Hardee’s is teaming up with Southern Grist Brewing Company to launch a beer on Thursday inspired by, and containing, the quick-service chain’s biscuits.
Strawberry Biscuit Ale was made by adding 200 pounds of Hardee’s Made from Scratch Biscuits, plus some strawberry purée, to wort — the combination of water, malt, yeast, hops and sometimes other flavorings that is fermented into beer — to make 465 gallons of the brew.
Owen Klein, vice-president of global culinary innovation for CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Hardee’s, said the beer that’s going on sale at Southern Grist’s two taprooms in Nashville on Thursday is the third iteration of Strawberry Biscuit Ale.
“Every subsequent batch we doubled the amount of Hardee’s biscuits in it to make the biscuit flavor come out,” he said. “It worked out to something like 22 batches of biscuits for us” in the final version.
Klein described the beer as a “subtly sweet and fruity ale [with] a really nice finish of baked goods.”
Apart from Southern Grist’s taprooms, the brewery will also be offering samples at Nashville Brew Fest Sept. 9, and selling it at select retailers in Tennessee, Wisconsin, Illinois, Louisiana, Kentucky, South Carolina and Georgia.
More details on the beer’s availability can be found at strawberrybiscuitale.com.
The launch is timed to coincide with National Biscuit Month, which is September, and Klein said CKE collaborated with Southern Grist to help draw attention to the Franklin, Tenn.-based chain’s signature item.
“We were inspired by one of our top sellers, which is the jelly biscuit,” he said. “We thought it would drink really well in a beer.”
He said Southern Grist was an obvious choice as a partner not merely because they’re based nearby.
“They do a really good job of translating food flavors to beer,” he said. “They’ve made over 900 flavors in their short time as a brewery, and I’ve always been impressed with their products. … They have like a mad-scientist air about them that has always been really impressive to me.”
Other beers currently on offer by Southern Grist include one made with Snickers candy bars, a series of gose-style beers with pie-inspired ingredients, and a milk stout made with coconut.
There are more than 1,700 Hardee’s locations nationwide, but they are not licensed to sell beer.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]
