POTTSVILLE, Pa. — While Pottsville is home to America's oldest brewery, Yuengling is not the only brewery bringing business to Schuylkill County.
Just down the street is Pilger Ruh Brewing on North Centre Street which has been helping grow beer tourism for the past two years.
“Prior to opening, beer tourism is what got me wanting to open an actual location. So I would go to Phoenixville, Harrisburg, Lancaster, and find I'm driving an hour plus to go to these places, and I'm not the only one who does it,” said Tyler Budwash, Pilger Ruh Owner.
He's seen beer tourism in Schuylkill County grow quickly.
“Beer tourism is a real thing, and it helps other areas so much. So just being able to have that in our area is great. Because if you look back to about six years ago, none of this stuff was here besides Yuengling, but now businesses are able to build upon another, and it's working out,” explained Budwash.
“It has grown with a number of new locations by 70%,” added Regina Gargano, Explore Schuylkill Executive Director.
The state has awarded Explore Schuylkill over $26,000 to help promote its Craft Beverage Trail. The trail consists of 19 different breweries, distilleries, and wineries all throughout Schuylkill county.
“It appeals to a variety of interests as opposed to specifically an ale trail or a wine trail. We have all craft beverages, so if it's handmade, in our community, that's what we're doing,” Gargano said.
Explore Schuylkill plans to use the state funding to develop an app to make navigating the Craft Beverage Trail easier for visitors and bring in more customers to neighboring businesses.
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