Beer pairings for your holiday feasts

With Thanksgiving and the holiday feasting season on the horizon, you may have already made a few grocery runs to pick up the basics for your cooking spree. But there’s still time to pick up the perfect beer pairings for your seasonal feast.
Perhaps you’re wondering why you might want to find the ideal beer for your holiday meal. You know the old adage, first coined by Aristotle, that the “whole is greater than the sum of its parts”? The same is true here.
What it comes down to is this: Your food may be good. Your beer may also be quite good. But if you find the right pairing, the two together will make it great. The complex flavors of beer can contrast, complement or cut through – the three Cs – whatever’s on your plate  in a way that no other beverage can quite manage. Because the hallmark of craft beer is in its diversity and its range of styles, there’s a beer for every dish.
Thanksgiving in particular poses a challenge, though. It’s a cornucopia of different helpings of meats, vegetables, potatoes, sauces, bread, pies and other desserts. It’s arguably the biggest meal of the year, a celebration of family, of friends, of gratitude, of our heritage and of food itself. Is there a single beer that can stand up to all that?
For many years, before Anchor Brewing Co. closed, my go-to Thanksgiving Day beer was Anchor Christmas Ale, especially in the years when it was more heavily spiced. It wasn’t very hoppy, and its sweet malt and mélange of spices both contrasted and complemented many of the turkey day dishes.
That’s still my general advice. You definitely don’t want something overly hop-forward — that would work for a very spicy dish, but little else. Malty sweetness tends to pair better with holiday meats like turkey, ham or goose. The caramelization of the meat complements what happens to the malt in brewing, plus the herbal flavors in stuffing are enhanced by the malt. I’ve found that a beer that has some light spicy notes also helps bring out those subtle herbal flavors but also cleanses your palate between forkfuls.
A few styles that hit those marks include saisons, Bière de Garde (a farmhouse ale), Vienna-style lager, and Märzen (or Oktoberfest beer). If you love sour beer, a Belgian or Belgian-style lambic is pretty perfect, too, especially if you’re looking for something lower in alcohol. And while less common, some dark styles, like brown ales, Dubbels or Dunkelweizens pair well, as do lightly spiced beers like witbiers or many holiday seasonal beers, which have added spices. Try, for example, 21st Amendment’s Fireside Chat, Deschutes’ Jubelale or the upgraded Lagunitas’ Unrefined Shugga, brewed with whole cane sugar.
To boost your pairing game further, vary the pairings throughout the feast. Pick one beer for the entree, based on the primary protein, and one for dessert.
The mains: Turkey is the most popular choice, and an ideal beer to complement what almost became our national bird is Bière de garde, dunkel, Dubbel, Märzen or American amber lager. If you douse your turkey in gravy, consider something equally brown for your beer, or even a smoked beer like a Rauchbier.
Ham lovers will be happy with an Irish stout, a German-style pilsner (like Trumer), a Märzen, a Tripel, or a Belgian strong golden ale (like Duvel). If you decide to serve roast beef, try a British bitter, a pale ale or a German altbier. For braised beef or short ribs you’re better off with a Belgian-style Dubbel or strong dark Trappist or abbey ale.
Goose used to be far more common than it is today, but with this bird, you’ll want a Dubbel, doppelbock or a strong Baltic porter. Duck is also less common, but the same beers that work with goose are great for duck, as well, although a Bière de garde or saison will work, too. If your duck is honey-glazed, a Belgian framboise (raspberry) or kriek (cherry) is also quite nice.
Desserts: Pumpkin pies reign supreme for the holidays. The obvious choice is a complementary pumpkin ale, although a spiced ale, cream stout, Imperial stout or a strong Baltic porter are equally delicious. Apple pies, pecan pies or chocolate cream pies need something like a imperial stout, milk stout or a strong porter. But for a berry pie like cherry, try a kriek, which is a cherry lambic.
Contact Jay R. Brooks at [email protected].