Pennsylvania-based D.G. Yuengling and Son is forming a joint venture with Molson Coors to expand distribution of its beers beyond the East Coast and the South.

D.G. Yuengling & Son Brewing Co., the Pottsville, Pa.-based beer behemoth, has set its sights on becoming a national brand by forging a partnership with industry giant Molson Coors.

Yuengling already is the “largest craft brewer” in the United States with two breweries in Pottsville and another suds factory at a former Stroh’s brewery in Tampa, Fla. The company’s sales are concentrated on the East Coast and the South.

Yuengling’s recipes, including its flagship brand, Traditional Amber Lager, will be produced at Molson Coors breweries under the supervision of Yuengling brew masters.

On Tuesday, Yuengling announced it had entered a long-term arrangement with the Chicago-headquartered Molson Coors. The joint venture bucks the current trend of brewers retrenching to focus on core home markets, said Bart Watson, chief economist at the Brewers Association, a nonprofit trade group.

Yuengling, which celebrated its 191st anniversary this year, is sold in 22 states. The Molson Coors partnership will expand Yuengling’s geographic reach into the West Coast.

Molson Coors will benefit from the joint venture, said Brian Sudano, managing partner at the Beverage Marketing Corp., the industry’s dominant consultant and market analyst.

Formed in 2005 by the merger of the Molson and Coors companies, Molson Coors sells such well-known brands as Molson Canadian, Miller Light and Coors, among many others.

While Yuengling will maintain brewing for the East and South, Sudano said, Molson Coors will have the brand for sale and distribution in America’s two largest beer markets: California and Texas.