Kasper On Tap: Beer & turkey: A forced union or one made in heaven? - Baltimore Sun columnist Rob Kasper blogs about beer

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Beer & turkey: A forced union or one made in heaven?

Can the Thanksgiving turkey be happy when paired with a glass of beer? This coupling has been pushed hard in recent Novembers by beer drinkers tired of having to play second fiddle to wine sippers during the big feast.

I have made some forays in this mating game, some successful, some not. I plan to try again this year and will keep you posted on how things go.

Meanwhile the U.S.Craft Brewers has matched beer styles with various holiday main courses. A traditional roast turkey, it says, goes well with a Vienna style lager, a smoked turkey yearns for a porter, and a Cajun bird needs the company of strong Scotch ale.

Anybody got a guess-who-is-coming-to-dinner story about beer showing up at the Thanksgiving table?

Posted by Rob Kasper on October 31, 2007 8:00 AM | Permalink

Comments

What about a nice pumpkin beer? A framboise can be nice. I agree that a nice Scotch ale (or anything strong for that matter) is good when you wish you weren't around certain family members!

Posted by: Kim Moore | October 31, 2007 9:18 PM

In my experience, it always depends on just how the turkey is prepared (roast? smoked? fried?), and even if we're talking big bloated turkeys versus wild game, or white versus dark meat. My default recommendation has usually been Oktoberfest beers--they are usually still available and add a dry maltiness without being overpowering. Wheat beers and weizens/hefeweizens also seem to work very well with the smoked meats and darker cuts. But even an ordinary pale ale or red ale will work well. If you're faced with a big-production turkey, even oatmeal stout (such as Wild Goose's) will work.

Posted by: Alexander D. Mitchell IV | November 1, 2007 11:25 AM

Check out this site http://www.beertown.org/beer_turkey/index.html

Posted by: Joe Gold | November 3, 2007 12:59 PM

My Thanksgivings are always spent in New England and I always try and drink local. Long Trails "Double Brown Bag" is my favorite with dinner. Hopefully Long Trail will become available in MD soon.

Posted by: Mike McDonald | November 4, 2007 9:31 PM

Right on with the Pumpkin beers Kim.

How about Dogfish Head Punkin Ale or Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale or Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale.

Posted by: vudean | November 5, 2007 11:22 PM

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About the blogger

Rob Kasper, a features columnist, has been writing about beer for 20 years, and he remembers when Anchor Christmas and Noche Buena were about the only beers at a holiday tasting and Sisson’s was the only brewpub in Baltimore. A collection of his columns, "Raising Kids and Tomatoes, Amusing Tales and Appetizing Recipes," was published in 1998. He lives with his wife, Judith, a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, in a downtown Baltimore rowhouse. They have two grown sons, who come home from time to time and drink their father’s beer.
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