Our new beer release this week is one that a lot of our Tasting Room crew looks forward to all year long. We got together with some of our crew to enjoy some pours to discuss the re-release!

Everyone gets excited when we bring out the first can, and there’s hushed appreciation as we pour the first luscious red-hued liquid into small tasting glasses.

There’s a lot of folks who have joined us either after work, or on their day off, including Kaley, who’s birthday is today! Luckily we could get her some Watermelon Wheat ahead of the release to celebrate!

Our crew today includes Brewtique Supervisor and Inventory Controller Karen Flood, Brewtique Manager Kaitlyn Smith, Brewtique Associate Barb Bur, Brewtique Associate Marie Dougherty, Tasting Room Associate Gavin Lewis, Beertender Kaley Palasch, and Tasting Room Supervisor ODB: Danielle Brasch.

“It looks better than I remember it!” Karen says.

“It smells like summer,” Kaitlyn says wistfully as she grabs a glass.

“It really is summer,” Karen says. “It’s light and refreshing with a low alcohol percentage, too.”

It was Gavin’s first time having Watermelon Wheat as well.

“It’s good. I was on the fence when I first heard about it, but I like it,” he says.

Barb, like many of the others, is over the moon.

“I am loving this,” Barb says. “It’s so smooth and easy to drink.”

Everyone who had previous iterations of this brew seemed to agree that it was even better than last year’s batch.

We don’t know how the production team does it, but they somehow manage to top expectations year after year! If you haven’t been a fan before, now’s the chance to give this one another try, and if you’re already a fan, don’t worry. This is still the beloved Watermelon Wheat, ready to help you capture summer with each sip!

Barb says she would pair a strawberry goat cheese salad with this brew, or even walnuts and spinach, or chicken.

“The can design is really cool, too,” Gavin says. “I like the alternating red and pink, which gives it some contrast.

Both Marie and Karen stocked up on cans from last year, but they’re happy to have it back in stock!

For Karen, it’s one of her two favorite beers that she looks forward to each year.

Karen recently hosted a going away party, and she mentions that the guests cleared her out of some of her last stock from the previous year. “It was ok though, because I knew it would be coming out soon again. I may have sold some more people on it in the interim,” she says with a smile.

“This one has a nice body to it,” Marie says, taking another sip.

And it’s true! Many watermelon flavored varieties are on the lighter side, but the wheat characteristics of this brew allows us to give a more balanced, full flavor to the beer.

“I love it,” Kaley says. “I bought three cases last year, and I’ll probably buy three cases of it this year.”

It’s a great summer beer,” she says. “It’s nice, because while we offer a lot of shandies as well, this is a fruity wheat beer.”

Kaley likes to pair hers with watermelon, even snagging a slice to garnish the glass with for a great photo opp!

Kaitlyn mentions that she’s glad Watermelon Wheat gets its time to shine as well.

It usually comes out later in the summer compared to our other summer brews, and this week, we made it extra special by releasing it all on its own this weekend!

“I think we all agreed that it’s juicier this year,” Danielle says. “It tastes like biting into a watermelon,” she says with a laugh.

Watermelon Wheat has a unique way of bringing both watermelon and non-watermelon fans together, so regardless of your preferences for the fruit, this beer has something for everyone to enjoy.

Unlike our previous releases last weekend, you’ll be able to snag this brew starting today, Friday, July 9th, in the Tasting Room, and if you’re itching for more, you'll be able to find it on draft throughout New Jersey starting Monday, July 12th!

This one definitely doesn’t stay on the shelves long, so you might want to follow Karen, Marie and Kaley's lead and grab some extras to have on hand before this sells out!