Yuengling?

Is there any place in Chicago that sells Yuengling beer (take-home or on tap at a bar)? I drank it by the buckets in college in Pennsylvania, and I saw it everywhere from Ohio to Virginia over the holiday.

crrush wrote:Is there any place in Chicago that sells Yuengling beer (take-home or on tap at a bar)? I drank it by the buckets in college in Pennsylvania, and I saw it everywhere from Ohio to Virginia over the holiday.

Some of their products are quite good, great even. Back when I used to travel by car with some regularity twixt here and Jersey and New York, I'd bring some back to Chicago with me. Chestefield Ale, Porter... there was another one I liked a lot too.

Anyway, sorry, I've never come across it here, but I'm glad you asked and hope someone has a lead.

Antonius

As far as I know, Yuengling is not distributed in Illinois, so you won't find it for sale at any stores. I know Bricks used to have Fat Tire bottles before they were distributed here so wonder if their non-distributed beer supply leans to the East at all as well.
Sure would love to find some here as I love their Traditional Lager. Was nice to have it served at every restaurant I went to in the Outer banks last month, and be able to pick some up at the drive-thru beer stores
Jamie

I know! We must've plowed through three cases last week while in Virginia...we meant to stop in PA on the way back for a couple of cases, but ended up taking the backroads through VA, KY and OH to avoid the 95 nightmare. Now I'm craving the stuff. I love the lager. We used to get it for .50/pitcher on Wednesdays in college. 50 cents! Aaaah, those were the days.

Yuengling website wrote:Why can't I find Yuengling nationwide?
The Yuengling Brewery is a regional brewer that has manufacturing plants in Pottsville, PA and Tampa, FL. Currently we distribute our products over a ten state area along the eastern seaboard. While there is significant interest for our products nationwide, unfortunately we do not have the manufacturing capabilities to service customers across the United States. As a result, our focus and efforts continues to be on our loyal customers and markets that are logistically feasible to our production facilities.

[...]

Where does the brewery distribute beer?
The brewery currently distributes its products in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Maryland, Washington D.C., Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, South Carolina & Alabama. We have been reopening markets and opening new territories to distribute Yuengling beers. Stay in touch for further market openings in your area. See our Distributor List to find your nearest source of Yuengling fine beers.

[...]

Does Yuengling ship beer anywhere?
As a United States brewer, Yuengling is only allowed to ship to our assigned distributors. Due to various State and Federal laws, we are not permitted to ship beer directly to retailers and consumers.

If you want it bad enough, Vintage Cellar in Virginia will ship you a case by UPS. The cost is $19.95 a case plus about another $20 shipping and a $3 handling charge.

Here is a link to their website, which is a pain to navigate (use the search function).
http://www.vintagecellar.com/

They also take phone orders:

Vintage Cellar
1340 South Main Street
Blacksburg, VA 24060
800-672-WINE (9463)

Seems extreme for cheap (but pretty good) beer. I've had plenty myself, given its home turf (PA and Tampa). It's very often the "special" in bars both in PA and FL, representing an great 2 dollar pour. Yuengling's place at the bar reminds me very much of Leinie's here -- though I'd prefer Yuengling given a choice.

JeffB wrote:Seems extreme for cheap (but pretty good) beer. I've had plenty myself, given its home turf (PA and Tampa). It's very often the "special" in bars both in PA and FL, representing an great 2 dollar pour. Yuengling's place at the bar reminds me very much of Leinie's here -- though I'd prefer Yuengling given a choice.

Yeah, I am not a great fan of Yuenglings (or any other american lager), but apparently VC ships alot of it all over the country. I think it is the attraction of getting something that is not available locally. Like Coors in the 70's or Point back when their motto was "When you're out of Point, you're out of town".

The main problem with shipping beer is that a case weighs 40 lbs. Vintage Cellar does carry several other East Coast brews that are worth spending the money to ship, such as those from Weyerbacher Brewing in Easton PA.

It might be cheaper--and certainly more expedient--to spend 30 bills on gas to PA, load up the car and drive back.

On another note...I'm no beer expert, but comparing Leinenkugel with Yuengling? Eesh. Seriously? Yuengling wins hands-down.

crrush wrote:On another note...I'm no beer expert, but comparing Leinenkugel with Yuengling? Eesh. Seriously? Yuengling wins hands-down.

Crrush,

I'm with you. Yuengling, at least back in days when I was drinking the stuff (on a quasi regular basis in the '80's and 90's and last one I had was back in the early years of this century, maybe 2002 or 2003), it was, to my mind (and palate) at least, most definitely in a different league from Leinenkugel (though maybe filling a similar market niche in bars in its home turf, which is what I think JeffB is really saying).

Anyway, as I said, some of their products I liked more than others and I thought the best of them were really quite good. And I'll add that I first started drinking Yuengling after coming back from having lived in Belgium for a long time back in the early 1980's, when Belgian imports were hard to come by here and quite expensive for an impoverished young scholar and mixer with a big appetite for beer. I don't think it's up there with the best beers in the world but Yuengling is a good brewery, especially in the American context. And no matter what, some of the Yuengling beers kept me going when things seemed very bleak indeed...




Antonius

"but comparing Leinenkugel with Yuengling? Eesh. Seriously?"

Yes, I have the unmitigated gaul* to compare cheap regional beers. As Antonius said, after translating my original text, one point of comparison was that the two products occupy the same market space in their respective regions. Looking closely, I have made another comparison: I much prefer the taste of Yuengling.

*For you, amico mio.

My Philly friends and I have had discussions about Yuengling, and after reading this post, know that we will never find it in IL or CA.

So, as an alternative, what do you think tastes the closest to Yuengling? One Philly friend suggested Smithwick's -- any other suggestions?

Damn...I think I HAVE seen it SOMEWHERE....just can't remember....PERHAPS at Piece in Bucktown (but that may have been Strohs...another old school rarity)..

After 9 years drinking everwhere from Carol's to The Sea of Happiness, from Rainbo Lounge to Raven's, from Lincoln Square to The Loop, I had never seen or heard of Yuengling. I was the bar manager at the now closed Hudson Club and managed a list of almost 100 different brews.
I move to Key West and it's everywhere...
Yup, a good $2 draught and long neck.
But when I move, I won't miss it.
No beer is that good. 'Cept maybe Bell's Third Coast...

asami wrote:My Philly friends and I have had discussions about Yuengling, and after reading this post, know that we will never find it in IL or CA.

So, as an alternative, what do you think tastes the closest to Yuengling? One Philly friend suggested Smithwick's -- any other suggestions?

There are so many pale lagers out there like Yuengling, I don't think you should have much of a problem finding something similar. It has a similar profile to Budweiser, and any number of cheaply made european and american pale lagers. Try a Spaten Premium Lager and see how you like the comparison.

KSeecs wrote:There are so many pale lagers out there like Yuengling, I don't think you should have much of a problem finding something similar. It has a similar profile to Budweiser, and any number of cheaply made european and american pale lagers. Try a Spaten Premium Lager and see how you like the comparison.

I agree - Yuengling is nothing special, except for its historic value (oldest US brewery). Many other basic lagers are as good or better (but why would you drink a basic lager - aka lawnmower beer - when there are so many other beers out there that are so much better?)

I'm not a huge fan, either, as suggested above. However, the spirit of this discussion has been about very cheap beer that tastes relatively good. Not sure if anything from Spaten fits the bill. Again, I'd say price is the answer to the question of why.

JeffB wrote:I'm not a huge fan, either, as suggested above. However, the spirit of this discussion has been about very cheap beer that tastes relatively good. Not sure if anything from Spaten fits the bill. Again, I'd say price is the answer to the question of why.

I know you can get the Berghoff branded lager that Huber brewed pretty cheap in cases, but I don't know that it is very widely availabe or inexpenive on tap. I've only had it at the airport recently.

KSeecs wrote:I know you can get the Berghoff branded lager that Huber brewed pretty cheap in cases, but I don't know that it is very widely availabe or inexpenive on tap. I've only had it at the airport recently.

Actually, I think the Berghoff (or Huber) Lager is probably a pretty good aproximation of Yeunlings. It happens that a friend recently brought me a Yeunlings from back east. I think it had a slightly sweet maltiness, probably from the addition of a medium munich 2-row malt. There was also a surprising hops presense, not very much at all, but more noticable than most regional lagers. We guessed it might even be a touch of cascade. You might also try Point beer.