Thanksgiving beer pairings: craft brews that go with pre-game, turkey and pumpkin pie

By cbadmin on November 22, 2016

At some Thanksgiving dinners — mine included — those enjoying the feast are more likely to ask someone to pass the beer than the Bordeaux. I pair different beers with dinner every year, and I’m always looking for fresh ideas, so I asked some beer pros for Thanksgiving pairing suggestions. (I gave them one rule: no beers from breweries you own or work for — give props to others!) They offered fresh takes and a solid starting point for those trying beer alongside wine for the first time this Thanksgiving.

Dev Adams, Certified Cicerone, blogger (Miss Lupulin) and senior writer for the Colorado Brewery List

1. Session beer for flag football/dinner prep: If there’s anything you want when getting ready for a heavy dinner, it’s a really light, refreshing beer. My first choice is going to be Baere Brewing’s Baere-liner Weiss, which is a Berliner Wiess-style beer. It is very low alcohol, tart, and highly effervescent. The low alcohol, obviously, allows you to drink it throughout the day and still avoid getting in fruitless arguments with drunk Uncle Randy. The effervescent qualities keeps your palate fresh for any taste-testing you need to do on the various elements of the coming meal. If they have it, try to buy a bottle of their house-made syrups, like woodruff (traditional) or hopped grapefruit, which will mix things up even more.

Another great beer to prep for the Big Event is Hop Session IPA from Brewery Rickoli in Wheat Ridge. This is a low-alcohol session IPA that packs a big flavor without being overly bitter. Its fruity hops with just a touch of dankness makes it a great counterpoint to all of the snacking that naturally occurs before dinner, and, as with the Baere-liner Weiss, the flavor keeps it interesting without overwhelming the taste buds.

2. Main course: There are few beers that go as well with Thanksgiving dinner as a fine Biere de Garde. Unfortunately, there aren’t any readily available in Colorado right now besides Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabeza, which is a fantastic example of the style.

Another great entree beer is Dubbel Trubbel from Bruz. Dubbels are strong, darker Belgian beers with a basis of dark Candi sugar (a Belgian brewing sugar) and distinctive Belgian yeast that adds a background of spice and some fruit. The Candi sugar gives the beer a medium body, so it’s drinkable throughout a heavy meal. The melanoidin characteristics in the beer complement turkey skin, stuffing and the roasted tops of side dishes such as sweet potatoes and green bean casserole. The sweetness even plays a nice counterpoint to the tartness of cranberries and elevates sweet potatoes.

From southern Colorado, Stepchild American Red is an award-winning red ale from Riff Raff in Pagosa Springs that marries a malty body with a nice, hoppy backbone. The malt is going to marry nicely with the turkey skin, gravy and all of the roasty, toasty parts of the meal. The hops are going to enhance elements like green beans and the tartness of the cranberries.

3. Dessert: If you’re going with pumpkin pie, eschew pumpkin beers (too much spice) and go with an English Brown Ale, like Mad Molly’s Brown from Golden City Brewery. A sessionable beer with toasty notes and some vanilla, it will coax out the flavors of the crust and enhance the subtler spice notes of the pie filling itself. With an almost milk chocolatey flavor after a few sips, it makes any accompanying vanilla ice cream taste even more decadent.

My favorite dessert beer at the moment is the barrel-aged imperial stout Oil Man from Elevation Brewing. Big, dense and chewy, its dark chocolate, cherry and vanilla notes are absolute perfection with French silk pie and vanilla ice cream (or just on its own). There is also enough bitterness so that it isn’t just adding sweet upon sweet. This beer is so well-crafted and complex that there are very few desserts it doesn’t go well with.

Katie O’Shea Padró, managing partner of Tap & Burger Concepts, founder of the Crafty Ladies Beer Club and a Level 2 Cicerone

1. Session beer for flag football/pre-dinner prep: Berlinerweisse. It really is the champagne of beers, and what I like to drink when I’m cooking and celebrating with family. Berlinerweisses are highly carbonated and have great tartness and acidity to complement that game-time cheese and charcuterie plate, too. And true to style, berlinerweisses are very low alcohol/sessionable — a great way to start off the day. For a memorable one, try Jack’s Abby Berliner Style lager.

2. Main course: Dunkel. Dunkels are malty but the dry-ish finish is a perfect accompaniment to rich comfort foods like turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes. I could almost just pour it like a sauce on top of my dinner. Go for a classic: Paulaner Münchner dunkel.

3. Dessert: I’m a pumpkin pie girl, and secretly my favorite meal of the Thanksgiving weekend is when I have a slice for breakfast the morning after Thanksgiving with a good cup of coffee. So as a play on that, I’d go for an Epic Big Bad Baptist — an imperial stout brewed with coffee and cocoa nibs — with a slice of pumpkin pie for dessert.

Chris Bruns, co-owner and head brewer of Factotum Brewhouse

1. Session beer for flag football/dinner prep: Upslope Brewing’s Craft Lager. It’s an approachable beer reminiscent of the light-and-easy lagers offered by large, domestic breweries but without the stigma of multinational conglomeration attached. Your hipster cousin will love it, your curmudgeonly grandpa who’s never not drank macrobeer will love it, and they’ll both be supporting a small business.

2. Main course: Funkwerks’ Saison. I’ve always considered saison the wine of beers — it’s got that same air of sophistication perfect for a formal dinner like Thanksgiving. But I don’t like wine, so I drink saison, and Funkwerk’s version is a good example of the style.

3. Dessert: Mexican Chocolate Stout: Copper Kettle Brewing Co. With chocolate and cinnamon, this beer is already a decadent dessert all on its own. The addition of chili peppers gives it a little extra zing that’s not a traditional Thanksgiving flavor but sometimes it’s okay to do things a little differently.

Kim Collins, brewer and Certified Cicerone, owner of brewery-in-planning Guardian Brewing Company

1. Session beer for flag football/dinner prep: Bierstadt Lagerhaus’ Slow Pour Pils (available on at the lagerhaus; take it home in a growler). During food prep, you want something not overpoweringly flavorful or too high in alcohol, otherwise you might not be able to taste the delicate Thanksgiving flavors…or you might burn your turkey! With an ABV around 5 percent and a little hop character, leading to a crisp, dry finish, Slow Pour is the perfect warm-up or all-day beer.

2. Main course: Hogshead Brewery’s Chin Wag ESB (in the taproom, via growler). This ESB blends maltiness and nuttiness from the traditional ESB with a fresh hop for a not-too-bitter character. It stands up to more herbal dishes — such as stuffing, cranberries and garlic potatoes — but can also meet turkey and corn without trumping the flavor. It is bitter enough to clear your palate between bites of Thanksgiving comfort food but allows you to also taste the food itself.

3. Dessert: Mountain Sun Brewery (at Vine Street Pub) Java Porter (in the taproom, via growler). This porter was born to bridge the gap between a wide variety of desserts, such as pumpkin pie, cheesecake and anything chocolate. It is light enough in body to taste refreshing between bites, and the coffee’s bitterness (not too much, but present) will help blend tough flavors like nutmeg, cinnamon and cream cheese.

Matthew Peetz, of Inland Island Yeast Laboratories, a supplier for craft breweries in the region

1. Session beer for flag football/dinner prep: My go to session beer is Loose Leaf from Odell’s. Very drinkable but with enough complexity to keep you wanting more.

2. Main course: Prost’s Dunkel. Full of bready, toasty, malty flavor and subtle dark fruit esters, it would go great with Thanksgiving dinner.

3. Dessert: For dessert I would reach for something fruity and tart. Baere has a great Berliner Wiesse. It is a light, sour, low alcohol beer (which may be unconventional to go with dessert). You can add a shot of raspberry syrup to sweeten it up and enjoy your beer while leaving some room for dessert.

Carol Cochran, co-owner of Horse and Dragon Brewing

1. Session beer for flag football/dinner prep: Little Machine’s Razz Against the Machine — it’ll razz you up for whatever you’re doing but not put you under the table during dinner later. It can stand alone and will also pair with a bunch of things that might be around for a starter: Cheese plate? Yes. Salad? Indeedy. Aunt Martha’s crab cakes? Worth a try.

2. Main course: Zwei Brewing’s Pils. You’ve got a lot of flavors going on around the table at a typical Thanksgiving feast. Zwei’s great pils is versatile enough to complement everything from cranberry sauce to brussels sprouts to the ever-loving turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy.

3. Dessert: Left Hand’s Wake Up Dead Imperial Stout, or pretty much anything barrel-aged from Verboten Brewing. Wake Up Dead is a beer that’ll finish off the meal, cut through pies that might be a tad too sweet, and give you a roasty finish after all that sugar. And Verboten’s barrel-aged beers are sure-fire finishers. If you can get your hands on some Little Nonsense, you’re in.

Lauren Rapp, project manager for Two Parts, Denver-based event production company

1. Session beer for flag football/dinner prep: I enjoy Station 26 Cream Ale, which doesn’t technically fit in the under 5 percent ABV category, but I’ve been drinking at altitude long enough that 5.2 percent seems very sessionable. It’s delicious, readily available in local liquor stores, and totally crushable.

2. Main course: With all of the rich foods that will inevitably end up on the table, you’ll find me drinking a saison/farmhouse beer. It’s not heavy, and it’s super food-friendly. One of my favorites right now is Life’s Trade from TRVE Brewing, which is a wood-fermented farmhouse beer available in bottles at the taproom and in select liquor stores.

3. Dessert: For dessert, I like to go bold. An imperial stout, like Avaris from River North Brewery, sounds pretty good with a slice of pecan pie.