MADISON, Wis. — After a successful launch in the early days of the pandemic in 2020, Kwik Trip has once again teamed up with Karben4 Brewing to bring back the Hot Spot Hazy IPA, just in time for the warm summer days ahead. The beer will be delivered in 4-packs to Kwik Trip stores starting Monday, May 17th.

The re-release of Hot Spot Hazy IPA continues the partnership between Kwik Trip and Karben4, which also includes this past winter’s Urge Tracker peanut butter stout and the 2019 release of Glazer Bean, a doughnut and coffee-inspired beer.

Zak Koga, owner of Karben4, considers the Hot Spot Hazy to be among the best IPA beers that his brewery has every produced.

“We had great feedback on Hot Spot during its first release,” said Koga. “Many of our fans, our team, and our families claim it as their favorite K4 beer and have been asking us regularly when or if we will bring it back. I am thrilled to be able to make all of those people happy today with its re-release into the world.”

The beer has a hazy yellow appearance, hence the name, and has a definite tropical aroma with notes of pineapple in the sweet, malt body and a slightly dry, bitter finish as you may expect from an IPA. With a second year to perfect the recipe, Koga said that Karben4 was able to try some new hopping techniques to make it even better.

“When you first drink this beer you can imagine a wave of pineapple juice landing on a beach of malty sweetness. If hops and fruit juice had a love-child, this is it!” said Koga. “We hope you enjoy the result as much as we do!”

And with a name like Hot Spot Hazy, Koga said that the beer would go perfect with one of Kwik Trip’s signature offerings.

“I would pick fried chicken with any hot sauce as my pairing of choice with Hot Spot Hazy,” Koga said.. “The contrast in fresh tropical aroma, sweet malt body, and crunchy fried chicken (with some spice) I find to be a perfect food experience!”

Look for this offering in stores at Kwik Trip this week (check the delivery schedule here), and check out more about Karben4 Brewing here.

Two merch drops in one week? You bet. Happy Friday!

Get yours today at KwikTripMerch.com!

Both the Little Buddy bodysuit and the Big Buddy toddler tee are made with made with ultra-soft ringspun cotton jersey fabric with an easy-tear label for comfort.

What, did you think we were done after last month’s launch? Nope.

Tie-dye Kwik Trip crewnecks. On sale now. Get them while they’re hot.

Oh, and by the way… more to come on Friday 👶

If you’ve visited one of our stores recently, you may have noticed that April has brought some long-awaited items to the Hot Spot. Here’s a look at the newest featured items!

CHICKEN & WAFFLE SANDWICH

The combination you’ve been waiting for is finally available! Our guests have loved the premium chicken sandwich option that debuted this past September, and we’ve combined that chicken breast with the delicious maple waffle that we use for our breakfast sandwiches to make the perfect pairing of salty and sweet. You can try it as is, or you can drizzle a packet of the maple syrup that we’ve brought in to make for a different (and yes, slightly messier) experience. The chicken and waffle sandwich has been a popular brunch item, but we know that this pairing can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

STUFFED PRETZELS

Whether you’re accustomed to getting a pretzel at the ballgame, at a movie theatre, or on a street corner, the best kinds are easy to eat on-the-go. More often than not, the best of these pretzel offerings include cheese, so what better way to make the whole package as travel-friendly as possible than by having the cheese stuffed in the middle! The first pretzel that you’ll be able to try is our cheddar cheese stuffed soft pretzel, with jalapeno and cream cheese varieties set to make their debut later this year!

SMOKIN’ SWEET SAUCE & DIP

One of the most common questions we’ve fielded is when we’d be developing our own special sauce. Well, here we are. We’ve gone through many revisions and a lot of sampling but we finally landed on a recipe we loved, with the added perk that it comes from a local supplier – introducing our Smokin’ Sweet Sauce & Dip! It has a hint of golden mustard hue with the sweetness of a hickory barbecue sauce, and it pairs perfectly with our chicken tenders. However, don’t be shy! Try it on our chicken tender wrap, potato wedges, and more!

One of the newer initiatives that the Kwik Trip Kitchens has undertaken in 2021 has been packaging fresh fruit for our stores, creating a more direct process that allows our Kitchens to have a better control of quality and freshness.

The initial offerings started with cups of pineapple, grapes, watermelon and cantaloupe, and will soon expand to include cups with combined pineapple and strawberries as well as another cup with strawberries, blueberries and kiwi. Later this spring, the Kitchens will start packaging 16-ounce fruit trays, 12-ounce and 6-ounce veggie trays of cauliflower, broccoli and carrots, as well as carrots and dip and another with apples and caramel. The production facility is currently producing approximately 15,000 units per day!

According to Brad Clarkin, production operations director at Kwik Trip, this endeavor is all about fresh, quality products.

“Kwik Trip is placing more emphasis on selling better-for-you products within our stores, as an effective way to continue to grow sales, increase profitability and offer our guests fresh product, at a great value,” said Clarkin.

These excellent offerings are prepared in the new addition of the Kitchens that came on-line last fall, in the same facility where our Take Home Meals and pizzas are produced. It continues to add to our commitment of delivering what guests want, with the freshest possible products at reasonable prices.