Your Turkey Wants a Beer

As I begin, let me suggest that you readThe Brewmaster's Table by Garrett Oliver. The whole book is about tasting beer and pairing different beers with different foods. Excellent for so many reasons.

I bring this up because a common question around Thanksgiving, especially for people who are invited guests to such a dinner, is "what wine goes best with Turkey?"

The right answer is beer!

Beer was absolutely the staple beverage of the Pilgrims, being the most ship-worthy beverage in terms of being able to be produced in a large enough quantity to be the beverage of choice for the 4 - 6 month voyage. It has also been dicovered in reading the ship logs of the Mayflower that they put ashore in Plymouth (which was not their target destination) because beer supplies ran low.

When the Pilgrims landed and began to settle, a brewery was one of the first buildings to be erected. The reason: they were suspicious of water -- which was often tainted back in Europe -- and wine and spirits in the Mayflower's era were medical provisions and not for the table. Beer was a way, because of the alcohol content, to purify water to make it drinkable. This form of water purification goes even farther back.

So did the "first settlers" drink wine at the "first Thanksgiving?" Hell no! They drank beer!

We benefit now from such a massive variety of specialty craft beers to choose from that we can pair different courses with different beers. Following are my own recommendations for beer-food pairings. If you're looking for something to pair with the Bird other than a boring Chardonnay, consider some of these.

Apertif
Nothing huge here; we don't want massive alcohol contents, huge hops or tons of roasted barley to kill the tongue so that we can't enjoy our dinner. For this course, as guests arrive, consider a nice light Pilsner or Lager; something lightly grainy and vaguely hoppy to give the tongue a little tease. Consider:

Warsteiner Premium Verum

Sam Adams Boston Lager

Brooklyn Brewery Lager

Weihenstephaner Original Lager

Hors d'Oeuvre Hour
Turn on the hops a little more for this course, as you will have probably several different appetizers of varying taste, oiliness, fattiness and complexity (even if it's just chips-n-dip and salsa!). The hoppy character in Pale Ales will go really well greens, cheeses, fruits and the like without overwhelming what you're eating (you never want your drink to be the star over your food). Try:

Sierra Nevada

Pale Ale

Anchor Liberty Ale

Great Lakes Burning River Pale Ale

Bass Pale Ale

Dinner
And now for the bird. And the stuffing. And the potatoes. And... Now's the time to hit a strong-tasting ale with some residual sweetness to compliment the latent sweetness of the bird and the feast. Also, you want a boosted alcohol content, because the higher alcohol concentration will help cut through fats and starches to help you taste the beer and will cleanse the palate between bites. Try some Belgian-style beers here:

La Fin Du Monde

Delirium Tremens

Michigan Brewing Company Celis Grand Cru

Ommegang Hennepin or Rare Vos
You could also look at more lagers (not American Light Lager...no spiciness or taste), since the higher carbonation and hoppiness in lagers cleanses the palate between bites and the spicey hops compliment the dishes well. For instance, try Pilsner Urquell, which features the wonderfully-spicey Saaz hop. Peppery.

Dessert
The best course, in my opinion, for beer pairings is dessert. This is mainly because I am a massive fan of Stouts and Porters. Think big, huge and rich:

Founders Breakfast Stout

Great Divide Yeti or Oak Aged Yeti

Rogue Chocolate Stout or Shakespeare Stout

Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout

Digestif
This is the kick-back, sip and relax drink, where belts and pants-buttons are undone and you watch your favorite football team lose terribly as you nod-off to a restful triptophan-induced slumber. Think smooth and numbing:

Dogfish Head Raison d'Extra

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine

Rogue Old Crustacean

J.W. Lee's Harvest Ale (look for a vontage older than 1 year, so '04 or older)

Again, this is by no means definitive, but hey, if you've never done this or are looking for something more interesting than the $9 sale wine at the local grocery, give this a shot.

And be thankful to the Pilgrims for establishing a fine tradition of drinking beer with your feast!