Located just off 30th Street, the bland exterior and modest signpost of the Yuengling Brewery doesn't exactly beckon visitors like nearby Busch Gardens. But in an area dedicated to the college student's beverage of choice — there are myriad beer pong tournaments, import nights and two-for-one specials in the area — Yuengling is an oft-overlooked gem just minutes from the USF campus.
Yuengling, America's oldest brewing company, expanded to Tampa from Pottsville, Penn. in 1999. While they had a short stint during Prohibition selling near-beer (the equivalent of today's nonalcoholic beers) and dairy products, they've been in the business of beer for more than 175 years.
The free tour of the brewery includes two beers per visitor, which besides the interesting historical information and quirky British guide, should be proper incentive for attendance.
Before the tour begins, the guide, Elizabeth Maroney, takes drink requests at the hospitality house bar. I try a Lord Chesterfield Ale — one of three Yuengling brews available at the factory but not sold in Tampa.
The first stop is the mash kettles, where enormous vats of brew are boiled prior to fermentation. Beware: The smell at this point is shockingly pungent — a burning mix of sulfur and seaweed, multiplied by 500 barrels.
Next, the chemist's lab, where the beer is tested (and tasted) for consistency. Elizabeth points out the raw materials that go into making Yuengling (or any beer, for that matter): barley, yeast and hops. The hops, Elizabeth says, are closely related to marijuana but contain no THC. "I know," she quips, "because the brewmaster and I smoked a whole sackful once, and all we got was a bad cough."
On to the bottling station, where the beer is labeled, bottled and packed. The pounding thunder of machinery and the sound of 500 bottles clanking through the labeler every minute are deafening — which explains the ear-plugged employees I saw earlier. The beer is shipped out several times daily, and the factory keeps samples of all beer that leaves the facility for a nine-month period, so that quality complaints can be traced back to the original brew.
Yuengling rarely stays on the shelves longer than that nine-month period, Elizabeth says. "Mr. Yuengling likes his beer to be fresh — it's better when it's fresh. Beer is not like cheese, wine. … and women, which all get better with age."
The Tampa factory has the capacity to produce 1.5 millions barrels of beer every year, but Yuengling, which is sold in only 10 states along the Eastern seaboard, is taking its new expansion slowly.
"Right now we don't operate at full capacity, but we are growing. I tell people, it took us 170 years to get from Pennsylvania to Florida. … it takes us a little time, but we're getting there," Elizabeth says.
For now, it's back to the hospitality house, where the tour wraps up with a second round of beers, leaving everyone satisfied, if slightly buzzed. 11111 N. 30th St., 813-972-8529, yuengling.com/tour.
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This article appears in Mar 26 – Apr 1, 2008.