Beer and Turkey

Brewski pairings for a holiday feast

November 23, 2009|By Pam Robin Brandt, Metromix

"Beer--It's not just for breakfast anymore." The slogan's usually seen on joke T-shirts, bumper stickers and of course, beer mugs.

But increasingly, numerous nationally known food and drink authorities have come to agree with the sentiment. Actually, many now feel that beer is as appropriate a quaff for Thanksgiving dinner as wine.

In fact, from a historical viewpoint, beer is far more fitting than wine as a tribute to the USA's early settlers. Remember all those elementary school lessons about the Pilgrims' first Thanksgiving at Plymouth? Well, here's the part they left out: Had the Mayflower's brewski stock not been low, they probably wouldn't have landed at Plymouth Rock at all.

A voyager's diary reads: "We could not now take time for further search or consideration, our victuals being much spent, especially our beer."

Consequently, breweries were one of the first things voyagers set up, aided by Native Americans who taught them, in the first years' absence of European malted barley or wheat, how to make homebrew using corn. i.e. that first Thanksgiving's turkey din was most likely accompanied by beer.

Admittedly in recent years--the past century or two--people have gotten stuck on the notion that wine is the Thanksgiving dinner quaff, and beer's just for swilling during the Thanksgiving football games. And that, say local beer experts, is a misconception. The trick is to find beers with properties equivalent to Thanksgiving's fave wines (like dry-finishing sauvignon blancs, or playfully, fruity, spicy Beaujolais nouveaus), so they serve the same purpose of cutting the heaviness of the carb/fat-loaded dinner.

Take Tripel Karmeliet, a Belgian ale that's the main meal choice of chef Alfredo Patino (who conducts regular curated beer tastings at his restaurant, Bin no. 18). Triple-malting gives the artisan brew an almost wine-level alcohol content, making it, like all tripels, a beer for sipping rather than swilling.

"I think of it as the sauvignon blanc of beer," explains Patino. "It's blonde but it's powerful--8 percent alcohol. So it'll really kick, but the flavors are also delicate and perfectly balanced. It'll warm you with honey-like malt flavor, but it has some crisp citrus, subtle spice, and a nice dry hops finish, too. It's such a food beer!"

"We carry plenty of high-alcohol but balanced beers that have enough malt to match a Thanksgiving dinner's richness, as well as enough hops to cut through the starchy and fatty flavors," says Edward Moore, assistant manager and "the beer guy" at mega-retailer Total Wine. "The hops' bitterness takes the place of the tannins in wine."

His favorites for pairing with turkey and trimmings include Shipyard Prelude, an American seasonal "winter warmer that's nutty, not very bitter, but with a nice hoppy aftertaste." He also recommends several Belgian tripels, including Cuvee Lunatique (an 8.5 percent ale with considerable depth of apple, lemon, honey, spice depth of flavor, but a light mouth-feel). And, "for people who prefer a lighter-tasting Belgian," there's Duvel. The latter has 8.5 percent alcohol, and a rep: "It drinks softly and carries a big stick. You'd only want to drink one--and not from the bottle, in a glass, to be sipped slowly like wine."

For such a special occasion feast, elegance does matter, which is one reason Beer Depot manager Maurizio Herrera recommends Chimay's three beautifully bottled, as well as beautifully balanced, Belgian trappist ales: Premier (7 percent alcohol and taste mixing light apricots and light bitterness); Grand Reserve (9 percent alcohol, and strong, fresh yeast and toasty malt tastes); and Cinq Cents (an 8 percent tripel with an almost wine-like Muscat grape/raisin taste, but a beer-like bracing hoppy aftertaste).

"They're all corked and pop when you open them, like champagne," he enthuses. And, he adds, the Cinq Cents has the multitude of delicate ultra-tiny bubbles typical of both tripels and champagne.

For those with lighter beer tastes, Soyka's executive chef Luis Lopez warns that Thanksgiving isn't a day for totally wimping out, but has several compromises. "Nothing like a Coors Light. With that kind of meal, it'd be like drinking water. I'd choose a Dos Equis Special Lager, which has some European influence, a bit more body than a typical American lager. It's crisp and refreshing, but has some malt sweetness as well as herby hops bitterness."

"Sierra Nevada Pale Ale," says Moore. "It's easy drinking, goes with anything, and you can drink it all day," while nibbling pre-dinner crudities and cheeses.

Don't forget dessert. And as with dessert wines, which out-sweet the solid sweets, that's where the beer pairings go wild.

"I'm thinking a Lindeman's Belgian lambic with dessert," reflects Dale LoSasso, longtime sommelier at North One 10 (now manager of the new Gotham Steak). These sweet and tart fruit-infused beers, she feels, "could be really interesting with something like pumpkin creme brulee with a cranberry compote. Or what about chocolate flourless torte, chestnut whipped cream and Brooklyn Brewery Chocolate Stout?"

"Dogfish Head Theobroma," enthuses Herrera. "It's an Aztec-inspired beer brewed with cocoa powder and nibs, but also ancho chiles, honey, annatto It's definitely flavorful."

And finally, a classic: Dogfish Head's Punkin Ale, flavored with real pumpkin plus cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and brown sugar. Shipyard and Blue Moon also make pumpkin-flavored ale, but this is the most natural-tasting, says Herrara. "Have it with the pumpkin pie," he suggests. "Or have it and forget the pumpkin pie."

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