Brewers pick what beer fits your Thanksgiving dinner and leftovers
The beverage options over the Thanksgiving holiday season have multiplied in recent years because craft beers are an increasingly popular choice.
Moreover, brewers and restaurateurs alike are also quick to point out that consumers have myriad choices when it comes to pairing their favorite holiday food with a terrific local beer.
“Beer is experiencing a real renaissance,” said Bryan Selders, Dogfish Head Brewing Ambassador.
Indeed, at a time known for eating and drinking, Thanksgiving has become a great opportunity to pair great local beers with foods that are often popular over the holiday – before, during and after the traditional Thursday meal.
And local microbreweries and restaurants alike are happy to suggest some awesome food-beer combinations to make that Thanksgiving holiday season particularly enjoyable. Included are some craft beers that are only available during the fall Thanksgiving season.
A little wine with dinner?
At Dogfish, Delaware’s largest craft brewery, Selders said popular Thanksgiving holiday beers include Pennsylvania Tuxedo, brewed with Spruce tips, and 61 Minute IPA – flavored with syrah grape. Not to mention Dogfish’s popular fall favorite, the famous Punkin Ale.
“They all pair well with a Thanksgiving meal,” said Ryan Schwamberger, Dogfish general manager.
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Over the Thanksgiving holiday, Dogfish will bring back an old favorite – Raison D’Etre, a Belgian style beer that they began selling in 1998 then stopped production several years later.
“It is a delicious beer that will pair well with the big (Thanksgiving) meal,” Selders said.
Don't forget about football brews
At 3rd Wave Brewing Co. in Delmar, co-owner Lori Clough said their seasonal Jack’d Belgian pumpkin ale would be ideal for that traditional Thanksgiving meal.
“It goes well with turkey, stuffing and all those other things on the table,” she said.
For Thanksgiving deserts, Clough suggested Dawn Patrol, a rich coffee and cream stout.
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And for other holiday activities, including football viewing, 3rd Wave’s rotating New England IPA series would pair well with wings or other game time snacks.
The Thanksgiving IPA will be Turtle Dive, Clough said.
“It will pair well with any football food,” Clough said.
Rich Garrahan, owner of Crooked Hammock in Lewes, a craft brewery and restaurant, brainstormed with his staff on some pairings that include their in-house brews and local food offerings.
Said Garrahan: “Olde Butternutz is an old English ale brewed with roasted butternut squash and fall spices. It’s barrel aged in small batch Knob Creek bourbon barrels and we think it pairs well with short rib tacos from Taco Reho” — a local food truck.
Crooked Hammock also is soon releasing Jubilation, a champagne ale, brewed with chenin blanc grapes.
“We recommend trying it with chef Jim’s famous Sweet Tea Fried Chicken,” Garrahan said.
Also a big Thanksgiving holiday hit at Crooked Hammock: Jav-O-Lantern, a dark ale made from pumpkin that is smoked over cherry wood at the nearby Bethany Blues restaurant.
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Later in the holiday season, they will release Sly & the Cherry Stone. Garrahan said it is a “funky kettle sour brewed with maleb, a bold Middle Eastern Spice derived from ground cherry stone.”
“Enjoy this one with any cheese,” he said.
Or, for something radical, he dares you to try Sly for breakfast with a cheesy omelet.
Garrahan said cans of Haulin’ Oats stout and Shoobie, a Belgian blonde ale, also will be available starting on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.
In other words, it sounds like Garrahan is suggesting an alternative to mall shopping.
Pumpkins, stouts and coffee
At Blue Earl Brewery in Smyrna, head honcho Ron Price recommends several beers for meals or other activities, including football watching.
Among the recommended beers — Ain't Superstitious, made with pumpkin and yams; Trick or Treat porter, a decadent caramel malt/ peanut butter treat, and Honeysuckle Rose, a Belgian blonde ale that was recently selected the best craft beer in Delaware.
Price also said they will be releasing two new beers around Thanksgiving — Jo Loco Brown, a brown ale laced with mocha java and Top O’ The World, an imperial stout.
“Both are perfect beers for fall and Thanksgiving,” Price said.
At Evolution Craft Brewery in Salisbury, they have concocted a seasonal treat called Jacques Au Lantern, an unfiltered amber ale brewed with pumpkin and spices. Recommended food pairings: turkey, roasted root vegetables, sharp cheeses, apple crisp, pumpkin and pecan pie.
Evolution also said its Rise Up Coffee stout nicely complements any chocolate dessert.
Don't forget about leftovers
On Thanksgiving eve, Big Oyster Brewery in Lewes will be releasing 30 cases of Dolores, a naturally soured ale brewed with cranberry puree and vanilla beans, reminiscent of Mom's cranberry sauce.
Said head brewer Andrew Harton: "We recommend drinking this beer both before and after the game or pairing with your favorite turkey and gravy."
Iron Hill, with brewpubs in three Delaware locations, offered suggestions from Jake Smiley, head chef, and Moriah Guise, head brewer at Iron in Hill Wilmington.
For the traditional Thanksgiving meal — Vienna Red Lager or Oktoberfest — Smiley and Guise said: "The maltiness of these beers pairs up with a well rounded array of flavors that would be in a traditional Thanksgiving meal, including caramelized skin on a turkey, roasted root vegetables or hearty mashed potatoes."
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For dessert, they recommend Iron Hill pumpkin ale, Pig Iron porter, Winter Warmer or Russian Imperial Stout.
At the Mispillion River Brewery in Milford, the crew will be releasing Miss Betty just in time for Thanksgiving dinner. And the flavor profile screams “Thanksgiving.”
Miss Betty, according to head brewer Ryan Maloney, “is our take on the spiced beers of the fall and is brewed with sweet potatoes, gallons of maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and clove.”
Mispillion recommends pairing Miss Betty with a Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich.
Restaurant suggestions, too
Across town, Abbott's Grill owner Kevin Reading has several menu offerings with suggested beer pairings. The selections include Duck confit flatbread, with figs, butternut squash, and Manchego cheese. Reading’s beer suggestion is Elysian Brewing’s Night Owl pumpkin ale.
Also on the Abbott's Thanksgiving holiday menu: Beer braised mussels with chorizo, smoked onions and a garlic tomato broth, paired with Blue Earl’s Clockwork Orange pale ale.
Along with root beer glazed short rib, apple parsnip mashed potatoes and bacon Brussels sprouts. Reading said the perfect beer pairing is Boujee Beaver brown Ale.
“With a lot of the bolder fall (food) flavors, it is easy to pair with beer,” Reading said.
At Brick Works Brewing and Eats in Smyrna — a joint venture between Abbott's and the Mispillion River Brewery — they can offer customers food and beer pairings that are prepared under the same roof.
Head Brewer Justin Colatrella said the following pairings will be available over the Thanksgiving holiday.
The first offering at Brick Works is Springfield — a red ale paired with porter braised pork shank. And the second is a French style ale — Love Vigilante Biere de Garde — which is paired with chicken breast stuffed with bleu cheese, wrapped in bacon and served with succotash, mashed potatoes and sweet and spicy Brussels sprouts.
The SoDel Concepts restaurant group in Delaware is so passionate about serving good beer with good food that it has a certified “cicerone” on staff — Matt Patton, director of operations.
In his role as a legitimate beer expert, Patton offered a number of food and brew pairings.
“The sweet delicate flavor of lobster rolls at Matt’s Fish Camp or fried baby lobster tails at Bluecoast (restaurant) would be perfectly complimented by the subtle spicy sweetness of an unfiltered wheat beer like Tröegs Dreamweaver, RAR Bottom Feeder or Allagash White,” he said.
In November, SoDel restaurants will feature local rockfish, which Patton said will pair well with an amber lager like 2SP’s Delco Lager or Victory’s Home Grown lager.
On Thanksgiving day, Patton likes a good Belgian dubbel, which, he says, “has a spicy malt character that matches with the roasted and sweet flavors in the stuffing, ham, gravy, yams and of course the turkey.”
“Tröegs Jovial is the best local version of a Belgian dubbel,” he said.
Patton also likes the aforementioned Evolution Jaques Au Lantern along with Blue Earl’s Honeysuckle Rose, Victory Golden Monkey, Troegs LaGrave and Big Oyster’s Noir Et Blue.
SoDel also teamed up with the Revelation Craft Brewery in Rehoboth Beach to produce S.M.A.S.H., an American pale ale that, Patton said, “is great to drink while you are watching football.”
Added Patton: “Nothing beats good food and good beer at Thanksgiving time.”
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