ST. LOUIS, MO (KMOX) – Modern day bootlegging might disappear with the launch of Yuengling in St. Louis. You probably know someone who's left Missouri to go somewhere sunny to bring back a case or two of the popular east coast beer. Their traditional lager comes in a green bottle with a label donning an eagle perched on a beer barrel.
BreakThru Beverage in Maplewood already has big trucks sporting the Yuengling logo. The distributor says bars and restaurants will start receiving Yuengling on draft by February 6th. They will have packaged products March 6th.
JJ Twigs on South Hampton will have it on draft. Manager Sam Williams said he's from the south where it was available to him and likes the beer a lot. When asked if he thought it was cheating for St. Louisans to drink Yuengling rather than the other beer with an eagle on it he said, "I wouldn't call it cheating. When in Rome, you know."
Kali Chafin, the bartender at Twigs, is a Yuengling bootlegger. Every January her family goes to Florida and brings back 20 or more cases of the amber beer. But will the Pennsylvania based beer survive the hype? Chafin seems to think so. "It's popular where it is right now in the states," she said. "Every time you go to another state people always ask for it. I think it will be staying a while and will be very popular."