Samuel Adams Octoberfest and the National Stein Hoisting Competition Return!

Finalists Will Compete on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live and Winners Receive a Trip to Oktoberfest in Germany

 Football. Foliage. Flannel. These are classic images that make us think of fall.  But over the past five years Sam Adams has added the sight of shaky-armed competitors at bars across the country, holding one-liter glass steins of OctoberFest beer, to that list. Started in 2011, the Sam Adams Stein Hoisting Competition is comprised of local events at participating bars and restaurants across the U.S., and at larger Oktoberfest gatherings like the annual America’s Oktoberfest event in Cincinnati. Competitors are required to hoist a one-liter glass stein filled with Samuel Adams OctoberFest, with a straight arm, for as long as possible. If you sip, spill, or bend your arm, you’re out!

“We started our national Sam Adams Stein Hoisting Competition to pay homage to the more than 200-year-old German Oktoberfest celebration, which itself is the inspiration for our award-winning and highly sought after OctoberFest beer,” said Jim Koch, Samuel Adams founder and brewer. “We’re thrilled to offer craft beer lovers our 2015 batch of OctoberFest and to celebrate our Stein Hoisting Competition’s fifth anniversary in a big way.”

This year marks the first time that craft beer lovers across the country will have the opportunity to witness the final round of the competition in a unique way: via ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live. On October 13th, ABC’s hit late-night show will host the first-ever national Stein Hoisting Competition finals, where two winners – one male and one female – will each receive a Grand Prize trip for two to the 2016 Oktoberfest celebration in Munich.

Samuel Adams OctoberFest, one of the brewery’s most award-winning beers, is a deep red amber, medium-bodied märzen style lager with a rich malt complexity, a light Bavarian Noble hop note, and a smooth, sweet finish. First brewed in 1989, it is a perpetual drinker favorite with classic roasted malt character and sweet notes of caramel and toffee. To find local stein hoisting events near you, visit http://www.samueladams.com/steinhoisting.

How to get your hands on the Samuel Adams OctoberFest:

  • Samuel Adams OctoberFest is rolling out now and will be available nationwide now through October in six-packs for a suggested retail price of $7.99-$9.99, 12-packs (bottles and Sam Cans) for a suggested retail price of $14.99-$17.99, 16oz cans for a suggested retail price of $1.99 to $2.49, and on draft. It is also available in the Fall Variety 12-Pack (which includes OctoberFest, Harvest Pumpkin, Hoppy Red and Boston Lager) for a suggested retail price of $14.99 to $17.99, and 24 packs for a suggested retail price of $22.99 to $24.99. Prices for each package vary by market.

ABOUT THE BOSTON BEER COMPANY:

The Boston Beer Company began in 1984 with a generations-old family recipe that Founder and Brewer Jim Koch uncovered in his father’s attic. Inspired and unafraid to challenge conventional thinking about beer, Jim brought the recipe to life in his kitchen. Pleased with the results of his work, Jim decided to sample his beer with bars in Boston in the hopes that drinkers would appreciate the complex, full-flavored beer he brewed fresh in America. That beer was aptly named Samuel Adams Boston Lager, in recognition of one of our nation’s great founding fathers, a man of independent mind and spirit. Little did Jim know at the time, Samuel Adams Boston Lager would soon become a catalyst of the American craft beer revolution.

Today, The Boston Beer Company brews more than 60 styles of beer. It relentlessly pursues the development of new styles and the perfection of classic beers by searching the world for the finest ingredients. Using the traditional four vessel brewing process, the Company often takes extra steps like dry-hopping, barrel-aging and a secondary fermentation known as krausening. The Company has also pioneered another revolution, the ‘extreme beer’ movement, where it seeks to challenge drinker’s perceptions of what beer can be. The Boston Beer Company has been committed to elevating the image of American craft beer by entering festivals and competitions around the globe, and is one of world’s most awarded breweries at international beer competitions. As an independent company, brewing quality beer remains its primary focus. Although Samuel Adams beer is America’s leading craft beer, it accounts for only one percent of the U.S. beer market. The Boston Beer Company will continue its independently-minded quest to brew great beer and to advocate for the growth of craft beer across America. For more information, please visit