NoDa Brewing Co. Cheerwine Ale Review

I have a long and well-documented history of not enjoying craft beer collaboration gimmickry. Even more so than most other industries, the callous commercialism of “Brand X Brand” marketing feels particularly out of place in the once idealized world of indie craft beer brewing. But of course, I did just write “once idealized,” as the modern craft beer world rarely invokes that same sort of idealistic fervor it may have in the mid-2000s. These days, craft beer is simply a business, and one that has spent several years contracting and worrying about its future. It needs the help of whatever is hot, and with ready-to-drink cocktails booming across the market, perhaps a dalliance back into the world of “alcopop” can capture the attention of the consumer? Perhaps that’s what Charlotte, North Carolina stalwarts NoDa Brewing Co. were thinking when they conceived of their new Cheerwine Ale collab.

It’s a meeting of two brands that certainly have plenty of visibility in the Carolinas and the Southeast. Since it was founded in 2011, NoDa has been one of the forerunners of the North Carolina craft brewing movement, enshrined by medal-winning classic beers such as flagship IPA Hop Drop ‘N Roll. Cheerwine, on the other hand, is based in Salisbury, North Carolina, and has been making its classic cherry soda since 1917, claiming to be “the oldest continuing soft drink company still operated by the same family.” Fans of Cheerwine have long since built a cult of personality around the brand, finding ways to work it into cocktails, desserts, BBQ sauces and more. Why not beer as well?

The beer itself appears to be a pretty conventional, old school American pale wheat ale, the kind of beer that certainly takes me back to an earlier brewpub era when practically every brewery tended to have a relatively cleanly fermented American wheat ale in its rotation. This style of beer was always popular for additional flavoring or fruit additions, as its greater body and slightly doughy sweetness paired well with flavors such as cherry, raspberry or peach, and the lack of expressive German wheat beer yeast characteristics (banana, clove, etc.) made it a more natural fit for flavorings than true hefeweizen would have been. This particular beer weighs in at 5.2% ABV. The real question: Just how Cheerwine-infused is this thing going to be, and will it be a beer you can drink more than a thimble of at a time? It’s joining NoDa’s year-round beer lineup, so they must believe there’s a future here.

So with that said, let’s get to tasting.