Melani Lovoy, a west Blount native and 1993 graduate of Hayden High School, won the women’s division of the Hofbräu Masskrugstemmen Alabama Tournament, the state championship, at Cullman Oktoberfest on Saturday, October 3, setting a new Alabama record. The win makes her Alabama’s women’s stein hoisting champion and qualifies her to represent the state at the national finals in New York City next year. Lovoy now lives in Fultondale and still has many ties to the Hayden area.
Lovoy held the stein for 4 minutes, 12 seconds, breaking the previous Alabama record of 3:45. Along with the qualifying spot, her prizes included airline tickets to New York, two nights at a hotel, a ride on a float in the Steuben Parade, Hofbräu gear and a new stein.
Lovoy had competed for fun at local breweries before qualifying for the state tournament on her first try, with a time of 3:02 at Hop City in Birmingham on September 10. She then won contests at Cahaba Brewing and Good People Brewing in the weeks leading up to the state tournament.
A year earlier, she had written “Train for State Stein Hold 2025” on a whiteboard on her refrigerator and kept a running list of her results. It includes third place, and the top finish among the women, ahead of nine men, at a Cahaba Brewing contest in October 2025 with a time of 4:14, and second place, with a time of 3:06, at a U.S. Steinholding Association event in Knoxville, which got her an invitation to the state competition.
A crowd of friends and family came out to cheer her on. “It honestly is what pushed me through until the end,” Lovoy said.
The Hofbräu Masskrugstemmen national finals are held each September at SummerStage in New York’s Central Park, as part of the city’s Steuben Parade and Oktoberfest weekend. The national champion wins a trip to Munich, Germany, according to the contest’s organizers.
Under official Hofbräu rules, competitors hold a one-liter stein of beer, about five pounds with the beer, in one outstretched arm, parallel to the floor, for as long as they can. Spilling any beer disqualifies a competitor. The contest at Cullman Oktoberfest was held on the main stage at Depot Park.