No Joke – Trailway Just Made A Donut Beer
FREDERICTON – Some people may have fooled themselves by thinking it was just another joke on April Fool’s Day.
But in what can only be described as a match made in heaven for pastry connoisseurs and beer aficionados alike, Fredericton’s Trailway Brewing Co. announced Friday that its most recent collab, with New Brunswick’s Mrs. Dunster’s, is in fact a very real, donut pastry stout.
Koko Crunch hit the taps and cooler Friday in what Trailway described on Facebook as “an extremely limited batch.”
It states the stout is “Brewed with Mrs. Dunster’s sugar donuts,” and mentions Koko Crunch’s flavour profile being based on Mrs. Dunster’s Chocolate Crunch nuggets in particular, “with robust dry chocolate with underlying coconut and traces of vanilla and dark chocolate syrup on the palate.”
Its taste is described as “slightly bitter with a balanced sweetness” and comes in at a whopping 10.5% ABV.
It is also the latest in an ever-growing line of one-off and sometimes returning batches from Trailway, which will celebrate its sixth anniversary next month at its 280 Main Street, north Fredericton location.
Co-owner Jake Saunders says Trailway is always trying to do one-off beer releases, with he and co-founder Dan Mason frequently researching and picking up on trends in the beer world and giving them a try.
Saunders says Koko Crunch is actually based on other pastry stouts, and one of the styles he says has been on Trailway’s radar for the last few years.
“Pastry stouts seem to be getting a lot of positive reviews,” says Saunders, who adds a lot of larger breweries in the U.S. are no strangers at offering a pastry stout every few years, suggesting the trend is more common than many beer drinkers may think.
“Basically, just taking your basic stout recipe and kind of working in — whether it’s donuts, cookies — any pastry,” he said.
Inquiring minds
Trailway’s announcement for Koko Crunch had some on social media wondering Friday if the brew was an April Fool’s prank.
We “researched” whether the brew was true and, after visiting the brewery Friday, we can confirm — the beer is real.
Saunders says it didn’t even occur to him and his team that it was April Fool’s Day — and its pastry stout could possibly have been perceived as a joke, calling it “a complete coincidence” on launch.
“So, there is definitely some humor in that,” laughed Saunders. “We’ve been fielding calls and messages from people since we posted, asking if it’s real.”
As for linking up with Mrs. Dunster’s, Saunders says the collaboration had been in the works for quite some time.
“Anytime you’re doing a collaboration or something like that, there’s a lot of planning involved,” he said.
“We kind of tossed the idea around for the last couple years or so, and then it just kind of, one day, in the office, it was just like: ‘Hey, if we were to do it, wouldn’t it make a lot of sense to do it with someone like Mrs. Dusters?’” he recalled.
“Anytime you can work in like a local ingredient or like a local product – obviously you’ll know Mrs. Dunster’s if you’re from New Brunswick.”
It’s a collaboration that would make a character like Homer Simpson shed tears of joy, and for Saunders, he likens the idea to Moonshine Creek’s now annual Christmas collaboration with Ganong on its now trademark, Chicken Bones Liqueur.
“We kind of used that as an example in our mind, like an easy like justification, because that product is very, very popular,” said Saunders.
Even while some thought Trailway was pulling their leg, Saunders says he wouldn’t be surprised if the supply of Koko Crunch lasts through the weekend.
Saint John location delayed
Another timeline Saunders is watching is Trailway’s development of its Saint John location, which the company announced last fall.
Trailway’s first location outside of Fredericton, destined for 143 Union Street in the Port City, was initially due to open sometime in May or June, but Saunders confirmed to Huddle that those plans have been adjusted back somewhat.
“We haven’t done demolition or anything yet,” said Saunders, who summarized the project as still in the engineering phase.
“We think we’re at least six weeks behind schedule already,” he added, saying the project will now be delayed for opening until at least into July or August.
Tyler Mclean is a Huddle reporter based in Fredericton. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].