Home Care In Breinigsville, PA

A tornado warning that was issued for parts of Lehigh and Berks counties Sunday evening has expired as a round of severe weather moves through the area.

The warning, which was issued around 6:15 p.m. for central Lehigh and northeastern Berks counties, expired at 6:45 p.m.

At 6:15 p.m., a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located over Kutztown, or 15 miles northeast of Reading, moving east at 30 mph, according to the National Weather Service. Weather service radar indicated rotation in the thunderstorm, prompting the tornado warning.

Tornado Warning including Kutztown PA, Breinigsville PA and Macungie PA until 6:45 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/dfSQyX1YcQ

— NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) July 2, 2023

A few minutes later, around 6:18 p.m., a trained spotter reported a funnel cloud about 2 miles west of Lenhartsville, according to the weather service.

Locations that were in the warning area included Macungie, Alburtis, Ancient Oaks, Emmaus, the Parkland area, Claussville, Kutztown, Fleetwood, Topton and Lyons, according to the warning.

The warning comes as a round of severe weather continues to move through the region. The weather service said around 6:35 p.m. that the two strongest storms were located over Lehigh and Berks counties, with the northern one having a history of producing multiple funnel clouds.

6:35 PM Update: At the moment, our two strongest storms are located over Berks and Lehigh Counties (PA). The northern storm has a history of producing multiple funnel clouds. Isolated showers/storms are found across the remainder of the area. Please send in any reports. #PAwx pic.twitter.com/daLtC9zvmZ

— NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) July 2, 2023

As the tornado warning impacting the Lehigh Valley expired, a separate warning was issued for parts of Berks, Montgomery and Chester counties until 7:30 p.m. Around 6:45 p.m., a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located over Birdsboro, or 7 miles southeast of Reading, moving east at 20 mph.

Weather spotters also reported a funnel cloud from that storm, and at 6:38 p.m., a rotating wall cloud was reported near Amity Townshp, according to the warning.

Locations impacted by that warning include Pottstown, Birdsboro, Bechtelsville, Gilbertsville, Cedarville, Stowe, Boyertown, St. Lawrence, Pottsgrove, Lorane, South Pottstown, Amity Gardens, Sanatoga, Kenilworth, Halfway House and Reiffton.

The entire region remains under a severe thunderstorm watch until 11 p.m. Sunday.

Most beer buffs already know that Pennsylvania is home to Yuengling, the oldest brewery in the United States.

What they might not know is that Boston Beer Co. also is making strides in the state — by expanding both its footprint and workforce at its Samuel Adams Pennsylvania Brewery in the Breinigsville area of Upper Macungie Township.

Over the past two years, Boston Beer installed several new aging and fermentation tanks at the facility near Interstate 78 west of Route 100. In April last year, it purchased a nearby 88,000-square-foot warehouse to accommodate increased production.

As a result, the Breinigsville brewery now has more than 500 employees, up from more than 300 in 2013, with plans to draft more workers this year, said director of brewery operations Sal Tortora.

“Our brewing team continues to work hard and is excited about the additional capabilities,” he said. “We’re proud to be an employer in Pennsylvania and that our growth has enabled us to continue to hire.”

To put the prosperity into perspective, the brewery had just 220 workers, or about 50 percent fewer, following Boston Beer’s purchase of the former F&M Schaefer Brewery in 2008.

The 850,000-square-foot red-brick building was bought for $55 million from Diageo PLC, a British company that produced the flavored malt drink Smirnoff Ice at the site since 2001.

All of this has allowed the craft beer-maker, which also has breweries in Boston and Cincinnati, to sell 4.1 million barrels last year, up from 3.4 million in 2013, as well as to report 2014 net revenue of $903 million — an increase of $163.9 million, or 22 percent, from the comparable 52-week period in 2013.

“Our drinkers still get excited by our beers, and our growth is attributable to great beer innovations, coupled with strong sales execution and support from our distributors and retailers,” said Jim Koch, chairman and founder of Boston Beer. “I am especially proud of our employees for growing Samuel Adams in a very competitive environment and learning to brew, manage and sell a more complicated portfolio.”

Part of that more complicated portfolio is a pair of just-released entries in the Samuel Adams Rebel IPA family: Rebel Rouser Double IPA, brewed with more than 5 pounds of hops per barrel and showcasing flavors of pine, citrus, floral and spice; and Rebel Rider Session IPA, showcasing “the hop character of a classic West Coast-style IPA, but with a lighter body at 45 IBUs and 4.5 percent ABV.”

Tortora wouldn’t comment on creations that may be on tap for this year or next, saying only that the company is “always working on new recipes.”

The “competitive environment” Koch speaks of includes Pottsville’s D.G. Yuengling & Son, which began distributing its brews in Boston Beer’s home state of Massachusetts as well as Rhode Island and Connecticut last year.

According to Tortora, the rival’s arrival in New England is welcome as craft brewing is competitive, but “still very collegial.”

“There are plenty of thirsty beer lovers out there; there’s room for all of us,” he said. “Through our Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream program, we work with a number of small businesses, including many craft breweries, who are trying to start, strengthen and grow their businesses … Jim Koch, our founder and brewer, has always said, ‘Why wouldn’t we help a brewer starting out avoid some of the mistakes that I made?’

Boston Beer, whose other brands include Twisted Tea, Angry Orchard and Traveler, expects to grow in volume this year, but Tortola couldn’t comment on specific production numbers for the Samuel Adams Brewery in Breinigsville.

In 2012, it was reported that Boston Beer was making two-thirds of all its beer — or roughly 5,000 barrels per day — at the Lehigh Valley facility, its largest brewery.

Details surrounding possible future expansion and new equipment are also unclear because the company does not disclose specifics regarding capital investment projects on an individual brewery basis.

In the latest earnings release, however, 2015 capital spending, which includes future investments in the company’s breweries, was estimated to be between $80 million and $100 million.

Additionally, more than 70 job openings are posted on samueladams.com, including more than a dozen for the Breinigsville brewery.

“We remain confident about the long-term outlook for the craft category and our Samuel Adams brand,” Koch said.

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York Daily Record

"All things Boston are banned in Philly for Eagles Super Bowl week," the headline read. That certainly includes Boston Beer -- Sam Adams -- at some pubs, according to the Fansided Article.

Here's the thing: Samuel Adams is mostly brewed in Pennsylvania.

Founded in the mid-1980s, the Boston Beer Company has named its brews in honor of the Massachusetts founding father.

In the last three decades, the brand has grown to be one of the largest craft brewers in the U.S., ranked just behind Yuengling in the Brewers Associations' March list of the largest brewers in the nation.

A billion bottles of beer: Nowhere in the nation brews more craft beer than Pa.

But most of Samuel Adams is not brewed in Boston or even Massachusetts. It's produced in the Keystone State.

Boston Brewing ?has moved the “majority of beer production” to its Breinigsville, Pennsylvania, brewery, according to Daniel LaBert, the executive director of Brewers of Pennsylvania.

Breinigsville - population 4,138 - is about a 20-minute drive from Allentown. That's Eagles' country.

The company's 2016 annual report confirms: Most of Boston Brewing's beer production is done either in a Pennsylvania or Ohio brewery, with the Pennsylvania brewery being the larger of the two. The company purchased the plant in 2008.

More beer: Some local beer recommendations

That report notes that an Ohio plant produces most of the company's "specialty and lower volume products."

The company does have a Boston brewery, but the report says that it focuses on "developing new types of innovative and traditional beers and brewing and packaging beers for retail sales on site and in the local market area."

Boston Beer is one of many brewers that benefit from Pennsylvania's unique logistical support: easy access to major distribution routes, plenty of fresh water and the support of local agriculture.

That's how LaBert described part of Pennsylvania's appeal to craft brewers. The state produces over a billion bottles of craft beer a year - more than any other state.

You can do these 10 things in Pa. And only Pa.: