Doylestown Brewing Company has partnered with Charisse McGill, owner of Lokal Artisan Foods (widely known for their French Toast Bites), on a pale ale beer inspired by the famous food offering.
The story of French Toast Bites begins when McGill started selling the offerings at the Made in Philadelphia Holiday Market. In 2019 she expanded with the introduction of her French Toast Spice, which eventually resulted in a distribution program with Shop Rite. She would go on to become the first paid vendor on the mobile delivery service Black and Mobile as well as the first Black female operator in July 2020, at Spruce Street Harbor Park.
The beer, appropriately named “French Toast Bites Ale” (5.5% ABV), is described as “sweet, smooth, and toasted dessert”. With actual french toast bites added directly into the mash to give the beer its unique flavor profile.
While a delicious dessert beer is enough to grab anyone’s attention, there is more that should be celebrated about this beer. With the release of this Pale Ale, McGill will become the first black female to develop her own signature beer throughout the state of Pennsylvania.
As was shared with us, the inspiration for this beer came from a few apperances on television. Doylestown owner Joe Modestine tells us; “I saw Charisse on TV a couple of times talking about her French Toast Bites, and I was captivated by her personality. She is always on one of the local morning news shows and always moving.” Modestine then reached out to her to see if she would be interested in making a beer modeled after her product, and she instantly loved the idea.
In a recent press release regarding the project, McGill was quoted as saying; “I am a fighter, a dreamer and a doer. Getting out of the box and getting creative is what gets me up in the morning. I have long been curious about the beer business as I work with so many talented brewers and bars in my hospitality day to day life. Doing my own French Toast Bites Ale is a dream come true, and one of several big things happening this fall and into the winter. We all can’t sit around and hope to ride out the pandemic without investing the time, work, energy, and passion. This is one of the largest pivots for me – and will shape the future direction of my company. I am excited and honored – and I can’t wait for everyone to try this special beer we have created!”
Consumers will be able to find four-packs of French Toast Bites Ale distributed through Muller, Inc starting Friday, November 6th. The beer is currently available through Doylestown Brewing, as well as the GoPuff delivery service, who will deliver the brew around Philadelphia. You can see a full list of where this beer will retail here.
Along with the retailers listed above, McGill intends to offer cans of the beer at many different events over the fall and winter. One of which will be the Christmas Village event held annually in Philadelphia at LOVE Park starting November 26th.
Are you going to try this beer? Grab it from Doylestown, a distributor, or GoPuff, and let us know your thoughts!
