Cheerwine Ale: NC-based NoDa Brewing, Cheerwine unveil new beer

Cheerwine describes the ale as "a smooth-drinking, well-balanced beer brewed with the perfect amount of Cheerwine."

The product will be sold beginning Tuesday at all Food Lion grocery stores in North Carolina and select Harris Teeeter, Publix, Lowes Foods and Total Wine, Spirits & More locations.

Cheerwine Ale is 5.2% alcohol by volume. It will be sold as a four-pack in 16 oz. cans in grocery stores in the Carolinas and "at a number of Charlotte and Triangle restaurants and bars" along with NoDa's locations.

Cheerwine, more than 100 years old, was born in 1917 in Salisbury, North Carolina.

L.D. Peeler created the drink amid a sugar shortage in World World I. He bought cherry flavoring from a traveling salesman from St. Louis and mixed it with other flavors to create Cheerwine's signature flavor.

At the time, it was custom to name drinks after the beverages they closely resembled, that's how root beer got its name. Since Peeler's drink had a rich burgundy color resembling wine, he named his drink Cheerwine.

The syrup formula, which remains a closely guarded secret, is still made in Salisbury. It is then shipped to Charlotte where it is bottled and canned at a production facility.

Through the years, the company has entered into partnerships with other North Carolina-based businesses, including Krispy Kreme, which made a special Cheerwine filling and soda.