I live in Western New York, a region that until three years ago had but a cursory knowledge of Yuengling beers. You could get the lager at about two restaurants, as well as our local beer superstore, but that was pretty much it.
Yuengling, however, made a huge marketing push in our area for their Traditional Lager. Bars had the lager on special all the time, at insanely low prices. Because people are sheep, it soon became the order du jour when out on the town. The campaign was extremely effective, especially among young adults.
Yuengling is America’s oldest brewery. That gives them all the street cred they need, but they can’t really get a pass for their lager. It’s not thin or watery, but it is full of that delicious corn adjunct flavor. Corn corn corn corn corn.
You see, barley, the grain from which beer is made, is a more expensive cereal than corn. So less discriminating breweries use corn to kinda round out the barley. Sometimes you can barely taste it. Other times, as in the case of Yuengling, the corn flavor and aroma grabs you by the nose and shakes you.
Oh, by the way, the Indians call it maize.
So, while not a terrible beer, it’s cheaper and worse than the yuppies who order it think. That’s why I consider Yuengling Lager overrated. I like my corn, err..maize, on the cob, not in the pint glass.
-Mark
Beercraft Blog 
I spend a lot of time in Maryland since that’s where my sister lives, and Yuengling is all over the place there. My brother-in-law always has it in stock. I agree with your comments regarding the quality of the beer; it’s just “OK” as far as I’m concerned; not the nastiest swill I’ve ever chugged down (that award goes to Golden Anniversary, which I’m sure you remember from those heady penny-pinching post-adolescent days of the early 90’s….) but certainly not the greatest thing my tastebuds have ever encountered. I won’t pass up a free bottle of Yuengling when it is handed to me, but I won’t exactly do cartwheels for joy either. Is it better than stark sobriety? Yes, but that’s like saying a dish of plain boring rice is better than hunger pains.
I used to enjoy it. But then it started tasting too sweet. STEEELLLAAAAAA is my ber of choice of late. About brewtopia…
As far as the “big brews” go, I think that Yuengling is one of the least offensive. It does have at least a smooth taste, and though it does have not adhere to the Reinheitsgebot, it is a pretty decent commerical beer.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I would rather take a Middle Ages, Stone, Dogfish Head, Smutty, Lagunitas, or what have you, but if you have to slum it in a local townie bar, you could do a lot worse than a Yinger.
I agree. Yuengling lager is overated. I live in PA 45 mins away from the brewery and it is a rave here. It is at every party and every bar. It is overrated. Gimme a Sam Boston Lager please.
Now wait a minute… If you think Yeungling is overrated, your expectations are way too high.
Yeungling isn’t a craft brew. It isn’t trying to be. It costs less than half as much.
You get a pitcher of Yeungling at the bowling alley. You buy a case of Yeungling cans for the boat. You buy a bunch of Yeungling bottles when you have the guys over for a poker game. You don’t buy Yeungling to impress people, you buy it because payday isn’t until Friday.
You can’t compare Yeungling to Dogfish Head or even Sam Adams. You compare it to Budweiser. And if you put out a case of Yeungling and a case of Budweiser at a party, the Yeungling will be gone first because it tastes better. As an added bonus it is much cheaper than Budweiser. The fact that it is the oldest brewery in the US is just a cool factoid.
I like beer. I am a certified hop head. But you have to judge your beers for what they are. Not for what you want them to be.
(Disclaimer: I don’t know how they are marketing Yeungling in New York. If they are trying to be a micro up there, then they should really rethink their tactics.)
Cheers!
I live in good old Pottsville, Pa. Home of Yeungling. This beer is idolized here, every car has a bumper sticker with the logo anymore………. there’s even store’s opening up that only sell yeungling merchandise. This beer is amazing when you live here because every sip means something. There’s alot of pride that goes into drinking yeungling, i can’t drink any other beer but it. If you go to a party and bring a case of bud with you, then it will go untouched……. bring a case of lager and it’s GONE!!! and you are the man.
I agree with captain hops. Its a good beer. I am not made of money. Many times I have been pacing the beer isle looking at yuengling, and then sam addams, then yuengling. Sometimes sam wins, sometimes yueng wins. It depends on how much money I want to spend.
Yuengling is my go to inexpensive beer. If somehow that means that I don’t know anything about beer.. then so be it.
I also live in western ny. I really don’t see yuengling marketed very much at all. Its mostly all lebatt blue, which I might add is also a beer that I enjoy from time to time.
Just found this blog while trying to find information about Yuengling using corn. I like the idea of having America’s oldest brewery in PA but their Lager sits heavy in my stomach and the sweet syrup taste limits me to 2-3 pints before I can’t drink another. I assume that syrup taste is a result of them using corn. I wish I liked Yuengling.
This weekend I had a Duquesne Pilsener at a family reunion. I was shocked at the price of a case (less than $17) and I was very pleased with the taste. They are a Pitt beer out of Latrobe PA. I prefer craft beers but I can’t always budget for them. I think craft beer persons will appreciate the quality and taste of this beer. Hopefully they make it out to the Philadelphia area soon.
Yuengling Lager is great stuff and it’s popularity is obviously no Yuppie fad. Six years since this blog post, it continues to quickly expand in sales and coverage. Your message now looks like a case of sour grapes. Overrated? No way.
Oh jeez, I picked this up at the gas station tonight. It’s supposed to be the “best of the American pale lagers”. Wow. My burps taste like corn. Wonderful.
Your burps didn’t taste like corn.
Yuengling, Might not be the fanciest kid on the block, but it certainly is one of the more distinguished. It has a very Identifiable taste, as well as one of America’s Oldest. I’ve tried many a Beer, and with Yuengling you definitely get more bang for your buck
Yuengling lager’s not made from corn. It’s made from barley with corn grits as an additive to slightly enhance sweetness, like a majority of micro brews are. While it’s certainly no Chimay Rouge or Pilsner Urquell it’s a very good beer.
Anyway, who appointed you the ultimate decider to state “… worse than the yuppies who order it think.” other than yourself? Taste is subjective. If someone likes Budweiser, who the fυck are you or I to tell them they’re wrong?
Years ago in the 60s my family had relatives visit from near Munich. They loved a local lager, Sunshine, no longer in existence. Weren’t impressed by any ales. They took some Sunshine back with them. It was a typical American lager of the time, Löwenbräu the only imported beer readily available at the time. It was bland, no enhanced flavor(s). Family who had been to Europe were astonished.
So stop trying to be a phony beer snob and get some self esteem.
I like Yuengling. I’m not going to say that it’s better than anything else in the world, but I think it tastes better than the other beers I’ve had at its price point.
And that’s the crucial part: price. If you want to drink craft beers then that’s fine, but it gets expensive to session them.