ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS -- After a homegrown, homebred strawberry was developed by scientists at Rutgers and unveiled in May, one local company has found a new way for New Jersey residents to enjoy the Rutgers berry: during happy hour.

The Carton Brewing Company, located in Atlantic Highlands, debuted the Rutgers Scarlet strawberry-infused beer for a taste test to customers Thursday.

"You smell it more than you really taste it, but you really can taste the difference," said Mike Rooney, a Middletown resident who said he visits Carton Brewing Company weekly. "It works really well together -- it sweetens it up from a bitter to a more sweet [beer]."

READ MORE: Here's where to find that new Rutgers strawberry

Rutgers scientists worked on creating the Rutgers Scarlet strawberry -- which is bred to specifically grow in this state -- for about 10 years, and introduced the it in May. Through traditional breeding, the researchers crossed two strawberry varieties to bring together compounds to make the new berry, said Bill Hlubik of the Rutgers Cooperative Extension.

"The idea was to select the very best qualities in terms of flavor - a good balance of sugar and acids -- and certain volatile compounds that give the berry its deep flavor," he said.

But the berry has done more than establish a unique and robust flavor, said Peter Nitzsche, another researcher at the Rutgers Cooperative Extension who worked on the project. The fruit brings together local consumers and helps foster new opportunities for local businesses.

"This is helping local farmers and helping local consumers," Nitzsche said. "But it's also benefitting a local brewery."

The idea behind the beer combination traces back to Jake Makely, 24, an agriculture and food sciences student at Rutgers University who said he has been working with the team on the strawberry variety for about a year and a half. Also an employee of the Carton Brewing Company, Makely thought the two flavors could work well together.

"We have two communities that both have the same kind of ideas -- it's about local production," Makely said. "We need more connections with farmers in New Jersey, and more breweries and restaurants that can use the produce."

With Makely's idea and the new berry available, Augie Carton, a founder and owner of the Carton Brewing Company, began the experimenting with combining the two products.

Using a Randall, or the "Randall the Enamel Animal" -- an infusion tool originally invented by Dogfish breweries -- Carton Brewing Company filtered the berries and their juice right into the beer to combine the flavors. Carton Brewing Company infused the Rutgers Scarlet into its Hoppun beer, an American Pale Ale.

The Carton Brewing Company was established in 2011 and has produced about 32 varieties of beer. The company brews and stores its beer in the Atlantic Highlands location and opens its doors every Thursday through Sunday to sell beer to customers.

"When I saw that these guys were going for a more defined and a more real berry flavor, it just seemed more fun to bend the already strawberry qualities of Hoppun," Carton said.

The berry has a deep, rich strawberry flavor and was developed to be grown and consumed in New Jersey, compared to California strawberries or traditional varieties shipped for miles to get to this state, Hlubik said. The research team wanted to create a berry that local farmers could harvest and near-by consumers could eat, and researchers said that this strawberry has achieved that goal.

"The original Hoppun beer is designed to take advantage of fruit and aromatics," Carton said. "[This beer] smells more like strawberry, but it doesn't taste a lot like strawberry."

Carton said he plans to eventually make more of this kind of strawberry-infused beer into a lambic style beer, which could take at least a year.

Hlubik said the berry itself has a perfectly crafted balance of sugar and acidity, but when mixed with the beer provides a tang and aromatic flavor.

"The aromas are very important," Hlubik said. "It's the nose, it's the tongue, it's every reaction simultaneously to experience the full effect of flavor. And it's nice, because it's two local flavors that are unique to Jersey."

The Rutgers Scarlet is currently on about a dozen farms in New Jersey, and the strawberry variety plant will be available for residents to purchase and harvest on Aug. 15 at Middlesex County's EARTH Center, located at Davidson's Mill Pond Park.

Erin Serpico may be reached at eserpico@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @erin_serpico. Find NJ.com on Facebook.