One East Coast beer brand is expanding to the Midwest — and it’s sure to shake up the local brewing scene in St. Louis.
Beginning this spring, Yuengling lager will be distributed in Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma, according to Molson Coors. As part of a joint project between D.G. Yuengling & Son Inc. and Molson Coors, the beer brand will soon offer its Traditional Lager, Light Lager 99, Golden Pilsner, FLIGHT, and more in these states.
St. Louis-based distributor BreakThru Beverage will deliver the brew to local bars and restaurants early next month, according to a Jan. 25 article from news platform KMOX. The arrival of “America’s oldest brewery” could compete with local brewing giant Budweiser; Anheuser-Busch brewing headquarters have been located in the Lou since the late 1800s.
Bars and restaurants in St. Louis will begin receiving Yuengling on draft by Feb. 6, with bottled or canned versions arriving by March 6. Branded distribution trucks have already arrived to the Midwestern city, according to KMOX.
Yuengling, founded in 1829, is headquartered in Pennsylvania and is currently distributed in 23 states. The brand’s westward expansion was first announced in an October press release from Molson Coors.
“It was always our plan to go north out of Texas. It was just a matter of where and when,” The Yuengling Company general manager Pat Pikunas states in the release. “When we analyzed the states from a national account and distribution footprint perspective, it made sense to enter all three at the same time.”
Yuengling asks beer drinkers to “Meet Me in St. Louis” this February.
