Kasper weighs in on beer with the bird
Our beer guru Rob Kasper has kindly written a guest post for me while I'm on vacation. I'm not a beer drinker, but I am fascinated by the four pies. FOUR pies for Thanksgiving. I also want to announce -- ta da! -- that the Kasper on Tap beer blog has a new home. Here's the link, and here's Rob. EL
The question I pose to the "sandbox" is what place does beer have at your Thanksgiving celebration?
At my family Thanksgiving gatherings, there are plenty of pre-meal beers. These pilsners and ales are pulled from the fridge or a cooler shortly after the conclusion of the annual basketball game of the "youngins" against the"oldsters." Applying a cold bottle of beer to a sore ankle helps ease pain. Tastes good, too. ...
Searching through a stack of beer books and Web sites, I found several suggestions for beers to enjoy with roast turkey.
World's Best Beers by Ben McFarland recommends Dunkel, Dunkelweizen, Vienna lagers, framboise, Marzen or Best Bitters. I have tried the Clipper City MarzHon and the Victory Prima Pils with turkey and they work. Not so sure about framboise -- raspberry beer -- with the bird.
Meanwhile the Beer Sommelier, a new app for iPhones touted on the GreatBrewers Web site, also suggests Vienna lagers such as Flying Dog Old Scratch, a Belgian-style Dubbel such as Allagash Dubbel, and Dunkels, such as those made by Michelob and Anchor. Will this app for an iPhone replace your local bartender?
At pie time -- and at our house we often have four pies -- I crack open a bottle of stout. Brooklyn's Black Chocolate Stout, a glorious mixture of coffee and chocolate flavors, goes very well with a slice or two of mince pie.
What is your beer-sipping style at Thanksgiving?
Do you touch the stuff?
Comments
Welcome back to the blogosphere, Rob!
My family is trying something new for Thanksgiving this year: paired beer tastings for each course. Traditionally, we've used a white wine (usually a pinot gris) as our Turkey Day beverage of choice, but only a few in the family really like wine; the rest merely tolerate it.
Pre-dinner happy hour: Something mild and drinkable; we're thinking Pale Ale
Turkey & Gravy Plate: Pilseners and Marzens; either the Stoudt's Octoberfest, Small Craft Warning Uber PIls, or Victory Prima Pils
Sides: a bit hoppier, something like the Sierra Nevada Wet Hop
Dessert: stouts, like Troeg's Java Head
Posted by: Mitch | November 19, 2009 2:53 PM
YAY - hes back! We usually have the standard light beers for the "boring" beer drinkers and I always like to bring something intreresting to try. Lately I've brought some various Pumpkin beers or Octoberfest beers... I know its not October anywmore but at Thanksgiving I still feel the need for Fall beers and not Winter ones yet.
Posted by: vudean | November 23, 2009 2:35 PM
I have a famiy member who gets headaches from most wines, so hard cider has a place of honor at our table. Woodpecker is what we usually buy. Cider goes very well with the Thanksgiving staples, and somehow feels very Pilgrim-esque.
Posted by: Baltofoodie | November 23, 2009 2:36 PM
glad you asked! I cellar a case of hannsen's gueuze for special occasions, they come in 750ml bottles with a cork and are bottle fermented, perfect for cellering. it goes great with thanksgivin or xmas because of a slight cider taste that goes with this style of beer, try one, if you can find some!
Posted by: barkeep77 | November 23, 2009 3:12 PM
when you say "Bud" you've said a lot of things nobody else can say!
Posted by: Joyce W. | November 23, 2009 3:15 PM
Ah, Brooklyn's Black Chocolate Stout, yes that's an excellent, rich stout to top off the day. Other fine beers in that category are Lancaster Milk Stout (PA), Weeping Radish's Black Radish (Clipper City used to contract brew that one), and my new absolute favorite milk stout... Duckrabbit Milk Stout from NC. If anyone has seen it locally, please let me know.
Posted by: SteveQ | November 23, 2009 5:01 PM
c'mon you guys! I was sure I'd get back on here and someone would have put "because you care enough to only want the king of beers"!
funny captcha "whimseys times"
Posted by: Joyce W. | November 23, 2009 7:40 PM
If you go looking for "Beer Sommelier" in the App Store you won't find it. Search for "Beer Cloud" instead. It's also available on Android.
Posted by: MountChuck | November 24, 2009 9:34 AM