We New Englanders are accustomed to having cranberry sauce on our Thanksgiving table each year. With the advent of modern harvesting equipment and canning capabilities in the early 1900s, the cranberry quickly became a staple for many family gatherings. There is also undoubtedly a huge debate on which style is best. My Grandmother insisted on having a bowl of the whole berry kind, whereas us kids preferred the “fake” jellied version with the unmistakeable can lines imprinted on the cylindrical sauce. But honestly, nothing was better than smearing that shiny, magenta jelly on a roll with the leftover turkey and some stuffing for a tasty day after snack. But now that I’m an “adult,” I can have cranberries any way I want for the holidays. And I choose to have my cranberries served in beer!

That’s right, this little berry has become increasingly more prevalent in beer and can give your holiday beverage a little added zing. Below we have listed locally brewed Massachusetts offerings with a brief description and a link to the brewery. We will continue to add to the list as new beers are released (and if you know of any we missed, please post them in the comments). We think this cranberry beer trend is a berry good idea and think you will too. Enjoy your holiday and give thanks for the amazing craft beer we get to drink. Cheers!

 

 

10th District Brewing Gose (Abington, MA) – A 4.2% German-style sour beer with sea salt, coriander, lemon and orange peel aged on local organic cranberries from Fresh Meadow Farm in Craver

Barrel House Z Nessie Mulled Cranberry Sour (Weymouth, MA) – A kettle sour infused with cranberries and mulled spices such as cinnamon and clove

Bad Martha Beer Boghead Cran Lager (Falmouth, MA) – A light German style lager made with local cranberries

Barnstable Brewing Cranberry KDUB (Barnstable, MA) – Kristallweissbier, or a German Wheat Beer, made with fresh cranberries

Black Hat Brew Works Cranberry Shandy (Bridgewater, MA) – A shandy bursting with cranberry flavor

Brato Brewhouse & Kitchen Oak Square Sour (Brighton, MA) – Fruited kettle sour brewed with fresh squeezed + seated orange, and fresh cranberries

Buzzards Bay Brewing Mad Trucker Bogberry Sour (Westport, MA) – A “refreshingly snappy” cranberry sour made with local cranberries from Decas Farm

 

 

Cape Cod Beer Nox Atra (Hyannis, MA) – An imperial stout made with Cape Cod Coffee, chocolate and cranberries

Great Awakening Funny Hat (Westfield, MA) – A “dessert style sour brewed with cranberries and conditioned on hundreds of pounds of cranberries and piles of marshmallows.”

Idle Hands Kill Your Idles: Crantastic (Malden, MA) – A sour ale with cranberry, cherry and grape must (contains dairy products)

Ipswich Ale Brewery Cranberry Beret (Ipswich, MA) – A “delightfully tart kettle soured ale fermented atop pureed cranberries”

Jack’s Abby Cranberry Berliner (Framingham, MA) – A tart sour wheat lager with cranberries

Kismet Brewing Press – Orange Cranberry Muffin (Westfield, MA) – A kettle sour made with cranberries, oranges and spices

 

 

Lamplighter Brewing Blame It On My Juice (Cambridge, MA) – This is from their Gose series (German sour wheat ale traditionally brewed with salt and coriander) with rotating fruits

Lord Hobo Cransauce (Woburn, MA) – A part of their Vagabond Series, this sour beer is brewed with lactose and local cranberries from Cape Cod Select

Mayflower Brewing Resistance Is Fruitile (Plymouth, MA) – A sour ale made with cranberry and orange

Mighty Squirrel Nanaland (Waltham, MA) – A tart sour ale made with cranberries and mangoes

Naukabout Beer Company Pass the Sauce Cranberry Milkshake IPA (Mashpee, MA) – An IPA made with local cranberries from PJ’s Cranberries (contains lactose)

Oak & Iron Brewing Turkey Not Included (Andover, MA) – A wheat ale made with freshly mashed cranberries (sorry, turkey not included)

Old Colony Brewing Thanksgiving (Whitman, MA) – A light wheat ale with cranberries and apples added for a “nice hint of Thanksgiving”

Penny Pinchers Yard Sale Series #2 (Millbury, MA) – A roasty and fruity chocolate cranberry stout

Provincetown Brewing Crandaddy Sour (Provincetown, MA) – A mildly tart fruited sour ale, with cranberries for the “fruity beer drinker.”

Redemption Rock Cran You Dig It (Worcester ester, MA) – A cranberry and cardamom ale that “features subtle herbal notes of mint and ginger”

 

RiverWalk Brewing Pass The Sauce (Newburyport, MA) – An ale brewed with cranberries, ginger and spice

Samuel Adams Boston Tap Room I Remember My First Check In (Boston, MA) – Exclusive to the Sam Adams Boston Taproom at Faneuil Hall, this is a tart cranberry kettle sour, with cranberries from Decas Farms. (contains lactose)

Second Wind Brewing Cornucopia (Plymouth, MA) – A New England Double IPA with flaked corn and native cranberries from Peltola Farms in Carver, MA

Shovel Town Brewery Morse (Easton, MA) – A crisp sour ale with local cranberries

Skyline Brewing Cranberry Trail Mix (Westfield, MA) – A Kettle Sour made with cranberries and added raspberries

Stellwagen Beer Brian Gose Dancing (Marshfield, MA) – A kettle sour brewed with Pink Himalayan salt, cranberry and tangerine

Stone Cow Brewery Let Your Song Be Sung Cranberry Saison (Barre, MA) – A Belgin saison with more than 200 pounds of real/local cranberries

Tin Bridge Brewing Cranberry Raz Creamsicle (Westfield, MA) – An 6% ale with cranberry and raspberry aged on vanilla beans

Trillium Brewing Daily Serving: Cranberry, Pomegranate, and Blackberry (Canton, MA) – A lightly tart offering from their fruited series with cranberry, pomegranate and blackberry

1634 Meadery 2020 Craneberry (Ipswich, MA) – A tart, sweet 15.5% ABV mead made with local honey and cranberries from Carver, MA

 

*feature image from Insider.com