Beer lovers across Massachusetts will test their arm strength and their patience Saturday when Samuel Adams' Boston brewery hosts the 2026 Massachusetts Steinholding State Championship finals at 30 Germania St. in Jamaica Plain. Competitors must hold a full 1-liter glass stein with a straight arm extended in front of their body for as long as possible, with separate men's and women's divisions crowning state champions who can advance toward a national title and a $4,000 payout.
How the Sport of Steinholding Actually Works
The rules, as laid out by Samuel Adams' event host according to Mass Brew Bros, call for competitors to hold the stein steady until judges eliminate them one by one. Per the U.S. Steinholding Association's official rules, the vessel itself is a 1-liter dimpled glass Masskrug-style stein with a handle that weighs roughly three pounds before it's filled with liquid to the marked line. The holding arm must stay parallel to the ground and fully extended without bending at the elbow, and any liquid that spills or even drips from the stein means immediate disqualification.
As Axios reporter Steph Solis notes in her Axios coverage of the event, competitors hold the dimpled glass stein filled with water, and judges issue strikes for improper form — dipping or veering the arm, leaning too far back, or letting a thumb creep onto the handle. Three strikes and a competitor is out. Worcester Magazine's earlier reporting on the sport's rules adds that bracers, supports, straps, grip powders and pine tar are all off-limits for assistance.
A Canton Competitor Chasing a Fourth Straight Crown
Among Saturday's competitors is Jess Gravel of Canton, a three-time Massachusetts steinholding state champion who's back to defend her title and chase a fourth consecutive championship, per Axios' report. Gravel trains both at the gym and at home to prepare, and last year she placed third at nationals, holding her stein for 4 minutes and 51 seconds. This time around, she's hoping to top five minutes at Saturday's championship.
Gravel told Axios that steinholding is as much a mental contest as a physical one, saying competitors can endure longer by mentally pushing themselves through the burn. That mental edge matters in a sport where the margin between first and third place can come down to seconds of grip endurance rather than raw strength.
From Four States to a National Field
The U.S. Steinholding Association, founded in 2015 by Commissioner Jim Banko according to Mass Brew Bros, now runs an 11-year-old competition circuit that has grown considerably since its early days. Axios reports the association expanded from contests in just four states in 2021 to 18 state championships and wild card competitions this year, and Mass Brew Bros describes the 2026 season as the association's sixth year running a full state championship program, now spanning 20 states. Worcester Magazine's 2022 coverage traced the lineage further back, noting the national series grew out of earlier competitions in Arizona, Connecticut, Ohio and Pennsylvania before Massachusetts got its own championship.
Axios also reports that Massachusetts drew close to 500 steinholding competitors this year, a figure attributed to Banko, reflecting how far the state's field has grown since its first championship was being planned back in 2022, when Worcester Magazine described qualifying rounds feeding into a championship at Jack's Abby in Framingham.
What's at Stake Beyond Saturday
Winners of both the men's and women's divisions in Massachusetts will be invited to the USSA National Steinholding Championship, where they'll compete for a $4,000 cash prize, according to the U.S. Steinholding Association. This year's nationals are set for November 21 at Cincinnati Lager House in Cincinnati, Ohio, where the winners of both the men's and women's divisions will each take home the $4,000 grand prize. Massachusetts representatives who make the trip can also receive up to $500 in personal travel reimbursement plus two hotel nights in Cincinnati.
The bar for Bay State competitors to clear is a high one nationally. Worcester Magazine's 2022 reporting cited a U.S. men's stein-holding world record of 21 minutes and 34 seconds, set by a power lifter from Texas, while Banko himself told the paper he once set a national record of 17 minutes and 11 seconds. Saturday's finals in Jamaica Plain will use official USSA rules and an official team of USSA judges, the association says, setting the stage for whoever outlasts the field to earn a shot at chasing those marks in Cincinnati next month.
