Holiday Brewery Tour: Yuengling

Going to see family is the best way to spend the holidays....especially when a 150 year-old brewery is a short drive away.

This year, John and I traveled home to NJ to visit our east coast kin between Christmas Eve & NYE. Our trip has been fabulous - we've taken a drive up the shoreline to Asbury Park, had a fun night at an Irish Pub in Red Bank with my cousin, took a chilly stroll on the boardwalk and took an unbelievable trip to Pottsville, PA for a tour of America's oldest brewery: Yuengling

Built in 1829, Yuengling was in business long before prohibition....and refrigeration. Under the main building are creepy caves that were hollowed out by hand to lager the beer and assist in the fermentation process by keeping it cool. The tour includes a walk through the caves and a peak at what life was like many years ago.

Throughout the brewery are hand painted murals, gorgeous stained glass windows and a history of Yuengling signage and lables. The huge copper brew kettles, turn of the century kegs and fast-paced bottling room were an exciting sight for beer nerds and beer novices alike. 

At the end of the tour, we stepped into their tasting room to sample a few of our favorite Yuengling brews and took in their history in photographs, beer cans and bottle styles.

This tour is the best I've been on yet a must-see for all who love beer!