Alabama Yuengling Beer Map

Alabama's most popular beer is Yuengling, according to a 2013 study. (Graphic courtesy Blowfish)

If you sidle up to a row of taps in Philly and ask the barkeep for a lager, you'll be handed a Yuengling.

It's a practice that Alabama might want to consider adopting, as a 2013 poll revealed that Yuengling is the state's "favorite beer."

The survey may not have been scientific, and its identification of Yuengling as Alabama's "favorite" goes against a Pricenomics and BeerMenus.com study published last year that found that the "beer most likely to be on the menu" in the Yellowhammer state is Bud Light.

But the 2013 poll's results still point to a question that many Alabamians - and their visitors from the other side of the Mason-Dixon Line - have asked: Why exactly is Yuengling such a common beer way down here, given that it's comparatively hard to find in New York City, New England and much of the rest of the North?

Produced since 1829 at its Pottsville, Pennsylvania, headquarters - billed as the oldest operating brewery in the U.S. - the amber suds are synonymous with beer across the Keystone State.

But Yuengling is not available in many states. The family-owned company's distribution network stretches from Ohio down to Mississippi, over to Florida and up the Eastern Seaboard to Massachusetts, according to the company's website. Beyond that narrow corridor, the eagle-bearing green-glass bottles simply aren't an option.

Alabama is right in a sweet spot of Yuengling's distribution network not because of its proximity to Pottsville, but because it is relatively close to Tampa, where Yuengling has its only other brewing facility.

The Florida brewery ships Yuengling to bars and retailers across the Southeast, allowing its availability to stretch far beyond the DC-to-Boston corridor.

Hence the results of the survey, which showed that Yuengling is king in Florida and nearby states Alabama and Mississippi - as it is in some states near the Pennsylvania brewery - though Georgia prefers Blue Moon.

As for why Yuengling was identified as the beer of choice in about half of the states that sell it, that question is a harder one to answer, as beer choice is dependent on a mix of taste, price, marketing and brand recognition, among other considerations.

Yuengling did not respond to repeated phone calls and emails requesting comment last week, so the company did not provide any further clarity.

The 2013 poll that deemed Yuengling the most popular beer in America was conducted by the "hangover cure" product Blowfish in conjunction with the third-party research firm AMP. It asked 5,249 drinking-age people in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to choose their favorite brew of 18 options, including Yuengling, Bud Light and Blue Moon. There was also an option for participants in the survey to choose a brand not on the list.

The poll also asked a number of other drinking-related questions, the results of which are displayed in the map below: