Wawa and 2SP Brewing collaborate on a coffee beer

Convenience-store giant Wawa is getting into the beer game, in a partnership with 2SP Brewing Co., the award-winning brewery located in Aston, about 15 minutes from its corporate headquarters in Delaware County.

Winter Reserve Coffee Stout, created by 2SP head brewer Bob Barrar, combines Wawa’s limited-edition Winter Blend coffee with 2SP’s oatmeal stout. Wawa and 2SP say its flavor profile includes notes of sweet clove, dark chocolate, and graham crackers; a sample was not made available in advance.

The beer will be launched at 4 p.m. Dec. 6 at the Wawa store at 721 Naamans Creek Rd. in Chadds Ford, the only Wawa in Pennsylvania that sells beer.

At the firkin-tapping event, the first 50 cases will be available to purchase, first come, first serve, with a limit of two four-packs per person.

The beer will be available for purchase during the week of Dec. 10 through Origlio Beverage, which distributes to neighborhood bars and bottle shops in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Only 1,000 cases will be available.

The idea stemmed from a 2SP meeting in October. The brew team was drinking Wawa coffee -- but each had different roasts, said Michael Contreras, 2SP’s director of sales and marketing.

Barrar was drinking regular, brewer Andrew “Ruby” Rubenstein was drinking the Reserve series, and Contreras was drinking Cuban. “Next thing you know, we are trying each one, talking about the merits of each coffee, similar to the way we do with beer,” Contreras said. “It seemed like the only thing we agreed on that day was our taste in coffee. Then it occurred to us; Why don’t we hit up our neighbors at Wawa and see if they had any interest in brewing a coffee stout with us?”

A week or so later, Contreras said, Wawa executives visited the brewery for a tasting and discussion of a possible collaboration.

“Aside from Bob being a Delco native, like Wawa, what seemed to really click was that he had a similar approach and desire for beer that Michael McLaughlin, Wawa’s coffee guru, had for his coffee roasts,” Contreras said. “The two geeked out and we could see that something pretty cool and tasty could come out of getting these two together.”