Dunkin' beer highlights Wormtown's local commitment
David Fields, managing partner at Wormtown Brewery.
PHOTO/MATT VOLPINI
Wormtown Brewery founding partner Ben Roesch, developer Robert Branca, former founding partner Tom Oliveri and managing partner David Fields inside their facility on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester.
Beer and coffee drinkers are rejoicing this holiday season thanks to a collaboration between Dunkin Donuts and Worcester’s Wormtown Brewery. The companies teamed up to release DDark Roasted Brew, a stout-style beer brewed with Dunkin’ Donuts’ dark roast beans. It is set for release on Thursday, the winter solstice. It’s another cool collaboration for Wormtown Brewery, said Wormtown Managing Partner David Fields, who sat down with the WBJ to talk about the new project.
How did this collaboration come about?
The family that owns our building is a Dunkin Donuts franchisee. We’ve been talking about this for probably three years. We finally found a magic window this fall to make it work. Local franchisees initiated the conversation, and they were able to get the corporate office excited about it. We put our heads together, did some flavor matching and had discussions about what we wanted the beer to taste like.
How did the beer become a stout? Were other types of beer explored?
When you really think about the profile of coffee, especially dark roast coffee, it made perfect sense. This particular beer, while a stout, will have some attributes that are similar to a porter. It’s kind of like a really fun unique hybrid, but it’s definitely a stout.
What’s it taste like?
This beer is going to have a little bit of the nice chocolatey sweetness, but it’s also going to come through with some really solid roasted toasted bitterness as well.
What was it like to work with a massive company like Dunkin Donuts?
It was just a really humbling experience to have them even be interested in working with us. It was a real proud moment, especially since they’re a Massachusetts-based company. It fits really well with our commitment to local.
Underneath that, when you sit in a room with their marketing people and head chef, you realize how much passion they bring to a project. It’s like, “Whoa, holy smokes, this is another level of vision and talent that we haven’t worked with in the past.”
It’s not the first time Wormtown has collaborated with a local company. You guys did the Table Talk pumpkin pie beer this fall.
We’ve done a bunch of stuff with Worcester and Massachusetts groups. Most of our ingredients come from Massachusetts farmers. We’re always about local. We’re really just focused on being the best beer company we can be and be as local as we can possibly be.
How much DDark Roasted Brew will be made?
It was a very, very small release. It’s an eight-barrel batch; that’s why it’s only being shared in the taproom. We figured we would have maybe a week’s supply.
Any other cool collaborations with other companies planned for the near future?
We have one really, really, really high-profile, tremendous Worcester-based company we’ve been talking to on the backside for a couple years now. It would be extremely exciting to be able to do something like that, but for now, we’re leaving that a little bit quiet.
This interview was conducted and edited for length and clarity by WBJ staff writer Zachary Comeau.
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