The Yuengling Company launched draft in Illinois on January 27, the eighth expansion state for the Pennsylvania brewery’s joint venture with Molson Coors.
Yuengling GM Colin Callahan told Brewbound that the entry into the Prairie State started with around 3,500 tap handles pouring Yuengling Traditional Lager and Flight statewide, via 14 Molson Coors distributors.
“The early returns were really great,” Callahan said. “The reception from retailers and consumers has been very positive.”
Packaged products are expected on retail shelves March 3, expanding Yuengling’s offerings in the market to five with the addition of Yuengling Light Lager, Yuengling Black & Tan and Golden Pilsner.
“The launch is fun, it’s an energizing experience, you get this great reaction from people,” Callahan said. “But for as many people that may have heard of Yuengling before, there’s another 10, or however many, that have no idea about the brewery or our brands.
“So that’s where we’re focused is really on driving awareness and hopefully purchase intent,” he continued.
Illinois marks the first new state since the 2023 expansion into Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri, and a territory swap with the parent company last year that saw the JV pick up Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi. The partnership kicked off in 2021 in Texas.
Yuengling will support Illinois with boots on the ground, including zone manager Patrick Hester; three district managers; a chain sales manager who moved to the state; and a yet-to-be filled field marketing role, Callahan shared.
“We’ve staffed up,” he added. “But we’re also getting ready to invest our dollars into marketing once we complete the package launch.”
As of now, no new market expansions are on the table for the rest of 2025 or 2026, Callahan said.
“The challenge to us has always been, let’s operate well in the markets we’re in, versus trying to run to every market,” he explained.
Big picture for 2025, Callahan said Yuengling feels “confident” despite the “ups and downs” of previous market expansions, in addition to cycling the disruption period with the boycott of Bud Light in 2023.
Last year, Yuengling finished as the 10th largest off-premise beer category vendor, with dollar sales of $492.98 million (-6.4% dollars; -7.4% volume).
“We’re really pleased with the share numbers that we’ve built in a lot of our markets,” Callahan said. “We know we have a ton of work to do in others.”
Two brands Callahan highlighted are Flight, which “had a really strong year” in 2024, and Light Lager, which he called “a hidden gem” that will receive more focus this year with a brand-awareness building program with Field & Stream.
“[Flight is] becoming an ever bigger part of our mix as time goes on,” he said. “Our Lager and Light Lager brands still have the highest share of our business, and they’re critical to us moving forward. Those are really the brands that we’re most focused on.”