The Yuengling Brewery was engulfed in flames over the weekend but it was business as usual on Monday morning.
According to the plant manager the $1 million fire at the company’s Tampa, Florida facility “could have been much worse.”
Jim Helmke said the fire was large but had no effect on the brewery’s ability to brew beer or continue distribution efforts.
“It will be business as usual on Monday morning,” Helmke said. “We are very fortunate. It does look bad. There is a gaping hole and charred remains, but there is no internal damage, except for the hole in the wall.”
The two-alarm fire on Saturday burned the outside wall of one facility as sixty firefighters fought the blaze.
Onlookers said the entire five-story building looked as though it were on fire from the outside. However, the flames only spread to the top of the facade, a structure supported by 60-year-old timbers.
Helmke adds, “Though there is some damage, it’s nothing we can’t work around and continue to make beer. Fires are bad, but this could have been far, far, far worse.”
One firefighter was slightly injured battling the blaze and was hospitalized. The Yuenling Brewery fire did not cause any injury to employees.
Yuengling is America’s oldest brewery and one of America’s largest privately owned breweries. The company makes various types of beer including Porter, Black & Tan, Lager, Light Lager, and Yuengling Premium, among others.
The Yuengling Brewery opened in 1829 and continued to operate during prohibition by brewing a beverage with just.5% alcohol. The company also operated The Yuengling Dairy, a former Ice Cream and Dairy plant that closed in 1985.
Working around a $1 million fire to continue brewing beer for customers? No wonder the company has not only survived but also thrived through tough times since 1829.
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