Tour And Taste Test At Yuengling Brewing Co. In Pottsville Pa - America's Oldest Brewery!
Come along with us to America's OLDEST BREWERY - The YUENGLING Brewing Company Tour and Taste Testing in Pottsville, PA!!
Explore The Historic Yuengling Brewery In Pottsville Pa - America's Original Beer Experience!
Explore The Historic Yuengling Brewery In Pottsville Pa - America's Original Beer Experience!
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TravelTranscript
00:00Welcome back to another exciting episode.
00:04Today, Luanne and I are at the Yingling Brewing Company.
00:09So come along with me and see what we can see.
00:28First thing you have to do is find the sign that says Yingling Tour Parking.
00:33There is ample parking as you see, which sets you up to go into the oldest American brewery,
00:42which has been open since 1829 and put on the National Registry of Historic Places in
00:491986.
00:51The building you are looking for is just up the hill from where you parked.
00:56This is the ice cream dairy building that was built during Prohibition.
01:03And right inside the doors is where you get the information and it looks like this is
01:06where the tour starts.
01:12After admiring the unique chandelier, you walk on in until you see the sign that says
01:18Tour Check In.
01:21Now do read the signs that are there because there is some requirements that you have to
01:26follow to be on the tour, such as you have to have closed toed shoes.
01:34That is a health department requirement.
01:37There's nothing they can do about it.
01:39And of course, while you are waiting for the tour, go ahead and look around their fantastic
01:44gift shop.
01:51This shop has a little bit of everything, from barware and trinkets to glassware and
01:58apparel.
01:59A little something for everybody.
02:09Look at the size of that barrel, whoa.
02:17Then they'll call you up and give you a wristband for the color of tour of which you are assigned.
02:24And in the back of the area that you wait, there's a little mini museum that you can
02:32peruse while you wait for your color to be called for the tour.
02:37All kinds of yingling paraphernalia.
02:40The tour does last about an hour.
02:43Unfortunately, it is not wheelchair accessible.
02:46Remember, this is a very old, unique building.
02:53It's a historic building and you will have to be prepared to walk approximately 150 stairs.
03:00If you wish to do any samples after the tour, you will have to have a valid ID of some sort
03:07state ID, government ID, etc.
03:11And these tours are free for all ages.
03:15Just note that they are closed Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas
03:21and New Years.
03:24And here's my yingling angel.
03:34When it comes to the actual store hours and tour hours, they are a little bit different
03:39from each other.
03:41So pay close attention to that.
03:45At the time we were there, the store hours from March to December was Monday through
03:52Saturday, 9am to 5pm, closed Sunday.
03:56But the tour hours from March to December was Monday through Saturday, 10am to 3pm,
04:04closed Sunday.
04:06Store hours from January to February was Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm, closed Saturday
04:15and Sunday.
04:17Tour hours on January and February was Monday through Friday, 10am to 3pm, closed Saturday
04:26and Sunday.
04:27Now the tours do run Monday through Friday, and this is a great little museum to go to,
04:35on an hourly basis, so every hour.
04:40In addition to that, on Saturdays from March to December, the tours run every half hour
04:49because there's usually more people between March and December going through I guess.
04:59A lot of people don't realize that Yingling Brewery was actually called Eagle Brewery
05:04at the beginning.
05:14And they do have handicapped accessible bathrooms on site if you need to use.
05:23Men's of course is way down the hall.
05:25And then when your caller is called, you just go to these seats and the tour will begin.
05:39When the tour guide collects you, you'll be going outside across the street and that's
05:45where the fun begins.
05:48Now there's a lot of history to this building and the other buildings that you will be going
05:54into.
05:55And to explain a little more about it, here's my friend Oscar.
06:00Take it away Oscar.
06:02D.G.
06:03Yingling & Son, established in 1829, is the oldest operating brewing company in the United
06:08States.
06:09In 2018, by volume of sales, it was the largest craft brewery, sixth largest overall brewery,
06:16and largest wholly American-owned brewery in the United States.
06:20Its headquarters are in Pottsville, Pennsylvania.
06:23In 2015, Yingling produced about 2.9 million barrels, operating two Pennsylvania facilities
06:29and a brewery in Tampa, Florida.
06:32Yingling is an anglicized version of Jungling, its founder's surname and the German term
06:36for a young person or youngster.
06:39The family-owned brewery has traditionally changed ownership through the purchase of
06:44the company by the children of the previous owner.
06:47The flagship product is Yingling Traditional Lager, an amber lager.
06:52It is popular enough in Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley to be ordered in some bars
06:56by simply asking for a lager.
06:59From 1920 until 1985, Yingling produced ice cream.
07:04Yingling ice cream returned to the market in 2014.
07:10German brewer David Gottlieb Jungling, 1808-1877, immigrated to the United States in 1828 from
07:18Aldingen near Stuttgart in the Kingdom of Württemberg.
07:21He anglicized his surname from Jungling to Yingling and began the Eagle Brewery on Center
07:26Street in Pottsville in 1829.
07:30His eldest son, David Jr., left the Eagle Brewery to establish the James River Steam
07:34Brewery along the James River in Richmond, Virginia.
07:38The first brewery burned down in an 1831 fire and the company relocated to West Mahantongo
07:44Street at Fifth Street, its current location.
07:47The Eagle Brewery changed its name to D.G.
07:50Yingling & Son in 1873 after Frederick Yingling joined his father David in running the company.
07:56Although the company's name changed, the bald eagle remained the company's emblem.
08:02During the late 19th century, breweries were also opened in Saratoga Springs, New York
08:06City and Trail, British Columbia.
08:09However, they were eventually merged with the Pottsville plant.
08:13Frank D. Yingling began heading the company in 1899 after his father Frederick died.
08:19During the Prohibition era, Yingling survived by producing near beers, beverages with a
08:240.5% alcohol content called Yingling Special, Yingling Porteur, and Yingling Juvo.
08:30The company also ran a dairy which produced ice cream and opened dance halls in Philadelphia,
08:35Baltimore and New York City.
08:38In 1933, when Prohibition was repealed, Yingling introduced its symbolic Winter Beer celebrating
08:45Prohibition's repeal and the brewery shipped a truckload of its popular brew to the White
08:50House to show their appreciation to President Roosevelt.
08:54Richard L. Yingling Sr. and F. Dorman Yingling succeeded Frank Yingling after their father's
08:59death in 1963.
09:01Yingling experienced an increase in sales after a renewed interest in history due to
09:06the United States Bicentennial in 1976.
09:10Yingling bought the rights to use the Mount Carbon, Bavarian premium beer name and label
09:15when Mount Carbon Brewery went out of business in 1977.
09:20Yingling initially brewed beer at Mount Carbon, but eventually abandoned it.
09:24Richard L. Dick Yingling Jr. took over as the fifth generation company president in
09:301985, the same year its Pennsylvanian brewery was listed on the National Register of Historic
09:35Places as the oldest in the United States.
09:39It was also so listed in the Pennsylvania Inventory of Historic Places.
09:44Yingling has been a registered trademark for various merchandise, including beer, since
09:481995.
09:50The Pottsville Brewery was featured on an episode of the History Channel's American
09:54Eats.
09:55In 1987, the brewery reintroduced an amber lager they had not made in decades to take
10:00advantage of a spike in popularity of heavier style beers.
10:05Since this time, Yingling Lager has become its flagship brand, accounting for 80% of
10:10production and much of its rapid growth.
10:12In 1990, the brewery sold 138,000 barrels.
10:17At the time, Yingling was the largest brewer of porter in the United States.
10:21In the early 1990s, demand throughout the Delaware Valley and Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
10:27and Delaware outstripped the existing brewery's abilities.
10:30In 1999, they increased their manufacturing capacity by purchasing a stroh brewery company
10:36plant in Tampa, Florida, hiring the former stroh employees, and began working with a
10:42trade union for the first time.
10:44In 2000, the company built a third brewery in Pennsylvania, in Port Carbon in Skill Kill
10:50County near Pottsville.
10:52With production at the Port Carbon, Tampa, and original Pottsville plants, the company
10:56has expanded throughout the East Coast.
11:00Yingling employees filed for union decertification in 2006.
11:04As a result, Yingling did not renew a contract with Teamsters Local 830 of Philadelphia in
11:09March 2006.
11:11Yingling is a moderately priced beer popular northward through New York, westward into
11:16Illinois and Kentucky, and southward through Georgia, where it has a large following.
11:21The Tampa brewery supplies the Florida Gulf Coast, the Florida Keys, Central Florida,
11:26North Florida, the Florida Panhandle, as well as Alabama and Tennessee.
11:31The brewery uses corn from Minnesota and hops from Washington as ingredients in its products.
11:37Yingling Beer returned to Massachusetts on March 3, 2014, after having circulated among
11:43some bars and restaurants, beginning in February.
11:47Yingling began distribution in the state of Georgia on October 27, 2008.
11:53Yingling also expanded distribution into West Virginia in May 2009, Ohio in October 2011,
11:59Rhode Island in June 2014, Connecticut in September 2014, Louisiana in August 2016,
12:07and Indiana in March 2017.
12:09On December 7, 2017, Yingling announced it would expand to Arkansas in January 2018,
12:15after teasing it would expand to either that state, Kentucky, Michigan, or Texas earlier
12:21in the day on social media.
12:23Despite losing out to Arkansas, Kentucky began serving Yingling in draft form on March 6,
12:292018, and began selling it for takeout use on March 19, 2018.
12:34A fire broke out at Yingling's Tampa Brewery on October 26, 2013.
12:39The extent of the damage was unknown.
12:42In February 2014, Yingling Ice Cream returned to the market after a nearly 30-year absence.
12:49Although owned by the Yingling family, it is operated by David Yingling, a cousin of
12:53Dick Yingling, and a descendant of David Gottlieb Yingling.
12:57It is legally a separate company from the brewery, as was the case since 1935.
13:03In October 2019, Yingling partnered with Hershey's to produce a limited-release collaboration
13:08beer titled Yingling-Hershey's Chocolate Porter.
13:13This was the first collaborative beer for Yingling in its 190-year history.
13:18The drink tastes like traditional Yingling, but has an aftertaste of Hershey's Special
13:22Dark.
13:23In 2021, Yingling announced its expansion into Texas through a partnership that has
13:28its beer brewed at a Molson Coors facility in Fort Worth.
13:32Well thank you Oscar, that was a lot of great information and an awesome tour.
13:39Now after the tour, you get to do a little bit of a taste test.
13:45So let's get to tasting.
13:48And testing.
13:49And drinking.
13:50Ok here we are doing a taste test.
13:58I got Oktoberfest, I got Racing Flight, it's a mango beer.
14:07And you got Black and Tan, and Porter.
14:12And Porter, alright.
14:15You want to go ahead and try one of yours first?
14:24Good?
14:26You're not going to like it.
14:33Nope, I don't like dark beer, but that's ok.
14:38What's that one called?
14:39Porter.
14:41Ok, I'll...
14:42You want to try it?
14:43Yeah, I don't like Porter, but I'll try it.
14:52Nope, not a dark beer person.
14:54How do you like it?
14:55Do you like dark beers?
14:56Yeah.
14:58Alright.
15:00I guess we go backwards.
15:01This is the...
15:03Flight.
15:04Racing Flight?
15:05Racing Flight.
15:06Something like that?
15:07Mango.
15:08Yes, this is the mango.
15:13You can smell the mango.
15:24It's very light.
15:26It is, it's a very light beer.
15:27Very smooth.
15:30And this is the Oktoberfest.
15:36Smells like pumpkin.
15:38Yeah, I don't see how anybody in their right mind would like Oktoberfest.
15:42Skips me.
15:44No, actually it's very good.
15:45It is good.
15:48What do you think?
15:51A little spiciness in it.
15:53Yeah, that's different.
15:55For a different kind of a guy.
15:57For a different kind of a guy.
15:59Ok.
16:00I'll go back to real ones.
16:03Well, we're going to enjoy.
16:05So again, thank you for coming along with us to Yngwie Brewery.
16:10And as always, have a good night.
16:22You