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Homemade beer brewers hope for positive feedback from Carbondale’s Oktoberfest
Beki, left, and Frank Krantz stand with their home brewed beer inside their Mayfield home.
jason riedmiller/for go lackawanna
MAYFIELD – When the city of Carbondale welcomes beer fans downtown on Saturday, Oct. 2, one family with a history of brewing in the region will be prominently featured.
Frank X. Krantz IV and Beki Krantz, Mayfield, operate a home brewery called “The Krantz Brewing Co.” Amid vendors like L.T. Verrastro, Inc., and Banko North, Inc., the Krantz family will also offer their unique beverages at Carbondale’s second annual Oktoberfest.
“We’ve been getting a lot of attention. I wonder what all of the fuss is about,” Frank Krantz said with a laugh.
The Krantz family has been brewing beer for three years but almost didn’t reach the point they’re at today. Originally, 10 years ago, Frank Krantz said he received a home brewing kit as a gift that included “terrible ingredients” that produced equally terrible beer.
Years later, the couple renewed their interest after seeing a recipe on a Food Network program with host Alton Brown. The show included actual ingredients, as opposed to “beer in a bag,” Beki Krantz said.
That interest spawned a search of the Internet auction site, eBay, where Frank Krantz ordered equipment and promptly brewed his first batch.
“Everyone was surprised at how good it was,” he said.
The idea of using recipes to create beers attracted Beki to the process. “I love to cook. I go to a restaurant, I taste a dish and I dissect it in my mind and then recreate it. I do the same thing with beer,” she said.
Frank and Beki Krantz find themselves in the midst of a flurry of activity surrounding home brewing as a commercially successful hobby. For example, Breaker Brewing Company, a home brewing operation in Plains, distributes beer to 26 locations around northeastern Pennsylvania, according to breakerbrewingcompany.com.
“We’ve been basically serving it to friends and family at parties to get an idea of whether or not there’s an interest,” Frank said.
“Beer makes good friends,” Beki added.
Brewing beer pays a sort of homage to the Krantz family’s history. Frank’s great-great-grandfather, Peter Krantz, operated the Peter Krantz Brewery in Carbondale during the late 1800s and early 1900s, until prohibition was mandated in 1920 by the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. One of his five sons, Charles Krantz, ran the Krantz Brewing Company in Findlay, OH, after operating the Fell Brewing Company in Simpson with his brothers.
Some of the Krantz’s original creations include Great-Great-Grandpa Pete’s Oktoberfest, inspired by his ancestor’s emigration from Germany; Fuggles IPA, a light India Pale Ale named for the hops they use; Nittany Lager, a salute to their love of Penn State; and Lemon Wheat, which Beki Krantz calls their “after-lawn mowing beer.” A milk stout and pumpkin ale will also be available Saturday.
Both Beki and Frank have hopes to find a commercial location to sell their product in the future. For now, however, “We’re strictly home brewers,” Beki Krantz said. “Everything for Oktoberfest is going to be donated.”
Carbondale Mayor Justin Taylor said events like Oktoberfest and the city’s wine festival held in June 2009 and 2010 are great economic development initiatives.
“To bring 300 or 400 people to the city on a weekend is a huge success,” Taylor said. “It’s an opportunity for us to get people talking about Carbondale.”
Taylor said the Oktoberfest and wine festival may expand to weekend-long events in 2011. With that expansion, he hopes to attract more homegrown entrepreneurs.
“Ultimately, we’d love to have 10 or 15 home brewers showcased here next year,” he said.
If you go
WHAT: Carbondale’s second annual Oktoberfest, featuring Mayfield’s own Krantz Brewing Co. and more
WHERE: downtown Carbondale
WHWN: Saturday, Oct. 2, noon to 6 p.m. Live music with Joe Stanky and the Cadets, 2 to 5 p.m. Beer tasting, 2 to 6 p.m.
TICKETS: $15 in advance, $20 on Saturday, $5 for designated drivers.
INFO: carbondale-pa.gov; (570) 282-4044, ext. 15.