What Beer goes well with Thanksgiving Dinner?
I'm not thinking of the budweiser, amstel light variety but rather Belgian beers such as Chimay, LaChouffe, Corsendonk, etc.
DeeDee
Nov 22, 2002 01:03PM
18 Replies so Far
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You go, girl! I too am an advocate of beer with food, since I feel that wine tends to overpower the food and the alcohol content dulls the senses too much. How about Duvel with poultry and Chimay (Blue) with darker meats? Avoid the lambics during the meal, there would be too much going on in your mouth. But a Lindemanns Framboise with dessert (or FOR dessert), ahhhh......
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I think Magic Hat #9 would go wonderfully with turkey. It has nice brewed in apricot undertones.
I think Chimay would be nice as well.
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Since it's for Thanksgiving, how about a Belgian-style ale made in America, like those from a brewery in Cooperstown, N.Y. called Brewery Oomegang.
Here's a link:
Link: http://www.ommegang.com/Ommegang/inde...
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While I am a huge fan of Belgian ales most of them are a bit over the top for eating with poultry. If you go with one of those maybe one of the light golden ones or even a red. Definately not a trippel, while golden and light in color the alcohol level is way to high. Instead of a melding or accentuation of flavors you may have a battle of flavors.
I recommend something crisp and flavorful such as Anchor Steam Ale or Anchor Liberty Ale. Great flavors and depth while not too strong. Medium light with a nice level of hops without too much.
Or else a good English bitter such as Fullers or Youngs (not Fullers ESB it's too heavy bodied and can put you into a comatose state real quick) or an American Bitters such as Redhook, Geary's or Hales.
Or a pale ale with character such as a British Burton-on-Trent style with it's high mineral content water that combines so well with the hops such as Bass or preferably Double Diamond. Or an American Pale ale or IPA such as Geary's or Sierra Nevada.
Then for desert a nice Lambic. Maybe from Lindemans such as for those who like one that's light maybe a peach lambic, for those who like it tart a kriek or aged framboise, and for those who like sweet and intense a cassis lambic...
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Can I come to your house for Thanksgiving? It sounds like it will be wonderful...turkey? who needs it!
peace, jill
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Sure thing... We'll come up with a beer menu... just several courses of beer.
(I started grad school just after working in a brewery in Seattle and was entering lots of brewing competitions, my friends challenged me to come with a full day beer menu... which brews for breakfast, lunch, and dinner... with dinner being several courses including desert... I can't remember off hand what that days menu was like... I can't even remember what the day was like. Just that it included skinny dipping, howling at the moons, and the unbelievable hangover the next day.)
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I'll make the suggestion of a brewery from the North. Unibroue, a brewery based in Chambly, Quebec, makes a number of wonderful beers that are available in the U.S. Their website lists all their brands, but I would recommend La Fin du Monde (The End of the Earth) to accompany Thanksgiving dinner. It is a spicy, citrusy ale that would complement the flavors of the dinner. One word of warning, though: La Fin du Monde contains 9% alcohol (wines are usually 11% to 13%) and comes in 20 oz. bottles. After a bottle or two, you might think you truly have found The End of the Earth! There's a link to the English description of the beer below.
Link: http://www.unibroue.com/products/fin.cfm
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While I think that all of the Unibroue beers are totally excellent, I feel that the alcohol level is way to high for a holiday meal. People tend to drink more beer than wine and also the alcohol taste is more pronounced in beers than in wine due to the much lower acid levels in beer. Just a personal thing but when I drink beer with a meal I like to be able to have a few and still be able to taste my food and to be able to stand and negotiate my way around the table afterwards.
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Couldn't agree with you more, Rogue. That's why I gave the warning about the high levels.. On the other hand, DeeDee asked about a good beer to serve with Tday dinner. I personally would vote for a glass or two of wine with dinner, and save the beer for sandwiches on Friday, and Saturday and Sunday and....
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The nice thing about the beers from Unibrou is that one tends to drink less because of the distinctive taste. That being said, if you can't function properly after 3, the functioning of your liver might be compromised and testing could be in order.
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Really? You can drink a few 25oz bottles of 10% alcohol beer and not be buzzed? One bottle of that stuff has the alcohol of aproximately a six pack of regular beer. It sounds like your liver may need testing if you've built up that much tolerance. No wonder you're Not pc... LOL.
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Forgive me. I was thinking of the 12 oz. bottles which are a lot more convenient when solo.
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La Fin du Monde also comes in 4pks of smaller bottles.
For Thanksgiving I would consider their seasonal Quelque Chose, a rich cherry ale in a 500ml bottle.
And since we're discussing Unibroue, Unibroue 11 just came out.
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I thought Unibroue 10 would be hard to beat, so I will definitely have to try 11!
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Where did you find Quelque Chose in the states? I've only seen it in Canada, and even there it's difficult to find. Though I did enjoy this beer, the considerable sweetness/cherry flavor made me think they added flavoring after the fermentation.
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Quelque Chose has just been released in the US. I forget if it was available here in the past, but if it was, it was several years ago.
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I have been able to pick it up seasonally at all beer distributors in New York that carry Unibroue products ever since it was first released several years ago.
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I've seen a number of wine folks recommend Reisling as a good Thanksgiving wine, so I'm thinking crisp, slightly sweet, fruity: how about a hefeweizen like Schneiderweisse or Franziskanner?
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