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The bottle (or can): Crantucket Brut Rosé IPA, $8.99 for a six-pack
The back story: Finding the right wine to pair with the Thanksgiving meal is an inevitable challenge. That’s because the meal is a richly varied affair, with flavors sweet and savory.
So, here’s a thought: Skip the vino and crack open a beer — a cranberry-flavored beer, to be exact.
Cisco Brewers, a craft brewery based in Massachusetts’ Nantucket Island, is the latest to offer such a beer. The 24-year-old company prides itself on making products that speak to the New England mindset. And given that cranberries are a crop associated with the region — the Ocean Spray OCESP, +0.00% cooperative, the biggest name in all things cranberry, is based in Massachusetts, for example — it was natural to develop a beer with the quintessentially tart fruit.
So the Crantucket IPA was born this year. Officials with Cisco, a brewery that is part of the Craft Brew Alliance family of brands BREW, +0.00% , say they were looking to create a beer that went beyond the standard larger, but that was not too overly complex a sip. They also note that Massachusetts-sourced cranberry concentrate is used in making the beer.
What we think about it: If you’re expecting a cranberry bomb, this beer may surprise. It’s a refreshing brew with subtle hints of the fruit. The cranberries come through most on the finish. The beer also has a lovely pink color — just like a rosé wine.
How to enjoy it: Naturally, you can pair this with your Thanksgiving meal — the beer will complement the cranberries on the table, of course, and also cut through some of the heaviness of the holiday spread. But it is good for any occasion that calls for a refreshing and slightly fruity sip. The Cisco team suggests it at as an alternative to a Bloody Mary for a weekend brunch.
Shares of the Craft Brew Alliance have been up 14.95% this year compared to a 19.34% gain for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.30% and a 24% increase for the S&P 500 Index SPX, +0.19%.
