| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Alcoholic beverage |
| Founded | 1829 |
| Headquarters | Pottsville, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Products | Beer |
| Production output |
3.6 million barrels 600,000- Pottsville, PA 1,500,000- Port Carbon, PA 1,500,000- Tampa, Florida (2018) |
| Owner(s) | Richard L. Yuengling, Jr. |
| Website | www.yuengling.com |
D. G. Yuengling & Son is the oldest operating brewing company in the United States, established in 1829. It is one of the largest breweries by volume in the country, and is the second largest American-owned brewery after the Boston Beer Company, makers of Sam Adams beer.[1] Its headquarters are in Pottsville, Pennsylvania.[2]
Yuengling produces about 2.3 million barrels annually, which as of 2005, placed it sixth among American commercial breweries. Besides its two Pennsylvania facilities, Yuengling also operates a brewery in Tampa, Florida. Yuengling is pronounced i/ˈjɪŋlɪŋ/ ying-ling, and is an Anglicized version of Jüngling, the German term for "young man". The family-owned brewery has traditionally changed ownership through the purchase of the company by the offspring of the previous owner.[3] Due to the popularity of Yuengling Traditional Lager in Pennsylvania, it can be ordered by simply asking for a lager, especially in eastern parts of the state.[4]
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The German brewer David Gottlob Jüngling immigrated to the United States in 1823 from Aldingen, a suburb of Stuttgart, in the Kingdom of Württemberg. He anglicized his surname from Jüngling to Yuengling and began the "Eagle Brewery" on Center Street in Pottsville in 1829. His eldest son, David, Jr., left the Eagle Brewery to establish the James River Steam Brewery along the James River in Richmond, Virginia.[5] The first brewery burned down in an 1831 fire and the company relocated to W. Mahantongo Street at 5th Street, its current location.[6] The Eagle Brewery changed its name to "D. G. Yuengling and Son" in 1873 after Frederick Yuengling joined his father David in running the company. Although the company's name changed, the bald eagle remained the company's emblem. During the late 19th century, breweries were also opened in Saratoga, New York City, and Trail, British Columbia, although they were eventually merged with the Pottsville plant.[5]
Frank Yuengling began heading the company in 1899 after his father Frederick died.[3] During the Prohibition era, Yuengling survived by producing "near beers" (beverages with a 0.5% alcohol content) called "Yuengling Special", "Yuengling Por-Tor", and "Yuengling Juvo".[5] The company also ran a dairy which produced ice cream and opened dance halls in Philadelphia and New York City.[3] After the 18th Amendment was repealed in 1933, Yuengling sent a truckload of "Winner Beer" to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in appreciation, which arrived the day the amendment was repealed — particularly notable since Yuengling beer takes almost three weeks to brew and age.[7] Richard L. Yuengling and F. Dohrman Yuengling succeeded Frank Yuengling after their father's death in 1963.[8]
Yuengling suffered from the rise of large commercial breweries during the 1970s. It was able to survive owing to demand from its customer base in Schuylkill County. The company also experienced an increase of sales after a renewed interest in history owing to the United States Bicentennial in 1976.[3] Yuengling bought the rights to use the Mount Carbon (Bavarian Premium Beer) name and label when Mount Carbon Brewery went out of business in 1977. Yuengling initially brewed beer at Mount Carbon but eventually abandoned it. The dairy remained in business until 1981, but its vacant building sits across Mahantongo Street from Yuengling's 1831 brewery and still carries Yuengling signage to this day.
In 1985, the Yuengling brewery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the oldest brewery in the United States.[9] It was also so listed in the Pennsylvania Inventory of Historic Places at some unspecified date. (The company's website mentions only a vague national and state registration in 1976).[8] Yuengling has been a registered trademark since 1995.[10] The Pottsville brewery was featured on an episode of The History Channel's American Eats.
Richard L. ("Dick") Yuengling, Jr. took over as the 5th-generation company president in 1985. In 1987 the brewery reintroduced a lager they had not made in decades to take advantage of a spike in heavier-style beers. Since this time, Yuengling Lager has become its flagship brand, accounting for 80% of production and much of its rapid growth. In the early 1990s, demand throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware outstripped the existing brewery's abilities. In 1999, they increased their manufacturing capacity by purchasing a Stroh Brewery Company plant in Tampa, Florida, hiring the former Stroh employees, and began working with a trade union for the first time.[3] In 2000, the company built a third brewery in Pennsylvania, in Port Carbon in Schuylkill County near Pottsville. With production at the Port Carbon, Tampa, and original Pottsville plants, the company has been able to expand throughout the East Coast.
After management threatened to shut down the factory and close shop if workers kept union representation, Yuengling employees filed for union decertification in 2006. As a result, Yuengling did not renew a contract with Teamsters Local 830 of Philadelphia in March 2006.[11] In response, the trade union began boycotting Yuengling products.[12]
As of 2011, Yuengling is a moderately priced beer popular northward through New York, westward until Indiana and Kentucky, and southward through South Carolina. The Tampa brewery supplies the Florida Gulf Coast, the Florida Keys, Central Florida, North Florida, the Florida Panhandle as well as Alabama and Tennessee.[13] The brewery uses corn from Minnesota and hops from Washington as ingredients in its products.
Yuengling began distribution in the state of Georgia on October 27, 2008. Yuengling also expanded distribution into West Virginia in May 2009, and Ohio in October 2011.[14]
Richard Yuengling is grooming his daughters to continue the Yuengling tradition as the 6th generation of the brewing family. According to a guide of the free tour that the brewery offers at their flagship location, each succeeding owner has bought the company from his father at full market price, and that tradition will carry on with the 6th generation.
President Barack Obama has stated that Yuengling is his favorite beer.[15] On Friday March 19, 2010, President Obama sent a case of Yuengling to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper along with a case of Molson Canadian to cover a friendly wager on the outcome of the 2010 Winter Olympics hockey final.[16] The beer was delivered by US Ambassador to Canada David Jacobson, who delivered it while wearing a Canadian national team hockey jersey as part of the bet.
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