from: http://www.beeryard.com/notes/
 
Yuengling Discontinues Lord Chesterfield Draft - Feb 20 2003
The Standard Tap's William Reed was, if not outright distraught, certainly perturbed when we talked to him a few weeks back. He'd just learned that Yuengling was discontinuing production of draft Lord Chesterfield Ale. We urged him to try and change the brewery's mind, as the icy cold keg of Lord Chesterfield in the old refrigerator centered behind the bar at the Tap has been there since the day it opened and is one of the many charms that have turned the Tap into one of the city's hottest beer and dining spots. Besides, Lord Chesterfield is a fondly remembered favorite from our oldest staff member's tawdry youth.

If Reed did protest, it apparently was to no avail. Word comes now that Yuengling has "temporarily suspended" production of draft Lord Chesterfield Ale to keep up with the growing demand for Yuengling Traditional Lager. Yuengling vice president for sales and marketing Dave Cassinelli pointed out that Lord Chesterfield is one of the brewery's lower-volume products, accounting for only about 4-6% of overall sales.

With an 18% production increase to 1.2 million barrels last year and an anticipated 1.4 million in 2003 (both figures impacted by the demand from the recently opened New York and North Carolina markets), Yeungling has to make some tough decisions, it seems, and this was one of them.

Lord Chesterfield will still be available in bottles and cans, of course, but it's just not the same. For now, we're hoping that "temporarily" means just that and wondering what will go into the frig at Standard Tap.