Hoppin' Frog
Cranberry Turbo Shandy
Citrus Ale
7.0% ABV

With Thanksgiving right around the corner my mind goes straight to pairing. I love matching food with beer because it’s like a puzzle, tetrising together the various flavor and aroma elements of the dish and beverage. The Thanksgiving meal is particularly challenging, as most households have a wide range of dishes, all with various flavor elements. Usually the turkey gets top billing so we’re pairing based on that and kinda hoping that our gewürztraminer or brown ale will be adequate for the stuffing and green bean casserole. The real sticky area is those sticky sides. You know, the sweet ones like cranberry relish and that sweet potato thing with mini marshmallows studded on top. Those are gonna send a wrecking ball through your beverage of choice, making it taste too bitter or sour or just gross. I’ve thought about this quite a bit over the years and this year we’ve got one that will suit everything on your plate from savory to sweet: Hoppin’ Frog Cranberry Turbo Shandy. The original Turbo Shandy is summer staple, delivering you not-too-sweet lemony refreshment while keeping your buzz going at a hefty (for a shandy) 7% ABV. This seasonal variation adds tart cranberries, which does a couple things that make it the perfect pairing. Let’s address the obvious one first ­– it’s a perfect flavor match with your cranberries! They line right up on your taste buds, and the beer has enough sweetness to not taste sour after a bite. The berries in the beer also bump up the acidity just a bit so it’ll cut right through your rich gravy and other heavier flavors. Finally, you get a wonderful round fruity note that’s slightly earthy, not unlike a pinot noir, that will play wonderfully off your roasted bird. So this is it. You might not think you like fruit beer, heck, you might not think a beer belongs at your Thanksgiving table, but give this a shot and you won’t be disappointed!

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