Oldest brewery in America to begin distribution of Yuengling in Illinois beginning in early 2025

QUINCY — Beer drinkers, rejoice. After 195 years, one of the country’s most popular beers is crossing the border into Illinois.

D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc., the oldest operating brewing company in the United States, announced Wednesday the continuation of its Midwest expansion with the distribution of its portfolio of beers into Illinois in early 2025.

Tony Haubrich, listed as “chief beer officer” at Haubrich Enterprises, says the Quincy liquor distributor will be delivering five Yuengling brands in Illinois — its flagship Traditional Lager, Light Lager, Black & Tan, Golden Pilsner and FLIGHT, a new upscale light beer. Haubrich Enterprises markets and delivers beer in Adams, Brown, Schuyler and Hancock counties.

“Any retail liquor license holding accounts in those four counties will be in our territory,” Haubrich said.

A press release from the Pottsville, Pa.-based brewery said Yuengling (pronounced ying-ling) products will first be available on draft in Illinois by the end of January, with more distribution and packaging rolling out in the weeks following. 

Haubrich said the last major brewer that expanded its product like this into Illinois was in 1985 when the Coors Brewing Company (now known as Molson Coors) of Golden, Colo., expanded east.

“Maybe they’ll make a Yuengling movie,” Haubrich said. “That would be all right with me.”

(Remember “Smokey and the Bandit,” made in 1977? Big Enos, played by Pat McCormick, wanted to drink Coors at a truck show, but it was illegal at the time to sell Coors east of the Mississippi River without a permit. Bo “Bandit” Darville, played by Burt Reynolds, and Cledus Snow, played by Jerry Reed, agree to pick up the beer in Texas and drive it to Georgia within 28 hours. Don’t forget Sheriff Buford T. Justice, played by Jackie Gleason.)

“I remember the days of going to Colorado and bringing back a whole backseat full of Coors products,” he said. “Well, Yuengling is about the same thing, except it’s on the eastern side of the country and now it’s expanding west. This is probably going to be one of the last major expansions of a major brewer in the United States that is going all national. It’s going to take them a while because they’re just picking up states as the brewery contracts allow them to pick up territories.”

Today, Yuengling is available in 26 states. Haubrich said he’s been receiving calls for years from customers asking when his business would carry Yuengling products.

“How come you don’t have it?” Haubrich said he repeatedly heard from customers. “Everybody assumes that beer can just cross any state. Well, they cannot just do that. (Breweries) have to apply for the states and then set up wholesale, then tell the state who their wholesaler is going to be. Because it’s an alcohol product, it’s very controlled by the states for tax purposes.”

“With the success of our newest expansion into Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma in 2023, we knew there was more work to be done in the Midwest region,” Colin Callahan, general manager of the Yuengling Company, said in a press release. “We look forward to continuing our work alongside our skilled partners to bring Illinois residents the rich tradition and quality that the oldest brewery in America is known for.”

Yuengling products are available at five locations in West Quincy, Mo. as well as other stores in Northeast Missouri.

“For years we have seen an overwhelming desire for our portfolio from our most loyal fans in Illinois who have been eagerly awaiting the brand’s arrival,” said Wendy Yuengling, chief administrative officer for D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc., and a sixth-generation family member. “We are incredibly proud to announce our expansion into a great beer market. … We look forward to upholding our commitment to delivering high-quality beer-drinking experiences across the entire state.”

Founded in 1829 by German immigrant D.G. Yuengling, the brewery was located along a river in the small mining town of Pottsville, about 90 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Yuengling began expanding beyond its East Coast base in 2000, buying a Tampa, Fla., facility and opening a third plant in Pennsylvania.

Yuengling entered into a joint venture with Chicago-based Molson Coors Beverage Company in 2020, enabling it to produce its beers at plants in Fort Worth, Texas, and Milwaukee, Wis., facilitating distribution into new states.

Haubrich said his business began the application process in early 2024 since Milwaukee is one of the territories where he gets alcohol products.

Yuengling is the ninth largest U.S. beer supplier by volume, producing 2.7 million barrels last year — a nearly 16 percent annual increase, according to Beer Marketer’s Insights, an industry trade publication. Nationally, Yuengling had a 1.4 percent market share last year despite being in about half the states. Anheuser-Busch was first at 34.5 percent, followed by Molson Coors at 22 percent and Constellation (which produces Corona and Modelo Especial) at 15 percent.