Wawa private brand coffee inspires more beer

Wawa is going on another beer run with its Pennsylvania neighbor 2SP Brewing, launching a new beer for the holidays that leverages a blend of the retailer’s store brand coffee.

The beer is a Holiday Reserve Coffee Stout, a creamy coffee oatmeal stout spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and balanced with Wawa’s Winter Reserve Coffee blend.

The company’s have been collaborating for the last three years, particularly in infusing Wawa’s store brand coffee into delicious beer. Michael McLaughlin, Wawa’s manager of concept development and proclaimed “coffee guru,” has been working with 2SP Brewing’s head brewer Bob Barrar for the beer collaborations.

Joining the new holiday flavor will be a return of the Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, a reserve collection from the Delaware County, Pa.-based brewery that also leans on the Wawa winter coffee and is an English style oatmeal stout aged in Woodford Reserve barrels for seven months. Also available is the Rum Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, using the coffee to make a stout aged in Jamaican Rum barrels for a beer with more sweet vanilla, plum and cage sugar flavors.

The beers launched Nov. 20 at two Wawa stores in Pennsylvania, and is headed to select beer retailers in Southeastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and parts of Maryland, and they’ll be available at the brewery.

“It’s our third year partnering with our friends and neighbors at 2SP Brewing Company and we couldn’t be more excited to provide our hometown with these seasonally-inspired beers,” said Mike Sherlock, chief product marketing officer. “Although we can’t celebrate in person, we hope these beers bring our community together and provide enjoyment over the holiday season.”

Barrar added: “The oatmeal stout has a balanced sweetness that showcases the full range of flavors from the Wawa Reserve Blend with an added velvety mouthfeel."