<P> In 1987, the brewery reintroduced a lager they had not made in decades to take advantage of a spike in popularity of heavier - style beers . Since this time, Yuengling Lager has become its flagship brand, accounting for 80% of production and much of its rapid growth . In 1990, the brewery sold 138,000 barrels; within a year, the company was calling itself a "major microbrewer", reflecting a resurgence in interest in craft breweries happening nationally . At the time, Yuengling was the largest brewer of porter in the United States . </P> <P> In the early 1990s, demand throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware outstripped the existing brewery's abilities . In 1999, they increased their manufacturing capacity by purchasing a Stroh Brewery Company plant in Tampa, Florida, hiring the former Stroh employees, and began working with a trade union for the first time . In 2000, the company built a third brewery in Pennsylvania, in Port Carbon in Schuylkill County near Pottsville . With production at the Port Carbon, Tampa, and original Pottsville plants, the company has been able to expand throughout the East Coast . </P> <P> Yuengling employees filed for union decertification in 2006 . As a result, Yuengling did not renew a contract with Teamsters Local 830 of Philadelphia in March 2006 . In response, the trade union began boycotting Yuengling products . </P> <P> As of 2017, Yuengling is a moderately priced beer popular northward through New York, westward until Illinois and Kentucky, and southward through Georgia, where it has a large following . The Tampa brewery supplies the Florida Gulf Coast, the Florida Keys, Central Florida, North Florida, the Florida Panhandle as well as Alabama and Tennessee . The brewery uses corn from Minnesota and hops from Washington as ingredients in its products . Yuengling beer returned to Massachusetts on March 3, 2014, after having circulated among some bars and restaurants beginning in February . </P>

When was yuengling recognized as america's oldest brewery