For most coffee chains, National Coffee Day is a chance to lure in customers with a freebie. At Dunkin Donuts, it’s increasingly a time when the company starts itching for a beer.
For the second year in a row, Dunkin Donuts will introduce a collaboration with a brewer around the coffee-centric retail holiday. On Monday, Dunkin and Boston’s Harpoon Brewery will announce Dunkin’ Coffee Porter, which incorporates Dunkin’s Espresso Blend Coffee.
The 6.5% ABV beer will be available Oct. 1 in six packs and on draft across the country. (It won’t be sold at Dunkin Donuts locations, though.)
The beer is heavy with roasted malt flavors, but the espresso clearly comes through, finishing with a hint of chocolate. And it’s clearly a beer meant for fall.
One year ago, Dunkin (which will soon go exclusively by its first name, like Beyonce and Adele) partnered with Catawba Brewing Company to create Dunkin’ Punkin’ Bowl Ale, a cold-brew, pumpkin flavored beer that used Dunkin’s flavoring ingredients. That beer, though, wasn’t distributed – and was only available in Catawba’s four North Carolina tasting rooms.
Dunkin has also previously experimented with Wormtown Breery in Worcester. This, however, is believed to be the first time it has released a Dunkin’-themed beer on a national level.