Keystone State Park beer makes debut; 1st in a series for Williamsport brewery

Of all the 121 state parks in Pennsylvania, a Williamsport craft brewery named the first of its specially themed line of beers after the 1,200-acre Keystone State Park in Derry Township.

New Trail Brewing Co. writes on the can of the hazy IPA — called K.S.P. — that it is “brewed with fluffy oats and smoothly hopped with Simcoe, Centennial, and one of our new favorite hops, HBC 586.” The craft brewer describes K.S.P. as “full of brilliant tropical fruits balanced with vibrant pine.”

“The beer must be delish as it sold out in the (New Trail Brewing) taproom the first week,” according to a newsletter published by the Pennsylvania Parks & Forest Foundation, which is partnering with New Trail Brewing. When the newsletter was published Friday, cans of K.S.P. were available, said Pam Metzger, membership coordinator.

Mike LaRosa, director of brewery operations at New Trail Brewing, did not say when — or if — the beer would be packaged for sale in Westmoreland County.

Park officials were surprised that New Trail Brewing selected Keystone as the first in its series of state park-named brews, said Corie Eckman, park manager trainee at Keystone.

“That was exciting that we received that recognition,” Eckman said.

Donations from the sale of the beer will go to the Keystone State Park Fund. Future state park-named beers will fund a friends group or general fund of the park after which they are named.

The money from the Keystone State Park Fund, funneled by the nonprofit Derry Area Revitalization Corp., is used to buy items such as flower boxes and maintenance equipment, Eckman said.

That Keystone was selected as the first in the state park series, rather than, say, the more well-known Ohiopyle, Point or Moraine state parks, is a matter of happenstance.

LaRosa, who is a partner in the business, said he was driving from Pittsburgh to Williamsport last fall when he wanted to make quick stop for a light hike. Traveling along Route 22 in the New Alexandria area, he saw the sign for Keystone State Park and took advantage of its proximity to a major highway.

“We felt that highlighting a smaller park as our first park might be a good way to get people excited to go out to their local parks that are scattered across the state,” said LaRosa, who said the brewery team at New Trail enjoys the local parks for quick hikes, day trips and longer journeys.

The next beer in the series will be called W.E.S.P, after Worlds End State Park in Sullivan County, LaRosa said.

”Worlds End, obviously, has a bit of a larger following with some of the greatest beauties of our state hidden in it,” LaRosa said.