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How Ashton Brewing's Strawberry Alarm Clock Ties Into a Rock Band

How Ashton Brewing's Strawberry Alarm Clock Ties Into a Rock Band

There's a wild connection to a 1960's acid rock band.

Kyle Phillippi
July 20, 2023

Every beer has a story. That’s the entire reason Jersey Pour was created. Now that’s not to say every beer has an “interesting” backstory, but that’s far from the case when talking about Ashton Brewing and its Strawberry Alarm Clock.

The Middlesex-based brewery, which is owned by Steve Ashton and his wife, Donna Ashton, is ecstatic to talk about this cream ale when given the chance. There’s two reasons for that. The first, it’s a super-popular beer. The second, and the one that adds that extra something to this particular beer, is its backstory.

To begin, Strawberry Alarm Clock has become the brewery’s most popular seasonal beer. There’s a few reasons for this, as Steve explained to Jersey Pour, but the simple answer is that it’s made with quality ingredients and is welcoming to all (even the non-beer drinkers).

“Because it has such good balance and drinkability, it appeals to a broad group of people. What's fun is when you are serving it at a beer festival and you convince someone who ‘doesn't like fruit beers’ to try it and they love it. Or people who don't like beer at all try it and say ‘that I can drink!’ I think the challenge is getting more people to try it.”

Steve Ashton, co-owner Ashton Brewing

As mentioned above, the popularity of this beer goes right back to how its brewed. Steve wasn’t messing around with this as he wanted to introduce a beer that features real strawberries. Using fruit straight from Petersen Farm in Quakertown, Steve set out to make a brew that kept the beer integrity while also being able to highlight the strawberry flavor.

This isn’t an easy task, but it’s one that’s worth it if done correctly.

“Our goal here was to showcase strawberries with a base beer that would complement the fruit and still taste like beer. We also ferment our fruit fully so the beer is not overly sweet. That means we need a lot of fruit to ensure the flavor comes through in the finished product. We use over a pound and a half of fresh strawberries per gallon of beer. Fresh fruit allows for the greatest expression of the fruit although it requires the most work…They go into a small tank and once we have filled that tank we purge the tank of oxygen and then pump it into the main batch of beer. This process happens two or three times over a week until all of the strawberries are in the beer.”

Steve Ashton, co-owner Ashton Brewing

The result? A fan-favorite cream ale that is scoring well on unTappd (sitting at 3.79) and one that when released, sells out pretty quickly.

The can design for Strawberry Alarm Clock (Photo Credit: @AshtonBrewing)

The beer itself is a story all on its own, but where that extra intrigue comes in is in its name. If you’re not familiar, Strawberry Alarm Clock isn’t just an Ashton Brewing beer, it’s also the name of a 1960’s acid rock band.

Steve said he went through his typical process in naming beers as he bounced ideas around with his wife before settling on this particular one. Wanting to make sure they weren’t in violation of anything or out of line for naming a beer after a band, Donna did some research and saw that they were still active. She actually went ahead and reached out to the band. They listened and gave their blessing and permission for Ashton to use their name.

“If you get a chance to try the beer, I think you'll agree that the name perfectly suits the beer. We are very grateful to the band for agreeing to us using the name.”

Steve Ashton, co-owner Ashton Brewing

Steve said that remains the first time they have ever reached out to someone for permission, but he’s glad they did so (he felt it was only right) and even more excited that the band was down for it.

So when you're ever around the Middlesex area, give a stop into Ashton Brewing and if you're lucky enough to be there when Strawberry Alarm Clock is in season, just remember that not only is this a fan favorite, but it's one that's approved by a rock band.