David Gottlob was an immigrant from Germany who founded D.G. Yuengling & Son back in 1829. It’s the oldest brewery in the USA but success hasn’t come easily. Yuengling has had two near death experiences along the way. Yuengling brewing is a great example of the entrepreneurial spirit that has so defined the USA for its 250 years of existence… Here’s the story of how Yuengling survived and some lessons for us today.
Yuengling’s first century was business as usual until post World War I when the USA entered the Prohibition era. From the 1920’s to 1933 alcohol sales were banned and most (if not all) of Yuengling’s competitors closed shop. Yuengling survived by pivoting to producing ice cream and brewing an ultra low alcohol beer (still legal under Prohibition). When Prohibition ended in 1933 Yuengling reportedly sent a truck load of beer to the White House.
While Prohibition presented a huge challenge, an equally great one came in the 1970’s and 80’s. Giant beer companies like Anheuser-Busch, Miller, and Coors built massive beer empires underpinned by mass advertising campaigns and giant production facilities that drove production costs down. Regional brewers were either bought up or closed up as the industry consolidated. Yuengling was reduced to one small surviving brewery. Like a defiant mouse facing a lion, Yuengling made three bold choices in the early 1980’s: to remain independent, focus on its regional Pennsylvania roots, and expand slowly.
Yuengling’s strategy took time but has paid off. By 2014 Yuengling beer was sold in 26 states (mainly along the East Coast) and surpassed Boston based brewer Sam Adams to become America’s largest selling independent brewery by volume. What can we learn from Yuengling beer?
This summer as you watch the World Cup - raise a glass of Yuengling and wish the USA Happy Birthday and success in the next 250 years!
