This story originally appeared in our sister publication Keystone Edge.

The name is familiar, but the product it’s attached to might seem surprising.  

In March 2014, Yuengling (yes, that Yuengling) Ice Cream will hit shelves in a re-launch of a product that hasn’t been seen in nearly 30 years. If the initial response is any indication, the ice cream should sell as well as the company’s wildly popular beers. Yuengling Brewery has been a fixture in Pottsville, Schuylkill County, since David G. Yuengling started the company in 1829.  

For the record, Yuengling Dairy Products is not affiliated with Yuengling Brewery -- it is a totally separate entity that happens to share a name. President David Yuengling is the second cousin of brewery president Richard L. "Dick" Yuengling, and David says they aren’t competitors.

"Of course we see each other," he says. "Most people know we’re separate companies. Dick owns the Yuengling name and runs the brewery side. We support each other."

The ice cream line is something of a second act for David, who spent the better part of the last 30 years in computer software sales, most of it on the road, and decided he wanted to do something different. His friend Rob Bohorad, another Schuylkill County native, called him one day and suggested starting up the ice cream again. It sounded like an interesting idea, but Davis didn’t say yes right away.

"We looked into it, and it made sense on paper," he says. "We basically broke apart the business and figured out how each piece would work."

"We’re both very methodical," Bohorad says. "Even though we were excited about it, there was a whole lot of planning."

A tasty history

The company’s initial foray into ice cream production dates back to 1920, when Prohibition forced the brewery to shut its doors. Frank Yuengling, the brewery’s owner, decided to switch their focus to ice cream as a way to staunch the financial bleeding, and Yuengling Dairy Products was born. (The brewery survived Prohibition, of course. According to company legend, a delivery truck full of Yuengling products showed up at the White House on the very day Prohibition was repealed.) Customers loved the ice cream, too, and for 65 years, the company sold the product; they shut down the dairy division in 1985.

Since word got out that the ice cream would be back on store shelves, the response has been tremendous. "Everything we’re hearing has been good -- it brings back a lot of memories for people," says David, adding that there have been a lot of mentions on social media, particularly Twitter. "We’re getting a lot of comments from people saying they can’t wait to try it."

They’ve even gotten requests from people in Alaska asking if they can ship them a sample.  

Getting started

Most entrepreneurs need seed money to get their business up and running, but in the case of Yuengling Dairy Products, the venture is family-funded at this point. David and Bohorad say they are researching revenue streams for long-term capital.

"We’ve looked at PADCO [Pottsville Area Development Corporation] loans and Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce programs," says Bohorad. "We haven’t needed the funds yet, but we’re keeping our options open. I don’t think people realize how many small business resources are available, and it’s great that they’re there."

Next, they needed a dairy. The original Yuengling Dairy Products was housed in a creamery in Pottsville that is now a vacant building owned by Dick Yuengling. The brewery recently announced that the old building would be revamped as a wastewater treatment facility for the brewery (the brewery is the single largest consumer of water in the city of Pottsville), so its future doesn’t include ice cream. The company has instead partnered with Leiby’s Dairy, another family-owned Schuylkill County-based business in Tamaqua, to make the products.

"We decided to work with them for several reasons," says David. "They are a local company, they have a modern facility, they are cost competitive with other facilities and they could handle our current and future estimated growth in production."

It also helped that David lives next door to one of the dairy’s owners.

The Yuengling team works with Leiby’s to develop the formulas for each recipe, giving them specific criteria for each flavor, stressing all natural ingredients and meeting a certain price point.

"Because the company stopped making ice cream 30 years ago, Yuengling did not have recipes," says Parks. "David tells us what they want and we come up with a prototype. Then we give it to them for final approval."

Bohorad says they’ve tried to stick as close to the original formulas as possible. The biggest change is the use of more natural ingredients.

"There were a lot of artificial colors, preservatives and flavorings in the original," says David. "The new product is all natural, which has increased the all-over quality -- it’s a much smoother, creamier product." He adds that their ice cream can stand up against other higher-end, quality lines such as Ben & Jerry’s or Häagen-Dazs.

The first re-vamped line of Yuengling Ice Cream will include 10 flavors. Some of the more unique offerings include root beer float, espresso chocolate chip, vanilla fudge chunk with pretzels and, as a nod to their business roots, "black and tan," a "swirl of Belgian chocolate and salty caramel ice cream."

"The flavors are a combination of old and new," says David. "People are going to expect some old favorites, and some new flavors, which we developed based on what we thought would sell well in today’s market."

Yuengling Dairy Products has an initial target of 400 grocery stores.

"We’re trying to keep it regional, but there is huge opportunity for growth," says Bohorad.

They expect the social media buzz to continue, but also hope stores will help promote the product. And as for using the Yuengling name to sell ice cream, both owners agreed that the name will only get them so far.

"We expect a lot of feedback from people who buy the beer," says David. "We also have some flavors that are unique to our brand, and we have a history of high quality and brand recognition. People will buy our ice cream the first time for the name, but the quality and value will get them to buy it again."

SARA HODON is a freelance writer who lives, works, and plays in Northeast Pa.  Learn more about her writing trials and triumphs on her blog. Send feedback here.