Get immediate alerts on all breaking news, delivered via Facebook Messenger. Sign up here.
On Thursday night, when Trillium Brewing Company shared a picture of what appeared to be one of its trucks after it had apparently hit a bridge on Storrow Drive, the roof peeled back like the lid on a can of tuna, people let out a collective groan on social media.
The sight was too much to bear for beer lovers.
“Oh no!” one person exclaimed.
But by Friday, some of those same people were raising their glasses and saying “cheers.”
It turns out, the social media post was nothing more than a ruse; a creative and very detailed way for Trillium to shamelessly promote its latest concoction: “Storrowed.”
Advertisement
The Fort Point-based brewery announced the new beer and copped to the Photoshopped image in a follow-up tweet Friday morning, though by that time, as the original tweet made the rounds, many had already pointed out that it was quite obviously a fake.
“Our latest [Double IPA] serves as a Public Service Announcement to warn against the Boston phenomenon of lodging a box truck under a low clearance overpass on Storrow Drive,” the company said.
That “phenomenon” is a familiar one for people living in the Boston area. It typically happens around September, when college students descending on the city for the first time unwittingly drive their over-sized box trucks onto the roadway. Inevitably, the large vehicles often crash into an overpass, collapsing the roof and spilling the items inside all over Storrow Drive.
It’s commonly called “Storrowing,” or getting “Storrowed,” hence Trillium’s inspiration for the name — and the picture of a crushed truck it included on the label.
The majority of the crashes have occurred in Boston near Longfellow Bridge, according to a recent Globe analysis. But historically, more trucks have crashed into the overhead structure underneath Massachusetts Avenue on Memorial Drive in Cambridge.
Advertisement
So, what does a beer named after a car accident that backs up traffic taste like? On its website, the company says its a fruity mix of flavors.
“Leading with a dank nose of sweaty pineapple, mangosteen, and stone fruit, and follows with intensely juicy flavors of overripe mango, pear flesh, notes of grapefruit pith, and a background hit of raw sugar,” the description says. “That hint of sweetness is balanced by low bitterness to round out Storrowed as a smooth, delicious, drinkable Double IPA.”
The beer is 8.4 percent alcohol by volume, and being sold at both of the company’s breweries — Fort Point and Canton — for $20.20 per four pack.
This isn’t the first time that Trillium, which recently announced it’s opening an indoor beer garden in Roslindale, has named one of its drinks after a street in the city. Included in the company’s beer arsenal are “A Street IPA,” “Sleeper Street,” “Summer Street,” and “Congress Street.” Those roads are all close to its original Fort Point location.
Our latest DIPA serves as a Public Service Announcement to warn against the Boston phenomenon of lodging a box truck under a low clearance overpass on Storrow Drive. Storrowed is available at both breweries today! (3) 4-pack limit per person ($20.20 each). https://t.co/bU2neEjNTz pic.twitter.com/BKlsZxrJMF
— Trillium Brewing (@trilliumbrewing) February 2, 2018
— Trillium Brewing (@trilliumbrewing) February 1, 2018
Steve Annear can be reached at steve.annear@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @steveannear. Matt Rocheleau, of the Globe staff, contributed to this report. He can be reached at matthew.rocheleau@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @mrochele.