The Creamery
Penn State Creamery Ice Cream—
The History
The Penn State Berkey Creamery actually dates to 1865 when it was located in the “College Barns” behind the original Main Building (replaced by ‘new Old Main’ in 1930)… Since 2006, the Berkey Creamery is located on the first floor and outdoor patio area of the Food Science Building along Curtin Road (near Bigler Road) just south of the East Parking Deck… Prior to that, the Creamery had been located for about 75 years at then Borland Laboratory (just 1 block west of its present location) with a public storefront in a now-demolished structure on the Curtin Road side…
Creamery Ice Cream was first sold to the public in 1896… The Creamery utilizes milk from the University’s own on-campus cow herd and from local suppliers… Penn State brags that it’s “cow to cone” in about 72 hours, or so… Typically, 20 rotating flavors are available daily, but you must make a specific choice because flavors cannot be mixed in the store… You can, of course, mix them at home… The Creamery ships its ice cream to 48 states (it also makes and sells its own brand of milk, butter, and cheese)…
Penn State’s Creamery has become nationally known and is a must-visit for everyone who sets foot on campus… And it has become the classic “when in Rome” stop for fans of the opposing football teams and for media in need of a quick story…
FYI… Creamery Ice Cream is available at some, but not all, of the PSU satellite campuses…. And there are some restaurants and ice cream shops in Pennsylvania that offer it…
Ice Cream at Beaver Stadium
Despite the longstanding popularity of Creamery Ice Cream, it was not fully available on gamedays at Beaver Stadium until Sept. 2, 2017, for the season-opening game vs. Akron…. Beginning that day, pints of Creamery Ice Cream (only 6 flavors originally) were first sold to all fans inside the stadium at their concessions area under the west stands on ground level… Oddly, this momentous event was not worthy of the cover of that game’s Beaver Stadium Pictorial… The honor went to star tight end Mike Gesicki (see below)…
Notable football-themed flavors—Peachy Paterno (peach ice cream with slices of peach—generally always available) & White Out Popcorn-flavored ice cream with white chocolate chips (not always available)
Prior to 2017, Creamery Ice Cream had only been available to fans who held tickets to Mt. Nittany Club seats (which first opened in 2001)… Fans on the Club-level still have the exclusive option to purchase both pint and half pint sizes (limited selections in half pints)… FYI—The ice cream is also available at most events in the Bryce Jordan Center…
Nittany Notes:
Did you Know?
It was Hershey’s (under license with PSU) that provided the celebratory ice cream “Victory Vanilla” in 1987 following the 1986 National Championship season… The half gallon box (see below) was in blue and white (naturally) and featured a blue and white image of the Nittany Lion Shrine along with a list of the games/scores from the undefeated championship season…
