Yesterday's column

Sorry folks, the holiday schedule kept me from getting this posted on Wednesday. Hope it's not too late for you to take the advice of three experts on what to serve with your feast today. Cheers, and happy Thanksgiving! -Ben


Pitcher This: A cornucopia of beer suggestions
Ben Cunningham
Metro Editor
The Anniston Star
11/21/2007

For many it’s almost second nature. If they’re including an adult beverage in their holiday table setting, it’ll be a bottle of wine, perhaps served in the good crystal that only comes out once or twice a year.

Beer? That’s served at the recliner, straight from the can during the football games you’ll watch over the extra-long weekend, right?

Maybe, but with the range of beer styles available today there’s more than a few brews that could be welcome at the grown-ups’ table at even the fanciest holiday feast.

As beer continues to move “up-market” and consumers become more familiar with finely crafted American and exotic beers, they may be discovering sophisticated flavors that fit right in with Grandma’s carefully honed recipes.

Now the only problem is convincing Grandma to let you have beer at the Thanksgiving table.
OK, one more problem … with so many choices, what to serve?

With all the types of food that wind up on holiday tables, there are just as many beers to pair with the grub. For the record, yes, pairing beer with food is just as much an art as matching wine. Just one more problem: there are just as many approaches to beer-food pairing as there are beer styles.

Ask three beer connoisseurs what to serve with your feast, and you’ll likely get (at least) three different approaches. Jerry Hartley owns the J. Clyde restaurant in Birmingham’s Southside, known for its wide beer selection. Stuart Carter is a beer lover who leads monthly beer dinners at the J. Clyde. And Danner Kline is president of Free the Hops, a group of beer enthusiasts trying to reform Alabama’s restrictive alcohol laws. When asked for Thanksgiving beer suggestions, all three came forward like Squanto showing the Pilgrims how to grow corn.

Hartley starts things off proper, with a green salad. He suggested wheat-based beers, like a Belgian-style wit or a German hefeweizen, with their citrus hints would work well. He suggested the Witte from New York’s Brewery Ommegang. Lacking that, look for Hoegaarden or perhaps the ubiquitous Blue Moon from Coors since we’re short on Ommegang in eastern Alabama. If you’re using a creamier dressing like bleu cheese or ranch, Hartley suggests blonde or golden ales, such as Terrapin Golden Ale or Atlanta Brewing Company’s Red Brick Blonde.

For turkey and all those brown-sugar-encrusted sweet-potato dishes, Kline and Carter both went for brown ales. Both recommended Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale. Carter pointed to the richer Tilburg’s Dutch Brown Ale if you prefer the dark meat.

Finally, there’s desert. For the obligatory pumpkin pie, Hartley suggests stouts and porters such as Guinness, Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout, or Anchor Porter. Kline calls Samuel Adams’ cinnamon-flavored Old Fezziwig paired with pumpkin pie “a real match made in heaven.”

Whatever you’re drinking Thursday, don’t forget to raise a toast to Grandma for making a place at the table for your beer … and for all that wonderful food.