Thanksgiving Beer

If you plan to pair wine with your Thanksgiving meal and you are struggling with Pinot or Riesling, why not consider an even more food friendly alternative – BEER! Here are a few suggested styles to compliment your bountiful holiday dinner.


Bière de Garde
This big meal does not need a huge filling beer. Bière de Garde is not too light, but has enough body and flavor to compliment most tradional Thansksgiving Day dishes. The spicy, peppery character that the yeast strain contributes is the secret to this food friendly beer.
examples: The Lost Abbey Avant Garde, New Belgium Brewing Lips of Faith

Wheat Beer
Wheat beers are very popular, so most of your guests should enjoy them. German-style hefeweizens and Belgian-style witbiers are light and crisp and not too filling. They have a prickly level of carbonation that helps cleanse your palate between bites. Traditional Bavarian hefeweizens tend to have flavors character like clove and banana that are derived from the yeast strain used to ferment the beer. Belgian-style witbiers are usually have a touch of orange peel, coriander, and peppery grains of Paradise.
examples:

Amber Ale
American Amber Ales have a malty nose with a subtle hint of bubblegum leads to a fruity, light caramel flavor. It has a nice dry, slightly hoppy thirst quenching finish. The dry finish has a palate cleansing effect preparing you for another bite. This is a great match with a roasted turkey.
example: Alaskan Amber Ale, Full Sail Amber Ale

Porter
On the darker side of the beer spectrum are porters. Leaning toward the darker end of the beer spectrum. Like their big brothers stout, porters have similar roasty, chocolaty flavors of stouts without being as thick or heavy. Porters are especially great with Thanksgiving meals coming out of the smoked turkey, ham, brisket, lamb, duck, or a veggie dish.
examples: Stone Suede Imperial Porter, Firestone Walker Walker’s Reserve Porter, Fuller’s London Porter
old rasputin
Stout

If you are looking for a beer pairing to contrast the flavor profiles in your dessert try an imperial stout. Imperial stout has the carbonation and bitterness to cut through fat and sugary sweetness and contributes chocolate and coffee flavors. It will compliment any big chocolate dish, but also pairs perfectly with strawberry and raspberry tarts. This is a big, full of flavor style that will enhance apple pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, bread pudding and most cream based desserts like Crème brûlée. This is quite a versatile pairing partner. If Catherine the Great can get it successfully from England to Russia I’m sure you can get it safely to grandma’s.
examples: North Coast Brewing Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout, Stone Brewing Imperial Russian Stout

This post is making me hungry. Thank goodness it’s almost Thanksgiving!

Here’s wishing you and yours a fun and craftbrew filled holiday.

Cheers!

Cam Ireland

I am a BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) National judge. I am also a homebrewer. I love to taste classic styled and outside-the-box beer from around the world, explore craft beer breweries, cook and pair meals with beer and share all of these with anybody that has the same interests.

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Handcrafted Beer Cap Neckwear

32,10,0,70,1
600,600,60,1,3000,5000,25,800
90,150,1,70,12,30,50,1,70,12,1,50,1,1,1,5000
Stone Brewing is located in Escondido, California and is known for hugely hoppy and high octane, malt-rich beers. Stone Brewing Co. was founded in 1996 in San Marcos, CA. The Double Bastard this cap sealed uses huge amounts of hops, but the type of hops used is not released. The necklace shown here was previously crimped on a bottle of Double Bastard Ale. The beer is orange-light brown in color and has a hoppy and malty nose. A mouth full of hop flavor and a rich malt and bitter/dry and finish. The hop types and IBU\'s are \"Classified\" according to Stone Brewing, but the alcohol is plentiful at 11% abv! This artisan piece was handmade using that recycled bottle cap. The cap was domed and filled with 2-row malted barley and caramel malt similar to that malt commonly used in similar beer styles. The malt is set in resin and helps add weight. This is a must have item for beer enthusiasts, craftbeer enthusiasts, Stone Brewing fans, IPA, DIPA fanatics, San Diego beer lovers or anybody that enjoys truly unique, handmade jewelry. Each piece is different as each cap has been treated differently through their travels to my beer fridge. Additionally, each cap reacts differently to the doming process. Cracks and chips may result naturally and add to the unique, unduplicated, rustic character of the finished product. The cap artwork represents the Stone gargoyle logo.
Stone-Double Arrogant Bastard
The beer cap shown here was previously crimped on a bottle of West Coast Double India Pale Ale (DIPA). The beer is orange-copper in color and has a hoppy and malty nose. A mouth full of hop flavor and a bitter/dry and finish. Clean and refreshing even though this beer weighs in at 95 IBUs and 8.1% abv!
Green Flash West Coast Double IPA
The necklace shown here was previously crimped on the bottle of Blue Moon Belgian White. Blue moon uses 2 row barley, white wheat and oats in their grain bill. They also use Valenica orange peel and coriander to give the beer the signature aroma and flavor profile of a traditional Belgian white. The specific gravity is 1.053, IBUs-9 and weighs in at a moderate 5.4% abv. The aroma is malty with a bit of orange. The flavor has a sweet start with a bit of spicy orange flavor and a nicely balanced finish from the hops. The addition of oats provide a smooth, creamy mouthfeel.
Blue Moon Front
This artisan piece was handmade using that recycled bottle cap. The cap was domed and filled with real 2-row malted barley and white wheat used this beer style. The barley and wheat is set with casting epoxy to hold the grain in place and add weight.
Blue Moon Back
Blue Moon beer cap from the side
Blue Moon Side View
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