Yuengling

In this episode I get the chance to sit down with Dick Yuengling, CEO of Yuengling Brewing Company, America’s Oldest Brewery.  The Yuengling family has owned and operated Yuengling Brewing Company for 180 years. In that time they have gone through some dramatic changes, including a fairly recent major expansion.

Dick shares some of the company history, as well as how they pushed through the era of prohibition with near beer and even some “pharmaceutical” brew for pregnant women! Dick shares the point that they have been successful by listening to what their local audience wants and creating brands that fill the needs of their region. As a continuation of that theme, we hear about the new beers being brewed by Yuengling for their 180th, including the re-issue of their Bock beer.

Finally, we take a look at some closed to the public spaces – one being the original caves under the brewery where beer was stored to be fermented and kept cool. Prohibition era brick walls, built by the government to seal off this area, still exist in some sections. A crazy reminder of an even crazier time period in brewing history.

Being from the Philadelphia area, Yuengling has a special place in our hearts. It’s the clear local favorite and has a very loyal following – even “owning” the term lager in the Philadelphia market. Walk into any bar in the Philly area and order a “lager” and you will get a Yuengling. As a family owned business for 180 years, they clearly continue to provide the beer that their area wants – which is a testament to their connection to the community. We hope that Dick and family keep the Yuengling brewery in the family for many more years to come… now if we could only get them to go back to the brown bottles…

Please note – we filmed this episode in April 2009, but due to a computer disaster haven’t been able to get it posted until now. Stay tuned for more of our late spring and early summer videos – HereForTheBeer is back baby…