Yuengling expands to Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma

The expansion is part of a joint-venture between D.G. Yuengling & Son Inc. and Molson Coors Beverage Co. designed to expand the 193-year-old Pennsylvania brewery’s distribution to 25 states west of the Mississippi River.

“It was always our plan to go north out of Texas. It was just a matter of where and when,” says Pat Pikunas, general manager of the joint venture, The Yuengling Company. “When we analyzed the states from a national account and distribution footprint perspective, it made sense to enter all three at the same time.”

Under the expansion, the three states will receive all Yuengling beers brewed at Molson Coors’ Fort Worth brewery, including its flagship Traditional Lager, Light Lager 99, Golden Pilsner and Flight.

Until last year, Yuengling was distributed in 22 states, mainly on the Eastern Seaboard, supplied by breweries in Pottsville, Pa., and Tampa. The joint venture brought production of Yuengling beers to Molson Coors’ Fort Worth brewery with the first batches hitting shelves and draft lines in Texas last year.

Yuengling Lager outsold Texas’ most popular beer, Shiner Bock, for final 13 weeks of 2021, according to IRI data. To date, the Yuengling portfolio has outsold Shiner Bock in its home market, IRI data show.