Lori Jane Shoenthal, a 1996 Northwestern Lehigh High School graduate, and her husband Alex, a 1994 Northampton high School graduate, have become active volunteers in the Charlotte, N.C., beer culture.

"Alex has always been a beer enthusiast. He used to help his dad, James make beer," Lori Jane Shoenthal said. "We joined a homebrew club, called the Carolina Brewmasters, just to meet some new people when we moved to Charlotte N.C. in fall 2004."

Since joining, the couple has become very active in the club. Alex Shoenthal, the son of James and Caryn Shoenthal of Northampton, and mom Marcia Farley, even received his own brewing equipment for Christmas 2006.

This includes a large glass carboy, fermenting buckets, turkey fryer (propane base), 5-gallon steel kettle, yeast, hops, malt and a good digital thermometer.

"We volunteer for the big Charlotte Oktoberfest, which the club puts on and donates all proceeds to charity," said Lori Jane Shoenthal, daughter of Larry and Betty Hartman of Germansville. "For fun, I would dress up just to be in the spirit of the event and we would constantly be asked by patrons to have their picture taken with me and a friend in our dirndls."

In 2009, along with the support of the Carolina Brewmasters, Lori Jane Shoenthal became the Official Charlotte Beer Girl and started a group called the Charlotte Beer Girls.

"We were given our own tent area for patrons to take pictures with us. In return we asked they make a donation to the charity that we selected," she said. "To date, we have raised close to $6,000 that has gone to eight various animal rescues and children's charities."

Some of the charities the group donates funds to include: York County Humane Society, National Kidney Foundation of NC/Victory Junction Camp, Coalition to Unchain Dogs, Project Halo, Dog Days of Charlotte, Boston Terrier Rescue Team of North Carolina and South Carolina, and Rural Hill Preservation.

"I had 10 girls volunteer at this year's Oktoberfest," Lori Jane Shoenthal said.

In addition, she recently cut her hair and donated it to Locks of Love.

"I cut my hair as a symbol to cut the chains from dogs that are always chained in a yard. Coalition to Unchain Dogs helps provide fencing to struggling families to allow their dog to have freedom," she said. "I gave the honor to my mom Betty Hartman of Germansville to do the cutting."

In May, Alex Shoenthal won the Gambrinus Cup Competition at the U.S. Open for his Rye IPA.

"He then had the opportunity to go to Foothills Brewery in Winston Salem to participate in brewing his recipe on their 30-barrel system," she said. "This beer was then served all month long at the Carolina Renaissance Fair.

"For the first time, Foothills will be bottling this beer, which will then be sold at Harris Teeter's specialty stores called 201 Central."

Alex Shoenthal also named his beer, which he is calling Battle Crye. It is spelled this way as it is a rye beer.

"He has a Best of Show at the U.S. Open in 2011 for his mead, and in 2012 for Belgian Specialty ale," she said. "He also won a third best of show for the Highland Cup for his MeanBean Vanilla Bourbon Porter."

From what Lori Jane Shoenthal has counted hanging on the wall, her husband has 15 first place ribbons, 11 second place ribbons and 10 third place ribbons from various other competitions and beers.

He also has written articles about the season and recommended food cooked with seasonal beers and listed recipes, for Fort Mill Magazine, which is published quarterly.

Their dream is to own a facility where they can make specialty beverages to sell to the public.

In the meantime, they have become almost a staple in the Charlotte beer culture and at beer festivals around St. Patrick's Day, Oktoberfest, and other events in between.

"We got to be special guests of the King and Queen during the Renaissance Fair's Brewfest celebration Oct. 19 in Huntersville, N.C," she said.

Lori Jane Shoenthal, business coordinator at Perficient Inc., said she and Alex, who started working at Four Friends Brewery in October, recently found out they are expecting their first child.

Although she won't be drinking beer, she will attend the festivals and continue to help raise funds for local charities.