For more than 100 years, Jelly Belly has been a leading name in the jelly bean industry, with flavors like Buttered Popcorn, Toasted Marshmallow and Bubble Gum. And now? Beer.
Jelly Belly debuted Draft Beer as its newest flavor on Saturday. While the news comes only one month after the December release of its Tabasco Dark Chocolate flavor, the latest addition to the Jelly Belly family is one that has been three years in the making.
“Our fans have been asking for a beer Jelly Bean for years,” Rob Swaigen, Jelly Belly’s vice president of marketing, told TODAY.com. “It took a few years to perfect, but we think we got it right.”
To pay homage to Jelly Belly’s German ancestry, the company matched the taste of the candy to a Hefeweizen ale — but don’t add Draft Beer jelly beans to the cocktail bar just yet.
“The recipe includes top secret ingredients, but I can tell you it contains no alcohol,” Ambrose Lee, Jelly Belly’s research and development manager, said in a press release.
While that detail has some disappointed, others have taken to Twitter to announce their enthusiasm about the new bite-size treat.
The Draft Beer Jelly Belly is for sale on JellyBelly.com and is being shipped to stores now.