Press release… The Berks Brewers Guild, a group of Berks County, Pennsylvania brewers, announced today that they will release their first collaboration brew, Lauer’s Fellowship Ale, on Thursday April 12, 2018. For each pint sold, the member breweries will donate $3.50 to complete the restoration of the Frederick Lauer monument in City Park, located in downtown Reading, Pennsylvania. The group expects to raise over $5,500. Lauer was a pioneering brewer who operated two breweries in the City of Reading in the mid 1800s. He was an industry activist and was elected as the first president of the United States Brewers’ Association. Lauer was a prominent citizen who actively supported the community by organizing or funding the Berks County Agricultural Society and the Board of Trade, donated land for a community park, and helped finance the Reading and Columbia Railroad. The monument was erected in his honor in 1885 and was the first statue to be built in Reading’s City Park.
The Lauer statue was vandalized and four bronze plaques on the base were stolen in 2015. In 2016, the national Brewers Association of Boulder, Co. raised funds to restore the statue and replace the plaques. The statue itself has been restored, but there is more work needed to complete the project. The Brewers of Pennsylvania, the state’s official brewers guild, raised partial funds to restore the base, foundation and landscaping which had shifted and deteriorated over many years of weathering and neglect. The new money raised by the Berks Brewers Guild will be combined with the Brewers of Pennsylvania funds to rebuild the base and provide new landscaping to fully complete the project.
Lauer’s Fellowship Ale is a Kolsch style ale. This crisp, clean tasting German style of beer was selected by the participating brewers to honor Lauer, his German heritage and celebrate his legacy of serving his fellow citizens and brewers. Lauer was known to brew ales and lagers, although the exact styles have been lost in history. Hallertau Mittelfruh hops were used in the collaboration brew – an ingredient from Germany which was likely used by Lauer. The beer, brewed at Saucony Creek Brewing Company by all of the participating brewers, will be available on draft only at each of the following Berks Brewers Guild member breweries – Broken Chair Brewing Company (West Reading), Chatty Monks (West Reading), Oakbrook Brewing Company (Reading), Saucony Creek Brewing Company (Kutztown) and Schaylor Brewing Company (Shillington). A celebration event at the statue is being planned and will be announced when the date and details are finalized.
About the Brewers of Pennsylvania
The Brewers of Pennsylvania is a 501c6 trade association that brings together leaders of Pa.-based breweries in order to promote and protect the brewing industry in the state. The Brewers of Pennsylvania, a strong and influential organization, serves the consuming public of Pa. by encouraging brand diversity in the market. BOP members employ an estimated 10,000 employees earning $296 million in wages and generating $1.1 billion in direct economic benefits to communities throughout the state. Its signature annual event is the popular Meeting of the Malts.
