Drink: Done with Yuengling? Delco Lager is a better beer

In an election year of unexpected battlegrounds, will the big decision come down to the Lager Vote?

Beer billionaire Dick Yuengling may have forced the issue when he threw his Pottsville brewery's support behind Donald Trump.

While stirring boycotts against his product, he may also have revealed a shift in the traditional lager audience - typically macro-beer drinkers with a blue-collar core - because they now have more options as the lager genre finally undergoes a craft renaissance.

One of the best, Delco Lager, has emerged at Aston's 2SP Brewing Co., located, ironically, across Concord Road from a recent Trump rally.

Though a spokesman referred to 2SP as "politically diverse" and said its other brews represent a wide variety of bold styles (the Russian Imperial Stout was a 2016 Inquirer Brewvitational champ and GABF award winner), my view on its lager is clear.

This is not just a well-distributed local alternative to Yuengling; it's a better beer, with more flavor from its vividly toasty malts while remaining true to style as quaffably balanced, dry, and sessionable. After the election is over, the beer electorate will continue to vote by the pint eagerly and often.

The lager referendum has only just begun.

- Craig LaBan
2SP Brewing Co. Delco Lager, at 90 bars in the region (about $5 a pint); most beer distributors; 12-packs range from $20 to $22.