners, a group of investors out of Long Island, New York. At that time they brought to us Chuck Lawson and Patrick Belardi to operate the Brewery for several years. In 1999, Chuck and Patrick were able to acquire the funds necessary to buy the Brewery and make it once again a privately run company. Chuck is our current President and CEO and Patrick is our current Vice President and CFO.