Hudson Valley Brewery Debuts 'Fudgie The Beer'

ELMSFORD, NY — A Hudson Valley ice cream icon has partnered with Captain Lawrence Brewing Company to create a new brew. “Fudgie the Beer,” made with Carvel’s signature chocolate crunchies and fudge from its Fudgie the Whale ice cream cakes, made its debut in the Beer Hall Wednesday, May 30, according to the brewing company’s website.

The beer style is a stout, with 6 percent alcohol by volume.

It would pair well with roasted or smoked foods as well as chocolate or espresso desserts, the brewery said.

Captain Lawrence has also collaborated with Carvel to make milkshakes which will be available for a limited time in the Beer Hall beginning Wednesday, June 6.

Carvel, with its signature soft serve ice cream, got its start in the Hudson Valley. Thomas Carvel was brought to the United States from his native Greece as a child. At the age 26, after a variety of careers, he moved to Hartsdale in Westchester County.

According to a Carvel spokeswoman, he borrowed $15 from his future wife and began selling ice cream from a truck. On Memorial Day weekend in 1934, his truck got a flat tire, so he pulled his trailer into the parking lot next to a pottery store and started selling his ice cream to people who pulled off the road at the mere site of his truck.

Within two days, he had sold his entire stock of melting ice cream, making him realize that he could sell a lot more from a fixed location. However, he didn't have enough money to get his flat fixed, but the generous pottery store owner allowed him to hook into his store's electricity.

Carvel planted a few shrubs around his trailer and opened for business. Two years later, he bought the pottery store and made it into a roadside stand, permanently establishing himself as the first retailer to develop and market soft ice cream.

Working as a refrigeration consultant during World War II, Carvel improved his ice cream freezer and teamed it with a specially formulated liquid ice cream made with fresh ingredients, creating the product today's public knows.

In 1947 — four years before Ray Kroc began to franchise McDonald's — Carvel came up with the idea of franchising stores. By the early 1950s, he had opened 25 ice cream shops, and for a flat fee and a percentage of the profits, taught the independent owners how to run the shops and market ice cream under the Carvel name.

The company celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2014.

Fudgie the Whale — the iconic ice cream cake — was introduced in 1977 when Carvel wanted to create a fish-shaped ice cream cake for Father's Day. According to the company, 50,000 are sold each year, and the treat has been mentioned on television shows such as "The Simpsons," "How I Met Your Mother," Mystery Science Theater 3000" and "Family Guy."

A company spokeswoman said the product is virtually the same as it was in 1977, except for switching from peanuts to chocolate crunchies on the side, which was done for allergen reasons.

Captain Lawrence Brewing Company is located at 444 Saw Mill River Rd. in Elmsford.

Photo credit: YouTube.