Q & A

     Question: What do Breyer's, Ben & Jerry's, Edy's, and Yuengling all have in common?

     Answer:   They are all major name brands of ice cream.

Wait a minute!  Isn't Yuengling a brewery?  Well yes, in fact, the oldest brewery in America, established in Pottsville, PA way back in 1829.  But it is a little known fact that the Yuengling family also began to make ice cream in 1920 to offset the lack of beer sales revenue due to the onset of Prohibition.



     The dairy branch of the family-run business spun off from the brewery in 1935 and continued quite successfully until 1985 when it appeared that the next generation of Yuenglings were reluctant to continue the operation.  But this year David Yuengling (cousin of brewery head Dick Yuengling) has taken over the helm and in February the name once again appeared on 10 flavors of quart containers of ice cream in stores throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.



     And having sampled some of their product, I must say that it rivals any high-end ice cream on the market.  Made with no artificial ingredients, it has a higher percentage of butterfat and less infused air than most.  My favorite flavor hands down is their take on a popular beer, Black and Tan.  It isn't made with the family suds, however.  The black and tan in this case (no pun intended) is Belgian chocolate and salted caramel.  Other flavors include chocolate marshmallow, root beer float, mint chocolate chip, and of course, vanilla.  It's not cheap, but in my estimation very worth the price for a name brand that is making a celebrated come back.