Domestically brewed craft beers are surging in popularity in the United States. The amount of beer produced by American microbreweries has grown from fewer than 950,000 barrels in 2009, to nearly 4 million barrels in 2015. Despite the recent spike in interest in craft beer, beer brewing is nothing new in United States.
Many American beers, including some of the most popular, trace their roots back well over a century. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed common beer brands to identify the 15 oldest American beers. In order to be considered, a beer brand had to have been first brewed in the United States and still be available today.
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Yuengling, first brewed in Pottsville, Pennsylvania in 1829 is the oldest beer still widely available today, while San Francisco’s Anchor Steam Beer, circa 1896, rounds out the list of 15 oldest beers.
Click here to see America’s oldest beers.
Every beer brand on this list was introduced in the 19th century, and one way or another, survived the prohibition era. In the years between the 18th Amendment’s ratification in 1919 and its repeal with the 21st Amendment in 1933, the production, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages was prohibited in the United States.
Some beer brands on this list, like Narragansett, were able to remain open through legal loopholes. Others, such as Lone Star, were forced to discontinue operations, not to return until after prohibition’s repeal.
While every beer on this list is relatively old in the context of American brewing, they are relatively new on a global scale. For example, Stella Artois, a popular Belgian beer, can trace its roots back to 1366. Today, Stella Artois is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, the same company that owns Budweiser — the eighth oldest beer in the United States.
As time went by, consolidation in the beer industry also affected the oldest brands. Though they started out as independent labels, many of the beers on this list are owned by one of only a handful of companies. Of the 15 oldest American beers, six are owned by Pabst Brewing Company, three by Molson Coors Brewing Company, and two by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV. The oldest beer on this list, Yuengling, remains independent.
The beers on this list range considerably in popularity. Only three of America’s oldest beer brands — Budweiser, Coors, and Yuengling — shipped more than a million barrels last year. Other beers are more regional. National Bohemian, for example, is not widely sold outside of the Mid-Atlantic states and only shipped about 65,000 barrels in 2016.
To identify the oldest beer brands in America, 24/7 wall st. reviewed the U.S.’s 28 top selling beers by shipment volume. In addition to these mainstream brands, we consulted the portfolios of the most well known U.S. brewing companies. The year a beer brand was introduced came from corporate websites. Shipment volumes were provided by industry observer Beer Marketer’s Insights. To ensure the beers on this list had wide recognition, we only considered brands with at least 500 ratings on beer review site, BeerAdvocate.com.
Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cjmartin/
15. Anchor Steam Beer
> Year introduced: 1896
> State of origin: California
> Parent company: Anchor Brewing Company
First brewed in San Francisco in 1896, Anchor Steam is one of America’s oldest beers that is still widely consumed today.
Anchor Steam Beer derives its name from a unique brewing process characteristic of a bygone era. Following the California Gold Rush in the latter half of the 19th century, beer makers in the San Francisco area would cool fermenting beer in vats on brewery rooftops. This process of warm beer cooling in the cold air would create heavy clouds of steam. Consequently, nearly every beer from that time and place in history was nicknamed “steam” beer.
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Source: walmart.com
14. Michelob Original Lager
> Year introduced: 1896
> State of origin: Missouri
> Parent company: Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV
Modeled after European-style pilsners and marketed as a beer for connoisseurs, Michelob Original Lager was first brewed in 1896 in St. Louis, Missouri. Michelob was not widely distributed until 1961, when Anheuser-Busch developed a pasteurized version of the beer that could be shipped legally across state lines.
While Michelob Original Lager is not a top-selling beer these days, it spawned one of the most popular beers in America. Michelob Ultra, a low calorie, low carb beer marketed to beer drinkers with an active lifestyle, shipped 6.4 million barrels in 2016, more than all but a handful of other beer brands.
Source: narragansettbeer.com
13. Narragansett
> Year introduced: 1890
> State of origin: Rhode Island
> Parent company: Narragansett Brewing Company
The New England region is home to hundreds of craft breweries, large and small. Well over a century before many of these brewed a drop, however, there was Narragansett Brewing Company. Founded in Rhode Island in 1888, the brewery churned out its first beer, Narragansett, in 1890. Officially becoming New England’s largest brewery in 1914, Narragansett nearly went under during prohibition. The company, which survived the dry spell by selling beer for strictly medicinal purposes, has weathered significant ups and downs ever since. Today, Narragansett is one of the oldest beers in America and is widely available throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states.
Source: edwin / Flickr
12. National Bohemian
> Year introduced: 1885
> State of origin: Maryland
> Parent company: Pabst Brewing Company
National Bohemian, colloquially referred to as Natty Boh, was first brewed by National Brewing Company in Baltimore, Maryland in 1885. Though Pabst Brewing Company bought the brand in 1999, it retained its iconic logo and remains one of the oldest beers in the United States.
While many beer drinkers outside of the Mid-Atlantic region may never have heard of National Bohemian, they are certainly familiar with one of the brand’s contributions to the beverage industry. In the late 1940’s, Natty Boh became the first beer to be sold in six-packs.
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Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/voxaeterno/
11. Lone Star
> Year introduced: 1884
> State of origin: Texas
> Parent company: Pabst Brewing Company
Lone Star beer was first brewed in San Antonio, Texas in 1884. With sales peaking at 65,000 barrels a year, Lone Star was popular until the start of Prohibition in 1920, when the brewery was forced to close its doors. The brand did not return until 1940, when the Muehlebach Brewing Company of Kansas City, Missouri rebranded itself as Lone Star and began brewing the beer again in San Antonio, Texas. Though the brewery closed in 1996 after more than half a century, Pabst Brewing Company bought the label 1999 and continues to brew the beer in the Lone Star State.
Source: twitter.com/BallantineIPA
10. Ballantine IPA
> Year introduced: 1878
> State of origin: New Jersey
> Parent company: Pabst Brewing Company
The India pale ale, or IPA, style beer was initially developed by British brewers. Because British colonies in India were too warm for brewing beer, English brewers had to ship beer across the Atlantic to satiate demand in India. To ensure the beer did not spoil along the voyage, brewers increased alcohol levels and added more hops — and the IPA was born.
While IPAs are a popular choice among beer drinkers today, an IPA is also one of America’s oldest beers. The Ballantine Brewing Company, based in Newark, New Jersey first brewed the Ballantine IPA in 1878. The beer was out of production for several decades, but in 2014, Pabst Brewing Company, which markets several of the old brands on this list, revived the historic IPA.
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Source: Houston Stebbins
9. Genesee
> Year introduced: 1878
> State of origin: New York
> Parent company: Genesee Brewing Company
Though it was not the brewery to open in Rochester, New York, the Rau & Reisky Brewery opened for business in 1857. Some 21 years later, entrepreneur Mathius Kondolf bought the operation and renamed it Genesee Brewery. Despite being closed for more than a decade during prohibition, the brewery invested $1.3 million into operations upon the ratification of the 21st Amendment.
Now available in a majority of states, Genesee shipped 400,000 barrels domestically last year. In addition to the original Genesee beer, the brewery introduced its popular Cream Ale in 1960 and Genesee Light in 1978.
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Source: budweiser.com
8. Budweiser
> Year introduced: 1876
> State of origin: Missouri
> Parent company: Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV
Created in 1876, Budweiser quickly established itself as a national brand through innovative production and distribution methods, such as pasteurization and refrigerated rail cars. With its expansive railroad network, Anheuser-Busch was able to sell Budweiser outside of St. Louis, making it a national success. Today, “The King of Beers” is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev, which was formed after Belgian brewer InBev agreed to acquire the American beer titan for $52 billion in 2008.
As of 2016, Budweiser was the third most popular American beer, with 14.4 million barrels sold in the United States. While Coors Light was the second most popular, Americans bought 35.2 million barrels of Budweiser’s low-calorie counterpart, Bud Light.
Source: walmart.com
7. Coors Banquet
> Year introduced: 1873
> State of origin: Colorado
> Parent company: Molson Coors Brewing Company
Golden, Colorado-based Coors began selling its flagship lager in 1873. According to the MillerCoors website, the beer became a favorite of miners in the area. After prohibition, Coors began calling its beer “The Banquet Beer” in honor of the feasts area workers would have after leaving the mines with Coors beer.
Coors Banquet’s low-calorie version, Coors Light, is the second best selling beer in America. With 17.1 million barrels shipped last year, Coors Light had a 7.9% market share. Only 1.7 million barrels of Coors Banquet were shipped in the United States in 2016, amounting to less than 1% of U.S. market share.
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Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bcjams/
6. Leinenkugel’s Original
> Year introduced: 1867
> State of origin: Wisconsin
> Parent company: Molson Coors Brewing Company
Leinenkugel, named after its founder, German immigrant Jacob Leinenkugel, was first brewed in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. The brand’s website claims the brew was originally intended to “quench the thirst of over 2,500 lumberjacks.” Chippewa Falls was a logging town at the time.
In 1988, Miller Brewing Company bought Leinenkugel.
Today, Leinenkugel’s brewer, Molson Coors, produces a wide variety of flavors — over 20 — off the old brew. In addition to Leinenkugel’s Original, the brewer produces Leinenkugel’s Snowdrift Vanilla Porter, Leinenkugel’s Harvest Patch Shandy, and Leinenkugel’s BeerGarten Tart.
Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cavenagh/
5. Hamm’s
> Year introduced: 1865
> State of origin: Minnesota
> Parent company: Molson Coors Brewing Company
One of the oldest beers in America, Hamm’s celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2015. Hamm’s was first brewed in St. Paul, Minnesota when Theodore Hamm opened a brewery in 1865. The operation remained family owned until 1968, surviving prohibition by producing soft drinks, syrups, and other food products.
While the Hamm’s brand has changed hands many times in the past several decades, Hamm’s is now owned by the Molson Coors Brewing Company. In addition to the original brew, Molson Coors also produces Hamm’s Light.
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Source: Wystan / Wikimedia Commons
4. Stroh’s
> Year introduced: 1850
> State of origin: Michigan
> Parent company: Pabst Brewing Company
Immigrating the United States from Germany in 1849 and taking with him a family beer recipe, Bernhard Stroh opened a Lion’s Head Brewery in Detroit, Michigan in 1850. The brewery’s flagship beer still bears the founder’s family name. Though it was acquired by the Pabst Brewing Company in 1999, Stroh’s beer still bears its founder’s name. Today, it is one of several formerly independent brews now under the Pabst umbrella.
Stroh’s was the third largest brewer in the United States in 1984. The brand has since lost significant market share since. Stroh’s only shipped 60,000 barrels in 2016. In contrast, Yuengling, the oldest beer on this list, shipped 2.2 million barrels that same year.
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Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/fugue/
3. Schlitz
> Year introduced: 1849
> State of origin: Wisconsin
> Parent company: Pabst Brewing Company
Schlitz was founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1849, eventually gaining both national and international appeal. By 1902, it became the largest brewery worldwide. Schlitz was responsible for several innovations in the beer industry that drinkers today take for granted, including the brown bottle in 1911 and the 16 oz. “tall boy” can in 1956.
Schlitz is one of several Midwest-based beer brands resurrected by Pabst Brewing Company. Pabst purchased Schlitz in 1999 as part of the same transaction that involved the acquisitions of Stroh’s, another brand on this list.
Source: oldmilwaukee.com
2. Old Milwaukee
> Year introduced: 1849
> State of origin: Wisconsin
> Parent company: Pabst Brewing Company
The aptly named Old Milwaukee was first brewed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin nearly 170 years ago. Formerly owned by the Schlitz Brewing Company, the Old Milwaukee brand was bought by Stroh’s and which was then acquired by the Pabst Brewing Company.
Old Milwaukee Light, a low-calorie version of the classic brew, was introduced in 1980. The combined sales of Old Milwaukee, Old Milwaukee Light, and Old Milwaukee N.A. totalled just over half a million barrels in 2016. In comparison, 21 American beer brands shipped over a million barrels that same year.
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Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/24736216@N07/
1. Yuengling Lager
> Year introduced: 1829
> State of origin: Pennsylvania
> Parent company: D.G. Yuengling & Son Inc.
America’s oldest brewery, Yuengling, was founded by D.G. Yuengling & Son in Pottsville, Pennsylvania in 1829, two decades before the next oldest widely-available beer that is still sold today. Originally called Eagle Brewery, the name was changed to Yuengling & Son in 1873. During Prohibition, Yuengling sold dairy products and near-beer to remain profitable.
Nearly 190 years after the brewery was founded, Yuengling is still a relatively popular beer today. In 2016, the brewery shipped 2.2 million barrels within the United States, accounting for about one in every 100 beers sold in the U.S. market.
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