Somebody hold my beer while I attempt to contain my excitement.

It has come to my knowledge that Wachusett Brewing Company out of Westminster, Mass. has just brewed a new flavor to add to its roster: Wachusett Strawberry.

 

The announcement was made on Wednesday to celebrate "National Strawberry Day," and sources tell me it was their "wildest posting" in about a year.

As I regained consciousness (too dramatic?), I immediately picked up the phone and call over to Wachusett's headquarters, where I was directed to none other than the president of the brewing company, Christian McMahan. I've always been a big fan of Wachusett's Blueberry beer and all I truly wanted to know (besides when can I get my hands on these delicious bad Larry's) was what initially sparked or piqued his interest into brewing a strawberry beer?

"We have played around with strawberry beers in the past and it's a wonderful fruit to work with," McMahan said. "The aromatics in it gives you a wonderful fruit-sensory overload. The strawberry puree that we use has beautiful aromatics and as soon as you pour a pint or open a can it hits your nose right away."

The science behind the beer goes beyond flavor; it has to also be enjoyable.

"It's not overbearing, "McMahan explains, "We don't want the beer to overpower you too much, just enough for it to be interesting, but you want it to also be drinkable and crushable."

McMahan and his crew master their craft with a simple rule called the "Crushable Test" due to the fact that some beers are far too heavy to begin with.

"The beer has to pass the test- can I have more than one? We need to make sure the balance of it is still an easy-drinking beer, but for those people that love strawberry and love that additional flavor in their beer, we're offering you something truly interesting and unique," he said.

The brewmasters have been toying with the recipe since December, making sure they perfected the kinks and the overall flavor. Wachusett Strawberry has already grown to be their number two most favorite beer out of 24 beers on draft, and the second best-selling beer outside of blueberry at the brewery.

Wachusett Strawberry plans on rolling out to Southeastern Massachusetts around April 1st, but if anyone wants to try it now, you can drive to Westminster to Wachusett's Brewyard and enjoy a tasty pint (or two) before it hits shelves here on the SouthCoast.

The ABV (Alcohol By Volume) for Wachusett Strawberry is a smooth 4.5 percent and is very light with a zero on the bitterness scale; a sort of Wheat Belgium Ale, to be exact.

If you're looking for the perfect day-drinking, summertime vibes, easy to crush beer, then look no further than Wachusett Strawberry. As far as how hoppy the beer tastes, McMahan tells us that you won't be able to identify it in the beer.

"We want to make sure that people enjoy it and crush them (the beer) and have an overall good time, because they'll end up buying one six-pack, drink one and the rest of the beer, we call it the five-pack, just sit in the fridge for the next month or so and you never want that," McMahan says, "It's not hoppy at all or about the hops, its about a beautiful wheat beer with hints of Belgium character, but it really just features the strawberry and the freshness. We don't want the hops competing with that, so it's very low on the hops scale."

Just when you thought the good news was finished, Wachusett Brewing Company tells Fun 107 and all of their fans to stay tuned for more details on yet another fruit-infused secret beer that will be released this summer as well.

Cheers, mate!

 

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