-By Mike Beirne, Brandweek

CHICAGO How about an Amstel Light this Thanksgiving with your plate of couscous stuffing?

Recipes for such side dishes and a mail-in rebate are how Heineken USA will try to get its imported light beer on grocery shoppers' radar for the November holiday. Amstel Light retail displays will tout "Your holiday, your twist" in the beer section and elsewhere with tear pads offering rebates to people who buy flowers and/or turkey and a 12-pack of the Dutch brew.

The campaign will appear in grocery, drug and other retail stores where consumers will be stocking up for their Thanksgiving feast. The displays also will have recipes for fried turkey and praline pumpkin pie, and floral sections will be stocked with Amstel Light flower wrap bags.

"Research shows that consumers start stocking up for Thanksgiving up to two weeks prior to the big day," said Kheri Holland Tillman, vp, marketing at Amstel Light, in a statement. "Most consumers are looking for simple quality solutions to make their planning and preparations hassle-free. Turkey, of course, and flowers are among the biggest sellers, so our program offers consumers an easy way to save money on these items while helping our retail partners increase their Amstel Light sales and their bottom line during the biggest imported beer selling season of the year."

Amstel Light case sales in drug, grocery and mass outlets (excluding Walmart) declined 9.2 percent for the year ended Aug. 10, per IRI.

The imported brew dropped the "Live tastefully" positioning last spring and launched the "One dam good bier" campaign from The Richards Group, Dallas.