In Massachusetts, 2014 Will Be The Year of Yuengling

Yuengling Photo Uploaded By Daquella manera on Flickr

Plans are flowing smoothly for one of Pennsylvania’s biggest beer companies.

After news was released back in October that Yuengling was poised to tap into the Massachusetts beer market—an announcement that was met with a proverbial social media “cheers”—new details about the exact date of their launch in the Bay State have emerged.

According to BrewBound.com, a website dedicated to daily news in the craft beer industry, “D.G. Yuengling Brewery will officially return to the Massachusetts market in the first quarter of 2014 with seven wholesalers.”

From the report:

Yuengling COO, Dave Cassinelli said the company has signed agreements with L. Knife & Son Inc., Seaboard Products, Craft Brewers Guild of Boston, ABI House of Quality, Girardi, Williams and Atlas Distributing for distribution across the state. The brewery will introduce draft and packaged beer near the end of the first quarter, Cassinelli said.

“America’s Oldest Brewery” confirmed the news to one of their fans on Twitter on Monday night, too:

@fletch1dotnet Yep, we're on our way. Stay tuned for updates about timing and shipments.

— Yuengling Brewery (@yuenglingbeer) December 10, 2013

An announcement was also posted to the Craft Brewers Guild Facebook page, one of the distributors that will be selling the long-sought-after beer. “We’d like to officially welcome D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc. to Boston! See you guys in March!!!,” they wrote, noting that the beer would be “taking over Boston.”

Industry experts have been expecting the same.

In October, Jeff Wharton, cofounder of Drink Craft Beer, told Boston that the Massachusetts beer market can be tough, but he believes Yuengling will be bale to break through the other bottles being bought by beer drinkers.

“I think its going to do well,” he said.

Yuengling sells beer in 14 states, including New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, but has been unsure about returning to Massachusetts. Yuengling stopped selling beers in Massachusetts in 1993 because the demand was too high, and their out-of-state operations weren’t large enough for them to keep stocking the shelves. But Yuengling has been slowly testing the market over the last few decades, as the beer’s popularity has continued to soar.