I'm not the beer drinker I once was.In my younger days (should I say younger daze?) the issue was quantity, not quality.The object was to consume mass quantities and not be too concerned over taste. After all, after so many, they all taste pretty much taste the same.
Those days are gone. No brewery is going to make a fortune off the amount I drink. Now a days it's just one or two every once in a while.
Saturday afternoon, while at the store getting ice and soft drinks for a going away get-together for a friend, I decided to pick up a six-pack of beer for later. I wanted something different. The last beer I had was furnished by one of the guys who had gathered at the house - while our wives had a jewelry party. His beer of choice was Bud Light Lime.....far and away the worst tasting whiz I've ever had the misfortune to drink. I sure as heck was not going to pick up that.
So, here I am at the IGA and I'm intrigued by the name and label of a beer that is unknown to me.
It was Yuengling Traditional Lager. The label has a bald eagle on the front and claims to be made by America's oldest brewery.
OK, I'll give it a shot, I thought.
I have to say it's pretty good. I did a web search on Yuengling after drinking one Saturday evening. I couldn't understand how a beer this good could be made by the country's oldest brewery and yet be completely unknown to me.
The wikipedia article explains that. The original brewery is in Pennsylvania and their beer is not distributed nation wide. It was only made available in certain parts of the southern US after the company purchased a Stroh's plant in Tampa Florida ten years ago. It's only been on sale in Georgia less than a year.
As for the name. Well, that's a odd story in itself. The first owner, David G. Jüngling immigrated to the United States in 1823. For reasons unknown to me, he seemed to think Yuengling (pronounced YING-ling) was a more appropriate Americanized spelling. Go figure.
If the taste of a good traditional lager isn't enough to get you to try it, the fact that it is still American owned might tip the scales. Good taste, American owned, non-union. You can't beat it.
