State Stewards for Land and Water

By Jessica Aiello West Branch Life

Just in time for Earth Day, you can celebrate our local forests with a beer. The Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation (PPFF) and New Trail Brewing Company have teamed up to create craft beers celebrating our backcountry

That collaboration was made possible because of PPFF’s stewardship of our forests and the waters that flow through them

“Brewers obsess about water quality,” says Mike Larosa, director of brewing operations and partner at New Trail Brewing Co in Williamsport.

“Water is like the backbone to making really fantastic beer We chose Williamsport for a number of reasons, and one of those reasons was the water quality Surrounding us are a number of state-owned parks and forests. The riparian forests along stream beds are extremely important to filtering the surface water, which eventually gets to us.”

Gratefully, one non-profit is protecting those lands and not just for brewers

“There are nearly 17 million acres of forest in Pennsylvania, covering approximately 60 percent of the commonwealth,” said Marci Mowery, president of PPFF “Evidence shows that forests improve water quality ”

Since 1999, PPFF has provided a voice for the state’s forests and parks With PPFF, citizens can donate money to fund projects within state parks and forests, become volunteers in the park and forest system, and find fun, educational opportunities

PPFF and New Trail are a natural fit. And so, the limited-edition

Pennsylvania state park beer series was created in 2021. Beginning with the Keystone State Park hazy IPA, New Trail developed seven beers in the series, which also includes Washington Crossing, Cook Forest, Worlds End and Hickory Run hazy double IPAs, Presque Isle and Hyner View hazy IPAs, and Cherry Springs cherry chocolate milk stout

New Trail made a donation to PPFF for each of the named state parks, totaling more than $11,000 from the beer series as of December 2022

Following the success of the state park beer series, New Trail and PPFF are now partnering on another way to raise funds for Pennsylvania’s public spaces

Launched September 2022, $1 for every case (or draft equivalent) of their Replenish IPA is donated to PPFF for tree plantings, with no cap on how much can be raised

As of mid-December, that totaled more than $11,000 Like the beer series, Replenish IPA is award-winning It recently won a Beer of the Year medal through the international Brewski awards

In honor of Earth Day, New Trail will launch a limited edition Replenish Double IPA, with double the donation to PPFF On Saturday, April 22, parties and tap takeovers will occur across Pennsylvania to celebrate the importance of a clean environment for good beer.

“The New Trail brand is about joining great beers with the great outdoors,” says Don Rieck, marketing manager for

New Trail.

“We know that all the things we love to do – hiking, kayaking, fishing, etc. –rely on having healthy forests and clean water. We view it as our duty to support Pennsylvania’s amazing state parks and forests and the great work that PPFF does ” www.paparksandforests.org