Harpoon Brewery approached A.D. Makepeace last spring. Brewers had come up with a recipe that used fresh cranberry purée, and they were in need of cranberries.

"We really wanted to come out with a beer that celebrated Thanksgiving, and more specifically, celebrated the New England Thanksgiving," explained Liz Melby, Harpoon's director of communication. Harpoon has breweries in Boston and Windsor, Vermont.

Makepeace agreed to provide the cranberries, "and a beer was born," said Linda Burke, director of marketing and communications for Makepeace.

Harpoon Grateful Harvest is a special seasonal brew. In addition to celebrating Thanksgiving, the brew helps out those who need it most. Harpoon donates $1 from the sale of every Cranberry Ale six-pack to the local food bank in the area in which it was purchased, though the company's philanthropic arm, Harpoon Helps. The money raised from purchases in this area will be donated to The Greater Boston Food Bank.

"We're lucky to have [Makepeace] in our backyard, and we wanted to work with a company that was local, and a company that we know also shares our commitment to helping our community," Melby said.

Makepeace donated the cranberries needed for the roughly 2,800 cases of the limited-edition Cranberry Ale, which measures out to about 11,500 six-packs.

Burke said that Makepeace is excited about the partnership.

"It's a different thing for us," Burke said.

Melby echoed that sentiment. "We like to make great beer and work with great people, and have a nice beer with everybody at the end."

As you may expect, brewers say the medium-bodied, mildly-sweet amber ale pairs well with turkey and all the fixings. The cranberry flavor is subtle and does not overwhelm. But if you want to enjoy the brew with your Thanksgiving Day feast, you'll have to look around. Mill Pond Station, the only package store to sell the brew in Wareham, was sold out on Monday, November 22.

"It's getting tough to find," Melby said. "It's been flying off the shelves!"

And perhaps the big success could mean a future partnership between the two companies.

Burke said: "We're already starting to talk about next year!"