Every Carvel fan swears their allegiance to one ice cream cake character, and one ice cream cake character only. Sure, you might enjoy cakes featuring other characters — but in the great battle between Cookie Puss and Fudgie the Whale, there can be only one. And right now, Fudgie the Whale devotees might be winning: A Fudgie the Whale beer exists now, thanks to a collaboration between Carvel and New York brewery Captain Lawrence. It’s called Fudgie the Beer, of course, and, well… where’s your branded, themed beer, Cookie Puss? Hmmm? Yeah. I thought so. Go on back to your home planet. Fudgie the Beer has you beat.
The beer was created to celebrate Father’s Day, according to a press release — said Carvel president Scott Colwell, “Fudgie the Whale holds a special place in the hearts of many Americans, including, of course, fathers. This year, through Carvel’s partnership with Captain Lawrence, we’re happy to give dad two of his favorite things: A Carvel ice cream cake and a unique handcrafted beer” — although there’s no reason why anyone who isn’t a dad can’t enjoy it, too. A six percent ABV stout, Fudgie the Beer uses Carvel Signature Crunchies and Fudge in the mash, according to Food and Wine; it also adds Carvel Fudge to the tank.
For your personal enjoyment, here is a video of Fudgie the Whale running around Captain Lawrence and helping to make his namesake beer:
The inspiration for Fudgie the Beer, said Captain Lawrence founder and brewmaster Scott Vaccaro to Food and Wine, “grew from our own nostalgic love for Carvel’s famous flavors.” He also noted that, “although the beer is a treat, it’s also very drinkable — something we’re sure everyone will enjoy sipping on while kicking back on Father’s Day.” According to Vaccaro, there's "a whole bunch of Carvel chocolate in this beer," which "works so well"; he added, "The beer is a touch roasty, with sweet chocolate undertones and aroma of chocolate, fudge and hops.” And honestly? That sounds like a perfect beer to me. I like my beers as dark as the inner reaches of my goth little soul, and all of that seems to fit the bill wonderfully. The fact that it’s also filled with chocolate is, y’know, an added plus.
However, there's a catch: Fudgie the Beer is only available at Captain Lawrence’s home base in Elmsford, New York, and only for a limited time, at that. Per Food and Wine, less than 100 cases of the beer, which comes in a 16-ounce can, will be released, so when they’re gone, they’re gone — although if you’re lucky enough to be able to head up to Elmsford to grab yourself one, you can expect a four-pack to retail for $18, according to the press release.
Starting May 6, though, you’ll also be able to get a 12-ounce mug of a decadent-looking concoction called Fudgie’s Father’s Day Float for $8 — so at least there's that. “Float” is actually something of a misnomer; it’s really a milkshake made of Fudgie the Beer and Fudgie the Whale ice cream cake garnished with Chocolate Crunchies, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup. But, I mean… tomayto, tomahto, am I right? It sounds delicious either way.
Carvel’s history dates back to 1929, when Athanasios Karvelas — AKA Tom Carvel — took out a loan from his future wife, Agnes, and began selling ice cream out of a truck. A flat tire and selling progressively melty ice cream lead to his inventing the soft serve machine in 1936, which allowed the Carvel Brand Corporation to take off. Soon, the company began to sell ice cream cakes — but, wanting to think outside the (ice) box (#sorrynotsorry), they soon began expanding beyond simple geometric cakes to full-on characters. Fudgie was created in 1977 as a — you guessed it — Father’s Day-themed treat, and, well… the rest, as they say, right?
Captain Lawrence, meanwhile, is much more recent than its cool and sweet partner: The brewery was founded in 2005 and opened to the public in 2006. Its first beer was a pale ale called Freshchester Pale Ale — so named for Westchester, the county in which it was born. Originally located in Pleasantville, Captain Lawrence moved to Elmsford in 2011 in order to keep pace with its rapidly expanding operations — and these days, it’s considered one of the best breweries in New York State.
Oh, and hey, guess what? If you’re able to make it up to Captain Lawrence on Saturday, June 16 — the day before Father’s Day in 2018 — you’ll be able to take part in a family fun day jointly hosted by the brewery and Carvel, according to a press release. Beginning at noon, Fudgie the Whale will be on hand to give out free Carvel ice cream and samples of the Fudgie the Beer milkshake/float thing the brewery whipped up for the holiday. Heck, and yes — even if it's a little weird that Fudgie will be serving up a milkshake that is literally made with chunks of himself.
Find out more about visiting Captain Lawrence here.
