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"We've failed, and we fail quickly," New Trail owner and director of brewing ops Mike LaRosa told CBN this wk, catchin' us up on how co that reported 6.7K bbls produced in 2020 was all the way up to 46.7K bbls last yr and is expecting 10K more in 2025, up more than 20%. Founded in 2018, the Williamsport, PA-based co wanted to get to 3K bbls produced/yr within 5 yrs but managed it in less than 2, which they attribute to sticktuitiveness, business savvy and kismet. "Luck is the intersection of preparation and opportunity," Mike said, echoing common saying and acknowledging co's good fortune: "We saw the opportunity, and we had lightning in a bottle here in Pennsylvania." Staying "Local," But "A Mile Deep" "We had modest goals. We wanted to stay local," Mike said. "But what is local? Philly? Pittsburgh? The state?" Using one wholesaler, they started attacking nearby markets. Today they have 20 distribs and are in 5 states: PA, DE, NJ, WV and MD. Despite their rocketship growth, however, they're not necessarily lookin' for more at the moment. "We're cautiously looking. It's gotta make sense&hellip; it costs a lot of money to expand, and everything has to fit in that perfect scenario," said co-founder Dave Hertwig. Some of co's earlier expansion attempts went so haywire that "we did it twice" before getting it right, and Dave is not about to throw caution to the wind, even if it's at his back. "We kept saying 'local market' and '10 counties,' but what we really wanted was to be a mile deep," Mike said."It's Not As Simple As 'Send Beer to a Wholesaler And It'll Sell'" "We've never had a down month," Mike said, which is especially notable for co that was just hitting its stride as the pandemic hit. As fate would have it, New Trail had just added a second canning line, and when PA allowed beer sales at grocery stores it created a perfect opportunity for co to spread its wings. The glow-up happened fast, as co was adding 1-2 tanks every month for two years. Soon they went from brewing once every other month to "once a month, then twice a month," and so on. "It was sensational overnight," Mike said. He cited Dave's business savvy as a key facilitating agent, which has helped co overcome the tuff macroeconomic environment thru conspicuous hard work. "We've got a ton of sales people on the street. We try to stay in front of you. It's not as simple as 'send beer to a wholesaler and it'll sell,'" Dave said.Their relationship with distribs was key to the 2022 rollout of Crisp Lager as a complement to flagship Broken Heels IPA and its hoppy brethren. "We knew we needed the love of wholesalers in Pennsylvania," Dave said. Despite "a ton of macro price increases," the "easy-drinking craft lager&hellip; took off like wildfire," Dave said, and remains a pillar of New Trail's biz, with $$ sales up strong-double digits YTD in NielsenIQ scans thru Sep 6. Originally available only in 24pks, co added smaller sizes and a lime version when it was clear the Crisp Lager was a bona fide hit. It recently signed a deal for Crisp to become the official craft beer of West Virginia University (see Aug 6 issue), following a similar deal with nearby Penn State in 2023 (see Oct 18 2023 issue)."Sitting in a Wheelchair, Telling Us Everything We're Doing Wrong" That said, Broken Heels is the biggest seller and, like cohort Double Broken Heels, is also up strong double-digits YTD in NIQ scans. The hazy IPA got its name when co-founder Charles Imbro "took a nasty tumble down a flight of stairs as we were opening the brewery and broke both of his heels a day before he was supposed to go to Germany for Oktoberfest," co wrote on Facebook. That led to Charles "sitting in a wheelchair, telling us everything we're doing wrong," Dave recalled, with Mike calling the "Broken Heels" name a loving "bit of a f*** you." The first edition of the Broken Heels can originally had a view of the PA Grand Canyon (aka Pine Creek Gorge) that was "very dark can and not a great marketing piece," Dave remembered. They switched to a brighter can, sales soared and they "built out the family" from there.Earlier this yr, co introduced newest member of the fam: Trail Marker West Coast IPA, which has had strong sales YTD, comparable to Crisp Lager (tho slightly behind it). It's another outdoor-themed beer after co unveiled I Love My State Parks Hazy IPA last yr, with a portion of proceeds supporting said state parks. One dollar of every Trail Marker case also goes to outdoor causes. "A major part of the brewery is awareness and giving back to the outdoors," Dave said. Other brand fam members with strong-double digit $$ growth YTD in NIQ scans this yr ending Sep 6 (which is all of them) include Up the Creek IPA and co's hop-centric vty pk."Focus on What You Can Do" New Trail has a single taproom in 28K-population Williamsport, which generates less than 10% of co's revenue. "If I told you the taproom business was good, I'd be lying," Dave said, but said the margins yielded "high profit": "A lot of time we see people who are going to Penn State, and we're the stop in between." And despite co's success, there have been some misfires. "You gotta know who you are. When FMBs were starting to take off, we had a brand that really didn't just fit and we let it go. You have to focus on what you can do," Dave said.As for the (hotly debated) past, present and future of craft beer, Dave called it a "big circle. There was a time when the entrance to craft was wheat beer and stout, and eventually got to West Coast IPA. Then Hazy IPA has people go from Coors Light to Hazy IPA. Troegs has been very successful with bock beer. As much as it's like 'we're in trouble,' there needs to be an education to younger consumers. Just as wine's not just cab, beer's not just a singular item to people."

"A Mile Deep" In PA, New Trail Shares the Secrets and Strategies Behind Its Continuous Growth

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