Sitting on Tioga Street (Route 287) north of Wellsboro, PA, Steve's Beverage Center is not a…read moredestination on the tourist map for town, but certainly serves an important function. It is the primary beer distributor for the area, and thus, an indispensable institution of the community.
We stopped in to pick up suds to accompany our dinner. Walking in to the warehouse store, we immediately saw the wall of beer bottles and cans available in their inventory. Over 600 according to Steve and his assistant. Made for a difficult choice, but we were up for the challenge.
About half way down the shelved wall I saw Leinenkugel Red Lager in a bottle, and chose it. Steve wasn't sure if it was in stock. Apparently, the Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin brewer had been on strike over the summer, but had negotiated a settlement to the workers satisfaction who returned to work in August. His assistant knew it was in the shop, and immediately went to pull a cold case for us.
Thing about Steve's is that they only sold cases, so we had to make a commitment to like and drink 24 bottles of Red Lager. We were game; completed the transaction and I lugged it to the car to put in the trunk. A few moments later, when we arrived at the restaurant and opened the box to retrieve a few bottles to enjoy with dinner, we saw that there were only 23 bottles, not the expected 24.
The case was clearly sealed at the factory, so the pilfering happened there, and not in Wellsboro. We chalked the loss up to the exuberance and celebration at the factory upon settling their union talks, and decided not to ask Steve for an adjustment. We were just doing our part and participating in toasting the labor agreement. Small price to pay.
Besides, we really liked the beer. It is seasonal, like many of Leinenkugel's labels, and had a good taste, especially with our recent spate of spicy meals. Beyond that, when poured into a glass, the red tint of the brew was beautiful, like dark cherry amber. This was a real winner.
I have been a fan of this brewery, despite its merger with Molson/Coors, for years, and especially like their lighter fermentations with fruit, like Summer Shanty, Juicy Peach and Berry Weiss.
Glad to know that they can be found by the case in north central Pennsylvania at Steve's.
