(machines whirling) - [Jennifer] Yeah, so Yuengling, we're America's oldest brewery, first and foremost.

(gentle folk music) - The Yuengling Brewery has made beer, ale, porter, light beers since 1829.

We're 195 years old this year, and I'm the fifth generation owner of it.

- We brew, we package, we ship, we've got drivers, we've got forklift operators.

- Yeah, our success really started in the mid-'80s with my dad's generation when he developed brand lager and that has grown to become our flagship.

But beyond that, now we have a really broad portfolio of beers with our core brands being lager and light lager, black and tan and golden pilsner.

- We have a palatable beer that you can sit there and drink three, four, whatever you want to drink without getting over the edge with it.

There is alcohol in it, you know?

- Sessionable beers, that's key to us.

So a sessional beer is something where you can sit down, and you can enjoy a session, and not be overwhelmed by the high amounts of alcohol or the high amounts of ABV or bitterness units.

Yeah, making beer is a pretty intricate process.

Wherever you go, whether it's a home brewer to a craft brew pub or to the mega brewers, the brewing process is essentially the same.

- This is our cereal cooker.

This is where everything starts in the morning.

Once it boils, we will transfer it to the mash vessel.

This is where all the conversion starts from starch to sugars.

And this is where we get all the sugars that will be fermented to turn into alcohol and gives that great Yuengling taste.

Just add cascade hops and brew kettle.

And that's for the aroma.

- We tried to hang on to some of the artifacts and the old parts of brewing.

So it's a piece of brewing legend that you always have a piece of copper in the line, and they say that that helps keep the oxygen out of the beer.

So that's kind of a unique fact that we've helped onto here at our Pottsville facility.

- [Wendy] The brewery was founded by my great-great-great grandfather who came over from Altenburg, Germany in 1827, and you know, basically followed the Schuylkill River up until he found the town of Pottsville, Pennsylvania.

- [Jennifer] He purposely chose this location 'cause it's built, we on the side of a mountain, so he could use the side of that mountain to use the natural refrigeration and hand-dig the tunnels.

- The tunnels are there.

They kept the beer cold because we were making beer before there was electricity.

(gentle music) - So this is the entrance to our caves.

We'll take you back here.

These caves were hand-dug in the 1800s, and you see, as you get further down there, the pick marks.

And it just is such a good representation of our history because there's remains of brick walls down here, which had to be put up during prohibition.

(calm music) These were built for natural refrigeration, and so this was just lined with old wooden tanks where the beer would age and stay cold until it was ready for production.

Coal was becoming a big industry here.

- That's why there was so many breweries in the Pottsville and Scranton area years ago.

- We're very loyal to our local community.

Pottsville is our home.

- We do a number of things behind the scenes but also a number of things publicly to try and bring people into the town, such as our Light Lager Jogger and our summer Stars & Stripes concerts.

You know, we grew up in this small town of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, and we're now in 26 states.

- I had options to go other places.

People were courting us to go other places, but this is our roots.

(gentle folk music) - I honestly feel like it is a true American success story and the fact that my dad is still running the business, my sisters and I are all actively involved.

- I think people appreciate the fact that it's a family operation.

We're kind of the last one in the country of any size that has survived in the beer industry.

'Cause it's all dominated by the major breweries and also the imports.

- Yeah, being in a family business certainly has its ups and downs, positives and negatives, but overall it's a very rewarding experience.

- It was just such an incredible opportunity to be a part of the Yuengling legacy and work with my dad and with my sisters and really the employees here that have kept us strong for 195 years.

- [Dick] I have nine grandchildren, and hopefully one of them will take over when my kids get to be my age.

We've just been very lucky.

It's all luck and timing.

(gentle folk music)