21 hours Ago By [email protected] (Bobby Lewis)
America's oldest brewery is expanding its market footprint again. As announced in a press release , Yuengling Lager and Flight by Yuengling, a new light beer, are now both available on draft in over 2,000 Illinois bars, including in the city of Chicago. And fans of the brand, listen up: The brewer is celebrating the expansion with free beer.
Throughout the week of January 27, Yuengling's Illinois fans should keep an eye out for brewery representatives, who will offer free draft beer samples at various locations across the state. Fans will also be able to use the Yuengling Beer Finder to search for its availability by zip code (but give it some time — as of this writing, the Yuengling Beer Finder does not yet reflect the brand's Illinois availability). The next stage of Yuengling's Illinois rollout will be the debut of Yuengling bottles and cans, which will appear on store shelves and on bar and restaurant menus starting in early March.
This second stage is well-timed for two big, boozy events in Chicago — St. Patrick's Day on March 17 (known for its rowdy celebrations) , and the Chicago Cubs' season-opening baseball game in Tokyo, Japan on March 18. Yuengling's history of high demand and lagging availability Family-owned and operated since its 1829 founding, Yuengling's distribution traditionally stayed near its home market of Pennsylvania .
In 1996, demand for Yuengling outstripped production capability, and the brewery was forced to focus on its core customers in the region. Hobbled by its own success, Yuengling soon opened two more breweries — one in Pennsylvania and one in Florida (the latter of which caught fire in 2013 but soon reopened) — and resumed expansion into new U.S.
markets, such as Ohio in 2011, Louisiana in 2016, and now Illinois in 2025. Yuengling availability is a hot topic of conversation for fans of the brand, and the brewery pays attention. In 2017, for one leg of its ongoing expansion, Yuengling teased on social media that it was coming to either Arkansas, Kentucky, Michigan, or Texas.
The post whipped up fans' excitement — but also spelled disappointment for most when the brand ultimately chose Arkansas. The beer's reach has since spread to both Kentucky and Texas, though Michigan is still excluded..
