Sheetz invades Wawa country with new Evil Genius collaboration beer
For their next beer, Sheetz, based out of Altoona, has partnered with Philly’s own Evil Genius Beer Company for a breakfast-y brew.
Earlier this year, central Pennsylvania convenience store chain Sheetz got into the beer game with Project Coffee Hopz, its very own coffee-infused IPA brewed in partnership with Mifflinburg-based Rusty Rail Brewing Company. The move, Wawa fans noted, seemed suspiciously similar to the Delaware County-based convenience store chain’s collaborative coffee beer with 2SP Brewing Company, released last year as Winter Reserve Coffee Stout.
But now, the gloves are off.
For their next beer, Sheetz, based out of Altoona, has partnered with Philly’s own Evil Genius Beer Company for another breakfast-y brew. Dubbed Project Brewberry Muffinz, Sheetz’s latest liquid is a blonde ale brewed with Shweetz blueberry muffins for what Evil Genius cofounder Luke Bowen called a “super-crushable” beer with low bitterness and a 6 percent ABV. To make the beer, Bowen added, Evil Genius used “hundreds and hundreds” of muffins in the brewing process.
“Muffins are great to use in making beer because you need starch and sugar to ferment out,” Bowen told the Inquirer. “You get a little residual sweetness, and you definitely get the blueberry notes to it. It’s a really, really awesome beer.”
Project Brewberry Muffinz will be released at 99 Sheetz stores throughout Pennsylvania starting at 4 p.m. on Thursday, and will be available in four-packs of 16-ounce cans for $7.99 while supplies last. A list of participating stores on the Sheetz website indicates that stores in Lancaster, Lititz, Bethlehem, and Reading will stock the beer, meaning Philly area folks will have to travel a little to get their hands on some cans of Project Brewberry Muffinz.
However, the beer, Bowen said, might come to Evil Genius’ taproom in Philadelphia (1727 N Front St.), though plans for its availability locally have not yet solidified. The brew, after all, is a Sheetz collaboration, and was actually created at Evil Genius’ Pittson-based production brewery, smack in the heart of Sheetz country.
The idea for the beer, Sheetz assistant vice president of brand strategy Ryan Sheetz said via a release, was in response to the success of Project Coffee Hopz, which was released in May. That beer, PennLive reports, resulted in lines out the door at several Sheetz locations. Currently, according to the York Daily Record, there are not currently plans for a third Sheetz beer release.
Which, of course, means one thing: Your move, Wawa. Brew wisely.