When Canada Attacked Yuengling!

Thirty years ago, Canada struck at the brewing pride of Pennsylvania. The sudden, unexpected broadside was aimed at Yuengling. At stake was the very definition of “America.”

In 1995, Yuengling wanted to trademark the slogan “America’s Oldest Brewery” for its products. Since 1829, the brewery had been making its beer in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. However, Molson Brewery objected. Founded in 1786 in Montreal, Molson not only argued that it was older than Yuengling, but Yuengling’s use of “America” was “deceptively misdescriptive.” Molson’s attorneys claimed that “America is synonymous North America,” which definitely includes Canada. For Molson, Yuengling was being dishonest with beer drinkers in the United States and around the world.

The Yuengling family was unimpressed. At the time, fifth-generation brewery owner Richard L. Yuengling Jr. quipped, “When Kate Smith stands up and sings ‘God Bless America,’ she’s not singing about Saskatchewan.” Plus, the brewery had been using its slogan since 1957 without any confusion over what country Yuengling was located.

The Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office took up the dispute. Molson went as far as to introduce a Webster’s dictionary of geography to show that America means North America. Yuengling responded by showing that Molson’s marketing had previously referred to the brewery as Canada’s oldest instead of America’s. Clearly, Molson understood the distinction.

Anyone who has looked at the label of a Yuengling beer lately knows the end of the story. It took nearly four years for the Board to reach its decision. For the board members, there was no evidence that “the purchasing public in the United States would equate the term ‘America’ with North America, rather than the United States of America.” Case closed.

Over twenty years later, all was forgiven. In 2020, Yuengling and Molson announced a joint venture to distribute Yuengling beer farther west… in America.

(To learn more about this dispute and Yuengling’s history, the author recommends Yuengling: A History of America’s Oldest Brewery by Mark Noon)

Paul R. Kan

Paul R. Kan is the author of Hawai’i Beer:  A History of Brewing in Paradise which was a North American Guild of Beer Writers’ award winner and a #1 new release on Amazon’s Books on Beer.  He has written for Good Beer Hunting and is Editor-at-Large at The Beer Thrillers.  Along with beer reviews, book reviews and interviews, he also writes about the interesting ways beer intersects with people and society.  His current book project is Red, White and Brew:  The Beers and Battles that Shaped America. He lives in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

ʻOi kau ka lā, e hana i ola honua (While the sun yet shines, do all you can).

Paul R. Kan Articles

The following are articles that Paul R. Kan has written here for The Beer Thrillers:

• Book Review: Beer and Society: How We Make Beer and Beer Makes Us (Eli Revelle Yano Wilson and Asa B. Stone)
• Book Review: A Woman’s Place is in the Brewhouse – A Forgotten History of Alewives, Brewsters, Witches, and CEOs (Tara Nurin)
• From Central PA to the Pacific: A Beer Lover’s Hawaiian Journey An Interview with Alexander B. Gates
• Book Review: The Greatest Beer Run Ever (John Chick Donohue and J.T. Molloy)
• Twofer Brewfer Brewery Reviews: Gearhouse Brewing Co. and Liquid Art Brewing
• Tapping into Heritage and Hope on Maui
• Book Review: Brewed in Japan (Jeffrey Alexander)
• Three Questions and a Pint: with Josh Dourte
• Three Questions and a Pint: with Noah Reighard
• Visiting Four Breweries in Phoenix: Getting to Visit Tombstone Brewing Company, Wren House Brewing, PHX Beer Co, and OHSO Brewery and Distillery
• Book Review: Revenge of She-Punks (Vivien Goldman)
• Beer Heists: Stealing and Dealing Your Beer
• Three Questions and a Pint: with Joel Gaier
• The German Brewer Making French Beer in the Caribbean
• When Canada Attacked Yuengling!

Other Yuengling Articles

For more information and other articles on Yuengling here at The Beer Thrillers, you can check out these articles:

• Beer Review: Hershey’s Chocolate Porter (Yuengling Brewery)
• Yuengling – Looks to Go West Into Texas
• Yuengling – Brewed in Texas and Giving Back to Texas
• Yuengling Brewing Introducing New Packaging For Traditional Lager for Keep Texas Beautiful Program
• Book Review: A Woman’s Place is in the Brewhouse – A Forgotten History of Alewives, Brewsters, Witches, and CEOs (Tara Nurin)
• The Top Ten Breweries with the Most Five Star Ratings of 2022
• The Top Ten Craft Beers with the Most Five Star Ratings of 2022
• What is Craft Beer?
• Yuengling Hershey’s Chocolate Porter Returns Just in Time for Fall – A Local Favorite!
• Sipping on Tradition: A Guide to Craft Beer Flagship Beers
• Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies in the United States (2023)
• Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies (2023)
• Yuengling and Hershey’s Chocolate Porter: A Sweet Collaboration Returns for Its Fourth Year
• Yuengling Releases Limited – Edition Lager Camo Cans to Honor Veterans
• Yuengling Announces MLS Partnership with Austin FC
• Yuengling Brewery Becomes the Official Craft Beer of The Kentucky Wildcats
• Exploring the Crafstmanship of Yuengling Brewery
• Yuengling’s Bock Beer is Back
• Yuengling Brewery and Keep America Beautiful Announce 2024 Partnership
• Yuengling Begins To Take the Market Share From Number One Selling Beer Bud Lite
• Unraveling the Differences Between Bocks and Lagers
• When Canada Attacked Yuengling!

More Articles About Canada

• Trouble Brewing: How Trump’s Liberation Day Tariffs Are Impacting Craft Beer

 

For More Information on D. G. Yuengling and Sons Brewery

The following comes from Untappd.

Yuengling Brewery is a regional brewery from Pottsville, Pennsylvania. They have 22 unique beers and over 1 Million ratings. They have a global average rating of 3.43 (as of 5.19.25). Their Untappd description reads: “Based in Pottsville, PA, D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc., America’s Oldest Brewery, is family owned and operated since 1829. Principal beer brands include Traditional Lager, Light Lager, Premium, Light, Black and Tan, Dark Brewed Porter, and Lord Chesterfield Ale. For more information, visit www.yuengling.com.”

You can find them on their social media platforms here:

• Yuengling – (Untappd)
• Yuengling – (Official Website)
• Yuengling – (Instagram)
• Yuengling – (Twitter)
• Yuengling – (Facebook)

 

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