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1682 Beer in Pennsylvania
Beer was there at the start of Pennsylvania. William Penn was a beer guy. He appreciated a good beer and he understood the role beer could play in making…
1682 -
1682 William Penn Negotiating a Treaty
This painting by Benjamin West depicts William Penn negotiating a treaty with the Lenape Turtle Clan for the land that would become Pennsylvania. Penn began his successful diplomatic efforts with…
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1683 PA’s First Brewer Granted Land
Penn granted land to Pennsylvania’s first brewer, William Frampton, who erected a brewery in Philadelphia on Front Street between Walnut and Spruce at the Dock Street Creek. Philadelphia circa 1683. …
1683 -
1734 Edinburgh Brewhouse
Mary Lisle, the first known “brewster” in America, takes over her late father’s Edinburgh Brewhouse in Philadelphia, which she operates until 1751. From a mural commemorating female brewery workers in…
1734 -
1765
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1774 Porter Beer
Robert Hare Jr. Introduces Philadelphia and America to Porter Beer The beer was a favorite of the founding fathers. George Washington wrote, “I beg you will send me a…
1774 -
1795 Pittsburgh’s First Commercial Brewery
George Shiras establishes Pittsburgh’s first commercial brewery, which he later sold to James O’Hara, a prominent businessman in Pittsburgh who also founded Pittsburgh Glassworks, a salt business, and a sawmill.…
1795 -
1810 132 Breweries in the Country
1810 U.S. Brewery Tally: 132 Breweries in the Country Pennsylvania had the most, with 48 New York was #2, with 42 There was 1 brewery for every 17,000 people in…
1810 -
1817 Commercial Breweries in Pittsburgh
By 1817 there were at least 4 commercial breweries in Pittsburgh, a town of around 7000 people. From the Debold American Gallery, Bloomfield, New Jersey. Artist unknown
1817 -
1829 D.G. Yuengling and Sons
David G. Yuengling founds the Eagle Brewery in the burgeoning coal mining town of Pottsville, PA. Later renamed D.G. Yuengling and Sons, it has remained a family-owned and managed enterprise…
1829 -
1840 German Immigrants
In the mid-19th century, German immigrants were fleeing turmoil in Europe. At one point, 33% of Pennsylvania’s population came from Germany. Of the thousands of German immigrants who came to…
1840 -
1856 Boniface Wimmer
Boniface Wimmer founded the first Benedictine monastery in the United States at St. Vincent Parish in Latrobe. Consistent with German and Benedictine tradition, Wimmer looked to include a brewery as…
1856 -
1856 St. Vincent Brewery
The St. Vincent brewery remained controversial. There were vituperative attacks in local and national newspapers. Anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant biases meshed with the temperance movement. The brewery was burnt down on…
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1865-1895 The Golden Age of Pennsylvania Breweries
There were thousands of small and regional breweries in the U.S. through the second half of the 19th century and Pennsylvania continued to lead the nation. Tour the private, 8,000…
1865-1895 -
1866 15+ Breweries in Brewerytown Section of Philadelphia
Philadelphia remains a hub of brewing in America, with the Brewerytown area alone being home to 15 or more breweries. “I defy anyone to find a neighborhood more loaded with…
1866 -
1872 Straub Beer
Peter Straub came to America in 1869 from Felldorf, Wuerttemburg, Germany. He worked at the Eberhardt and Ober Brewing Company (where Penn Brewery is now located), among others, before setting…
1872 -
1899 Consolidation Dominates the Beer Industry
From a peak of over 4000 breweries in the U.S. in 1873, less than half that number would exist by the start of the 20th century. For over a hundred…
1899 -
1905 Independent Brewing Company
Fifteen of the remaining breweries in town merge to form the Independent Brewing Company, of which Duquesne was the largest and longest-lasting component. Stock certificate for the Independent Brewing Company.…
1905 -
1919 Prohibition
Prohibition begins with the ratification of the 18th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution on January 16, 1919, effective January 16, 1920. Retrieved from the National Archives: https://www.docsteach.org/ Pennsylvania did not…
1919 -
1933 Prohibition Ends
Retrieved from the National Archives: https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/21st-amendment Prohibition ends and Pennsylvania celebrates! Once the brewing industry began to recover from Prohibition, Pennsylvania again had more breweries than any other state in…
1933 -
1933 The 3-Tiered System
In the aftermath of Prohibition and the resumption of legal brewing, the government had to consider appropriate regulation of the beer industry. Some of the larger breweries had amassed capital…
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1941 Pennsylvania Beer and Breweries in WWII
Breweries across the U.S. and in Pennsylvania support the war effort at home and abroad. In the era of WWI, brewers had often been viewed with suspicion because of…
1941 -
1946 The National Union of United Brewery Workmen
The National Union of United Brewery Workmen was founded in 1886, making it one of the first industrial unions in the U.S. Retrieved from https://8e5199b8-a-62cb3a1a-s-sites.googlegroups.com/ The AFL and CIO were still separate…
1946 -
1952 First strike of breweries in the Pittsburgh region occurs
All 2,100 of the Pittsburgh area brewery workers went on strike. National breweries took the opportunity to move into the market. Subsequent strikes in 1955 and 1972 further eroded patronage…
1952 -
1962 Pull-tab Can
Ermal Fraze was the inventor of the “pull-tab” can, which eliminated the need to bring a can opener along on picnics. The invention was promulgated by Alcoa and the Pittsburgh…
1962 -
1972 C. Schmidt Brewing
Most Duquesne brands were sold to C. Schmidt Brewing of Philadelphia and all brewing of Duquesne beers in Pittsburgh ended shortly thereafter. All production of the Duquesne brand ended in…
1972 -
1986
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1987 C. Schmidt’s
C. Schmidt’s was once the largest brewer in Pennsylvania. When it closed in 1987, it marked the first time in over 300 years that there was no brewery operating in…
1987 -
1989 Penn Brewery
After lobbying successfully to change the law, Pastorius opened the first “tied house” (brewery and pub under one roof) in PA since prohibition. Initially called “Allegheny Brewery & Pub,” the…
1989 -
1990s Pennsylvania’s Earliest Craft Breweries
Craft beer slowly started to gain traction in the 1990s but by the turn of the century, there were still just 22 craft breweries in PA. Order of Origin for…
1990s -
2000s Pennsylvania Beer in the 21st Century
The number of brewery licenses in Pennsylvania has increased by more than eight-fold since the start of the 21st century. The numbers show active Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) licenses,…
21st Century -
Medal Winners
The annual Great American Beer Festival (GABF), sponsored by the Brewers Association, is the preeminent beer festival in the country. In 2018, more than 8000 beers were submitted for medal competition across 100 different beer styles. The number of medals awarded to Pennsylvania breweries over the years is a tribute to the quality of beer being produced in the Commonwealth.
Below are the medal winners. Click on the links below to see more information: Medal Year, Medal Awarded, Category, Brewery, and Location.
Which of the following beers are made in PA?
Pennsylvania Breweries
To open and view the PA Breweries Map Key, click the toggle above the map.
Additional Resources & Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
Videos: Argentine Productions and Paul Young
Audio: Paul Young
Research and Content Development: Joe McAllister & Paul Young
Creative Consultant/Producer: Tim Steinouer, Design Island
Social Media: Debbie Stueber & Calen Alexandra Cygan
Brewery Outreach: Mike Orellano
Special thanks to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and the Pennsylvania Malt and Brewed Beverages Industry Promotion Board for supporting this project. Drink Pennsylvania beer!