Good beer's for Thanksgiving meal?

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Jcmccoy

Jcmccoy

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So, next time I am going to see my family will be Thanksgiving and I want to impress them with a great beer. My family are not really big beer drinker's so I am thinking I am going to go with something not so bold or experimental like a pumpkin beer. I was thinking of making a Belgian saison, a nice drinkable beer with some fruity notes from the Belgian yeast. I think a saison would work nicely with a thanksgiving meal.

What do you think?

I would enjoy any AG saison recipes that has worked well in the past, or suggestions of your beer you have made in the past for Thanksgiving, or any ideas for this years Thanksgiving.

Happy brewing! :mug:
 
I like drinking a nice brown ale with Thanksgiving dinner. Not something super roasted, but something with a fair amount of malt and just a little sweetness.
 
I'm not a fan of saison. I'll second the brown ale though, goes with damned near anything, always tasty, and just about everybody likes it. Of course I think a good doppelbock would work well too. Regards, GF.
 
Think of it this way: Thanksgiving is an American tradition. A nice, bold Ale with a decent malty character and American hops would compliment it very well.

Saisons are French.

I think I've made my point. ;)
 
JetSmooth said:
Think of it this way: Thanksgiving is an American tradition. A nice, bold Ale with a decent malty character and American hops would compliment it very well.

Saisons are French.

I think I've made my point. ;)
Click to expand...

It's interesting you say that. According to Garrett Oliver, in The Brewmaster's Table, his favorite beer to serve with Thanksgiving dinner is a biere de garde, a French style. At least according to him, it compliments turkey and the typical Thanksgiving fixings perfectly.
 
heywolfie1015 said:
It's interesting you say that. According to Garrett Oliver, in The Brewmaster's Table, his favorite beer to serve with Thanksgiving dinner is a biere de garde, a French style. At least according to him, it compliments turkey and the typical Thanksgiving fixings perfectly.
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I don't doubt it at all. Biere de Garde is a great compliment to food. I was making a poor political and xenophibic joke. :D

Though, with our standard Thanksgiving meal, I think a brown ale or amber ale would compliment perfectly. I BBQ the turkey and we have a decidedly "earthy" dinner.

I guess it depends on what you're having.
 
Made my first saison this summer; it was wonderful. I kept thinking how good the light spice & orange flavors would complement a turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

So, I'll be brewing another Saison this weekend for Thanksgiving... :ban:
 
I think bier de gaarde or saison are great ideas. In a similar vein, I think Belgian-style witbiers or white ales are good with poultry (like a thanksgiving turkey).

Salud for doing this for your family's celebration!
 
+1 to Brown Ale. I just had Sierra Nevada's Tumbler last night and I was thinking how well that would go with a big and diverse meal...such as thanksgiving. It definitly wasn't an overly assertive beer. Especially if everyone is not adventurous...something less aggressive, like a brown ale would be great, IMO.
 
tallybrewer said:
Made my first saison this summer; it was wonderful. I kept thinking how good the light spice & orange flavors would complement a turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

So, I'll be brewing another Saison this weekend for Thanksgiving... :ban:
Click to expand...

Thats how I felt after I made my 1st one this summer. Now that I know that saison's do well at high ferment temps, I wish I made one 2 weeks ago when it was still 80+ everyday. I really want to get those fruit flavors from the Belgian yeast. I feel like those flavors would work nice with turkey and cranberry's
 
I made my Thanksgiving beer last weekend. Brewed up a simple Blue Moon clone. Once vigorous fermentation is done, I'm dumping in four pounds of mashed up cranberries and maybe one orange, letting it sit on the yeast for another 6-7 weeks, then bottling.
 
heywolfie1015 said:
It's interesting you say that. According to Garrett Oliver, in The Brewmaster's Table, his favorite beer to serve with Thanksgiving dinner is a biere de garde, a French style. At least according to him, it compliments turkey and the typical Thanksgiving fixings perfectly.
Click to expand...

Man do I love that book! I recall Mr. Oliver paired Saison with a huge array of food types. I would be +1 for the Saison at Thanksgiving. Tip on the recipe:
+ Use 3711 (WYeast of course) ferments at cooler temps than the Belgian yeast plus it gets down really low and dry. One of my batches went from 1.079 to 1.005. Another from 1.062 to 1.004.
+ Keep the malt profile to a simple Pilsner base with perhaps a little wheat for head retention
+ Aim for 1.060 - 1.065 which will give you ~ 6%/volume. Not too overwhelming for the uninitiated
+ Strong bittering hops addition using high alpha variety (I used Warrior last batch and it came out very good) Finished with Fuggle and Saaz combo.
+ 90 minute boil to get some carmalization happening.

Have fun!
 
BrewNow said:
Man do I love that book! I recall Mr. Oliver paired Saison with a huge array of food types. I would be +1 for the Saison at Thanksgiving. Tip on the recipe:
+ Use 3711 (WYeast of course) ferments at cooler temps than the Belgian yeast plus it gets down really low and dry. One of my batches went from 1.079 to 1.005. Another from 1.062 to 1.004.
+ Keep the malt profile to a simple Pilsner base with perhaps a little wheat for head retention
+ Aim for 1.060 - 1.065 which will give you ~ 6%/volume. Not too overwhelming for the uninitiated
+ Strong bittering hops addition using high alpha variety (I used Warrior last batch and it came out very good) Finished with Fuggle and Saaz combo.
+ 90 minute boil to get some carmalization happening.

Have fun!
Click to expand...


Awesome helps a lot. I see other use bittering orange peal and coriander seeds these are not really necessary are they?
 
kwantam said:
I made my Thanksgiving beer last weekend. Brewed up a simple Blue Moon clone. Once vigorous fermentation is done, I'm dumping in four pounds of mashed up cranberries and maybe one orange, letting it sit on the yeast for another 6-7 weeks, then bottling.
Click to expand...

That sounds outstanding! You have inspired me!
 
I would do a really big sipping beer. I'm gonna be full, so I won't feel like drinking a lot of beer, and I would have had a cocktail or 2 already. So I think a big beer to sip would hit the spot. Maybe an imperial red, possibly an IPA, or a stroing belgian, that could be nice.

But that won't help you impressive your family. I would ignore the meal, brew your best brew you think your family will like.
 
Jcmccoy said:
My family are not really big beer drinker's
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Best to temper your expectations of them then. I think we all want to brew something up to impress our non-beer drinking friends and family, but it usually ends with them making a funny face and saying stuff like "Well you're right. This does taste like beer."

And I would definitely not try a Saison on people who aren't beer nerds. Tons of beer geeks don't even like that style. How about a fruit beer?
 
ghpeel said:
Best to temper your expectations of them then. I think we all want to brew something up to impress our non-beer drinking friends and family, but it usually ends with them making a funny face and saying stuff like "Well you're right. This does taste like beer."

And I would definitely not try a Saison on people who aren't beer nerds. Tons of beer geeks don't even like that style. How about a fruit beer?
Click to expand...

I have to go along with this theme. The biggest hits with my BMC drinking family have been an Oktoberfest and a Scottish 80 I brewed. Both are malty and inoffensive to the new craft beer pallet. I plan to have one or the other of those on tap for turkey day.

I no longer even offer my proudest creations to my family. I love'm and all but, frankly, it is a waste of beer!
 
ghpeel said:
Best to temper your expectations of them then. I think we all want to brew something up to impress our non-beer drinking friends and family, but it usually ends with them making a funny face and saying stuff like "Well you're right. This does taste like beer."

And I would definitely not try a Saison on people who aren't beer nerds. Tons of beer geeks don't even like that style. How about a fruit beer?
Click to expand...


In the end the beer is really for my pleasure :p

They might try one or two (they are more of wine people). I will prolly have a bunch of different styles and I can let them pick what they like.. or think they like.
 
Boleslaus said:
I like drinking a nice brown ale with Thanksgiving dinner. Not something super roasted, but something with a fair amount of malt and just a little sweetness.
Click to expand...

I agree with this. A brown ale is something simple for everyone to enjoy, it has a malty sweetness that goes well with pumpkin pie or sweet potatoes and can be lightly spiced to give it a seasonal flavor without going 'big and bold'.

To be honest though, most of the specialty beers I taste or see recipes for aren't that strong anyway. I guess most people are very sensitive to spice :p
 
I would make a belgian pale. 6-7%, 30IBU, wy3787... Easy drinking and not too wild for those who are new to beer. They might be like "hey this tastes like blue moon, hoegardden, etc..." even though we both know it will taste much better than those... It will be complex and delicious enough for you to be proud of and savor as well. (slight clove, spiciness, a little bready, a little fuity, and a lot of delicious!) Plus you still have time to brew it and it will be properly conditioned by thanksgiving.

Thats the primary beer I'm bringing to thanksgiving this year, just brewed another batch!

Seriously though, its a good style for beer geeks and neophytes alike
 
Strave19 said:
I would make a belgian pale. 6-7%, 30IBU, wy3787... Easy drinking and not too wild for those who are new to beer. They might be like "hey this tastes like blue moon, hoegardden, etc..." even though we both know it will taste much better than those... It will be complex and delicious enough for you to be proud of and savor as well. (slight clove, spiciness, a little bready, a little fuity, and a lot of delicious!) Plus you still have time to brew it and it will be properly conditioned by thanksgiving.

Thats the primary beer I'm bringing to thanksgiving this year, just brewed another batch!

Seriously though, its a good style for beer geeks and neophytes alike
Click to expand...

Good call on the Belgian pale. This has been on my list for some time but I have not yet brewed it. Maybe I'll also do this for turkey day.
 

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