Leftovers: Angry Orchard bites into boozy apple pie; Frank’s RedHot heats up the holidays with a marinating gadget

Have your cider and eat it, too

With consumers getting ready for a Thanksgiving feast in a few weeks, Boston Beer’s Angry Orchard is already digging in.

The alcoholic cider is partnering with Brooklyn-based pie shop Four & Twenty Blackbirds to launch limited-edition Boozy Baked Apple Pies made with Angry Orchard’s most recent cider innovation: Natural Baked Apple Pie Style Hard Cider.

Natural Baked Apple Pie Style Hard Cider includes apples, nutmeg and notes of creamy vanilla ice cream, creating a taste that Boston Beer says makes it a perfect addition to a pie. Each pastry features a caramel sauce that’s infused with the apple flavor of Angry Orchard’s Hard Cider.

“The love for apples doesn’t stop at Cidermaking at our Orchard and we know a good apple pie when we find one,” Joe Gaynor, Angry Orchard cider maker, said in a release. “We made a Boozy Baked Apple Pie that’s sure to leave a lasting impression for Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving or any celebration in between.”

The Boozy Baked Apple Pies are available for nationwide delivery through the Four & Twenty Blackbirds website for $44.

Angry Orchard is far and away the most popular hard cider brand. In 2021, it posted sales of more than $200 million, far outpacing its nearest competitor at $30 million, according to Statista.

Angry Orchard is no stranger to not only introducing new offerings under its own banner, but partnering with other companies to expand its reach into other categories.

Last year, Angry Orchard partnered with Bushwick Kitchen on a line of hot sauces, and in 2019 it worked with boozy ice cream company Tipsy Scoop on a spiced cider ice cream.

— Christopher Doering

Frank’s RedHot injects heat into meat

This holiday season, Buffalo sauce lovers have a new way to experience the classic cayenne pepper flavor.

Hot sauce brand Frank’s RedHot debuted an Injector Marinade to infuse the flavor of its signature sauce into meats such as poultry and pork. It comes with a sauce and a syringe injector. Consumers can inject the sauce into the meat before cooking it, which then spreads the flavor throughout the meat. The product is available in stores and online for $7.99.

The McCormick & Co.-owned brand said the Injector Marinade provides an alternative to brining meat, which can take days to achieve the desired flavor. Frank’s RedHot also developed recipes for dishes to make with the product which are posted on its website.

Frank’s created the original Buffalo wings recipe in 1964, tossing chicken wings into a blend of hot sauce and butter. It is the most popular hot sauce brand in the Northeast U.S. and parts of the Midwest, according to a report by delivery service Instacart earlier this year. 

The brand has expanded its product line since its days of only selling hot sauce. In 2011, it entered the frozen foods category by debuting fully cooked chicken. A decade later, it launched a cookbook with recipes for dishes made using cicadas — yes, the insects — fused with the spicy flavor of Frank’s.

— Chris Casey

Haribo’s Berry Clouds have a sweet lining

Haribo’s newest candy may just send gummy lovers to cloud nine.

The German company that invented gummy bears a century ago debuted a new soft and chewy variety: Berry Clouds. These triple-layer candies, which come in blueberry, strawberry and wildberry, feature different colors, textures and flavors coming together.

This innovation has been a long time coming. Haribo said in a press release that it’s been working on Berry Clouds since 2020. The company said it went through several different samples and consumer tests before finding the right mix of flavor and texture.

In a press release, Rick LaBerge, chief commercial officer at Haribo of America, called Berry Clouds “an innovative, whimsical take on gummi shapes that are sure to spark joy.”

Haribo has brought many new ideas to gummy candy through the years, including Happy Cola bottles, Peaches and candy-coated Berries. The company’s products have been sold in the U.S. since 1982, and its first American manufacturing plant is under construction in Wisconsin. The facility is slated to start operations next year.