Christmas dinner with beer - our menu
Well, in true form, I’ve totally dropped the ball on posting here. Sorry. However, as I was putting the final touches on our Christmas menu, I thought I’d post it here for ya’ll to see how Molile and I are approaching the issue of pairing beer with a holiday meal.
We’ll be visiting my parents for the Christmas dinner, which incidentally will actually be this Saturday night (Dec. 22). We’re off to Mollie’s parents’ house after that to spend the actual Christmas day. So, my parents are preparing the meal, and Mollie and I have taken on the charge to pair and provide the beer for the evening. Here’s what we’ve got:
Course 1: Salad with Feta Cheese, Mandarin Oranges and Sweet and Sour dressing
Beer pairing: Avery White Rascal Witbier - we think the orange and coriander notes in this beer will pick up nicely on the sweet fruit notes in the salad. Also, we’re hoping the sweetness of the beer and salad help to temper each other, a great example of pairing beers using the “complementary flavors” technique.
Course 2 (Entree): Oven Roasted Turkey with herbs, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, yeast rolls and cranberry. (Is this Thanksgiving or Christmas?!)
Beer Pairing: Bluegrass Brewing Company Altbier/Rogue Dead Guy Ale - both of these beers exhibit a nice maltiness with a sweet caramel backbone and a bready finish. We are aiming to pick up on the caramel flavors in the skin of the turkey and the bready notes in the stuffing. In addition, the intensity of these beers is suck that neither will overwhelm the delicate flavors in the meal. Lastly, both of these beers are hopped just enough to hopefully marry nicely with the herbal qualities in the turkey and stuffing. Potatoes will benefit from the bready notes as will the yeast rolls.
Course 3 (Dessert): Chocolate Tort with Strawberries, Chocolate Mousse and Whipped Cream.
Beer Pairing: Lindemann’s Framboise. Here we’re looking to match the fruit between the strawberries in the dessert and the raspberries in the beer. We’re also looking for a nice contrasting flavor note between the chocolate and the funky fruit and tartness in the lambic.
Course 4 (Digestif): We’ll be ending the night with some sort of big Imperial Stout or Porter. Not sure which one just yet, but I’ll update here when I find out.
Hopefully, all these pairings should work as we intend them to. Remember, this season, beer will pair better than wine with your meal! Grab some great craft beer and introduce your family to these wonderful flavors.
Have a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and remember….this year, make it beer!
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