If the first thing you crave from Wawa on a hot day is a peach iced tea, lean into this.
Cape May Brewing Company and the region’s most beloved convenience store chose the middle of one of the longer heat waves in recent memory to launch their collaborative beverage – Shore Tea.
Beginning Thursday, thirsty folks 21 and up will be able to try this latest collaboration between Wawa and a regional craft brewery.
The Shore Tea Hard Beverage marks the first time the Jersey Shore brewery, based in Lower Township, New Jersey, and Wawa have teamed up on a collaborative brew.
More:Bacon-infused beer? Wawa, Campbell, other firms pair with craft brewers
The limited-edition, adults-only beverage will debut at the grand opening of Wawa’s newest beer store in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, as well as in the Cape May Brewing Co. tasting room.
From there, it will be made available to select retailers in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania.
“Made with Wawa’s signature Peach Iced Tea and Cape May’s iconic adult libations, the hard tea is lip-smackingly refreshing with just the right amount of sweet kick,’’ promise the collaborators in a join announcement.
Shore Tea (4.5% ABV) will be sold in limited quantities of 6-pack 12-ounce cans retailing for $12.99.
All ingredients used are naturally gluten-free; the drink includes no peach juice, according to press materials.
A brewery spokesperson explained that the peach flavor comes from “a concentrated flavoring produced from natural peaches which omits the organic components to produce a much cleaner tasting and more stable product.”
More:Move over coffee beer, Wawa’s new brew is a strawberry lemonade shandy. It’s coming soon.
More:Wawa coffee beer? Yes, thanks to 2SP Brewing
This is not the first time Wawa partnered with a brewery to produce a collaborative beverage; it all started with a winter beer.
In 2018, the convenience store company paired up with 2SP Brewing Co., an award-winning brewery in Aston, Pennsylvania, for the Winter Reserve Coffee Stout.
And last year, the company teamed up with 2SP again to produce a limited-edition strawberry lemonade shandy called Sunfest.
Here’s where you can celebrate the release, or score some of the first Shore Tea for your own personal heat wave:
- Thursday, July 21, 8 a.m.: Official ribbon cutting of the first cases at Wawa’s grand opening of its newest beer store, at 639 E. Lincoln Highway, Langhorne, Pennsylvania. There will be a Wawa and Cape May Brewing Co. “Tea-Shirt” giveaway for the first 100 guests, while supplies last. Meet brewers James Fox, director of brewing operations for Cape May Brewing Co., and Michael McLaughlin, senior manager of concept development for Wawa
- Saturday, July 23, 11 a.m.: New Jersey Launch Party at Cape May Brewing Co. tasting room, at Cape May Airport, 250 Hornet Road, Lower Township. You can expect live music, Wawa and Cape May Brewing Co. “Tea-Shirt’’ giveaway, and Wawa pretzels and Wawa Peach Iced Tea non-alcoholic pint giveaways, while supplies last.
- Shore Tea also will be sold beginning Thursday in limited release at the following PA Wawa beer stores:
- 721 Naamans Creek Road, Chadds Ford
- 1073 Baltimore Pike, Middletown
- 201 S. Cedar Crest Blvd., Emmaus
- 296 Route 940, Blakeslee
- 1139 Horsham Road, Horsham
- 2600 Penrose Ave., Philadelphia
- 9101 Frankford Ave., Philadelphia
- County Line Rd. & W. Butler Ave., Chalfont
- Main Street & Quarry Road, Lower Salford Township
- Chichester Avenue & McCay Ave., Boothwyn
- Rt. 309 & Passer Road, Coopersburg
- 364 Susquehanna St., Allentown
- 600 N. W. End Blvd., Quakertown
- 8053 Chestnut Street, Herford
- 39 E. Lincoln Highway, Langhorne
- Beginning Monday, July 25, Shore Tea will go on sale at select retailers in New Jersey and Delaware, and additional Pennsylvania locations.
“Wawa’s Peach Iced Tea captures the aroma and flavors of biting into a freshly picked peach at the height of ripeness,’’ with caramel-like tones of Wawa’s Black Iced Tea, said Wawa’s McLaughlin in a press statement. “Fragrant, juicy and sweet with just the right amount of acidity and a sweet tea finish.’
More:Wawa is selling beer in Bucks County. Here’s where, and a look at future plans
“We were excited when Wawa reached out to us with the possibility of collaborating. We’re huge fans, and many of our crew members make Wawa a regular part of their routines,” added brewery CEO Krill.
“We approached the process of making this tea similar to how we make our seltzers. We kept it simple, just like if you were going to make tea at home,’’ Krill said in promoting the launch.
Visit https//:capemaybrewing.com for more details and a related social media contest.
