Virginia Tech continues to grow local partnerships with official ice cream and beer flavors
Virginia Tech has continued to grow its family of popular Hokie-designed ice cream and beer flavors that blend school pride with support for student programs.
Released last fall, the new offerings — two ice cream flavors and a citrus-infused wheat beer — are the latest cold collaborations to come out of the Department of Food Science and Technology’s partnerships with Homestead Creamery and Hardywood Park Craft Brewery. A portion of proceeds from the products goes back to the department to support scholarships and experiential learning opportunities for food science students.
"As an alumnus, it's great that we got to make these products that allow Hokies to support other Hokies," said Brian Wiersema ’98, food science pilot plant manager. "It doesn't hurt that they're also delicious."
The new ice cream varieties, HokieBerry Trail and Hokie Sunset Swirl, joined the original Hokie Tracks flavor that was released to much fanfare in 2023. HokieBerry Trail consists of smooth vanilla swirled with tart raspberry pomegranate and sprinkled with decadent dark chocolate crumbles. Hokie Sunset Swirl has a vanilla base with vanilla cake crunch bites and a ripple of sun-kissed mango tangerine. Both flavors were designed as a nod to Virginia Tech’s iconic school colors.
As with Hokie Tracks, both flavors were developed by Wiersema and former food science faculty member Joell Eifert ’88, M.S. ’14, who worked closely with Virginia staple Homestead Creamery on ingredient selection and recipe development. All three flavors can be found in grocery stores, ice cream shops, and restaurants across Virginia.
On the beverage side, Virginia Tech and Hardywood introduced their fourth collaboration brew – Fightin’ Hokies Orange Wheat, a Bavarian-style wheat beer brewed with orange peel. The creamy and crisp beer adds a citrus twist to last year’s Fightin’ Hokies Hefeweizen, which quickly became a fan favorite at tailgates and alumni get-togethers.
Its creation was inspired by a research and development trip to Bavaria in 2022, where food science faculty members visited historic hop farms, maltsters, and renowned German breweries on a quest for inspiration and the finest possible ingredients.
“This partnership also gives us an opportunity to provide exposure for our students who might be interested in the brewing industry,” said O’Keefe. “One of the most important things we try to do as a department is give students real-life experience.”
Fightin’ Hokies Orange Wheat can be found at grocery stores, bottle shops, and restaurants across the commonwealth in 16-ounce cans.
