Indiana beer drinkers have hounded and begged retailers and distributors to bring Yuengling beer to Indiana. The brewery has been open since 1829 and has not yet reached Indiana’s shelves or taps...until now.
On Thursday at Star Plaza Theater the staff of Indiana Beverage and over 500 retailers across the region celebrated the launch of Yuengling Beer in Indiana markets. The night also severed as an introduction to the Yuengling brand. Various styles of Yuengling beer was available to sample. The night was highlighted with a meet and greet with Yuengling’s chief administrative officer, Wendy Yuengling, who introduced a documentary that showcased the history of 188-year-old brewery.
“It's a great story. It's a genuine American success story and that doesn’t happen very often, let alone in the beer business,” Bob Jacobs, Indiana Beverage’s VP of Sales and Marketing continued, “They passed on the tradition of brewing beer for generations and even survived prohibition, which many breweries couldn’t do.
According to Jacobs, to date, Yuengling is in only 19 states, yet they’re the largest craft brewery in the country. Compared to other national breweries that are in all 50 states, Yuengling out sells them all.
“That just shows you how much people love this beer!” said Jacobs.
Before the release of Yuengling in Indiana the only way Hoosiers could purchase the beer was to cross state lines.
“That was the only way people from Indiana could get it, but now, we’re going to have people crossing our state line to buy Yuengling,” said Jon Leetz, President of Indiana Beverage, “2017 is going to be a great year. We’re looking forward to selling a lot of beer!”
Before the documentary was played Wendy Yuengling, the brewery's chief administrative officer, introduced the film stating that the film would do a better job explaining the history than she could. She then donned an Indiana Beverage cap and the audience roared with applause.
The partnership between Indiana Beverage has been 11 years in the making. This night was a massive pep rally to pump up retailers and allow them to taste Yuengling on draft, which was a first time tasting for many there. The energy and excitement from the night will absolutely ripple down to customers throughout the region.
“I spend a lot of time in grocery stores, so I get to interact with the customers that are buying beer. The most common question I get is ‘when is Yuengling coming?’ It's going to be nice to have an answer for them finally. I’m really excited to say ‘Yuengling will be here on April 3rd!’ ” said Indiana Beverage Sales Consultant, Zoltan Saary.
