Wawa taps its signature beer with Aston brewer
Customers lined up by the hundreds to buy the popular convenience store chain’s latest offering.
CHADDS FORD >> After locking down the market on hoagies, coffee and gasoline, Wawa has entered a new frontier with the sale of its first signature beer Thursday afternoon.
Leaders of the convenience store giant and Aston-based 2SP Brewing Company tapped the first keg of Wawa’s own Winter Reserve Coffee Stout at its Chadds Ford store to kick off the first business venture in selling their own specialty brews.
“For Wawa, it’s all about community, building relationships up with our customers and that’s what today’s all about. We’re delighted to have this launch today with our partners, 2SP,” said Wawa Chief Product Marketing Officer Mike Sherlock.
The product developed when Wawa was trying to come up with a winter coffee blend and 2SP stepped in at the same time to talk about a beer opportunity with the company.
“It seemed like a natural fit for us and to be able to build something for our brands together, and really partner two brands from Delco and sell our brew and stout in Delaware County and Philadelphia area for a limited time,” said Sherlock.
2SP’s Director of Sales and Marketing Michael Contreras said it was “a shot in the dark” chance to form the partnership.
“Bob (Barrar, 2SP head brewer) and I were arguing over what we were going to brew for the next quarter,” said Contreras. “The only thing we could agree on was our taste in coffee that day. I said, ‘let’s stop talking, let’s hit up Wawa and see if we can brew a nice winter reserve stout using some of their beans.’”
According to 2SP representatives, the brew is created with four different types of coffee beans from four different continents that Wawa was using for their winter blend. Wawa Product Development Manager Michael McLaughlin said the key flavors from the beans include dark chocolate, graham cracker, some spice and fruit.
Barrar used an oatmeal stout as the base for the beer which adds a nice “creaminess and sweetness” to the beer.
“We wanted the sweetness in the beer to balance out the coffee character,” said Barrar.
Hundreds lined up around the store leading up to the first public taste testing at 4:30. Wawa was offering 300 tasting tickets for customers to get one of the first samples and to grab their own four-pack of cans on the go.
However, those tickets were almost gone by 4:25.
Only 1,000 cases will be sold of the winter reserve stout in the Philadelphia area starting Dec. 10. Origlio Beverage will be distributing the beer to bars bottle shops and distributers.
The selling of their beer within Wawa stores is limited to their Chadds Ford location located at 721 Naamans Creed Road. This location became the first, and to date only, Pennsylvania store in the company to sell beer starting in February 2017.
Sherlock said the company is all about evolving, and a continued future in creating their own beers and opening more stores in the Philadelphia region with the availability to sell it is something that will be looked into.