Christmas Meal Beer Pairings

Well it’s almost time for another Holiday meal; I hope if you read my Thanksgiving Pairings post and tried any of the beers I recommended that you enjoyed them.  I decided to do a second holiday pairings post to include pairings for other main courses.

Turkey: I stand by my picks for Thanksgiving, I believe a Tripel has enough flavor to stand up to the turkey and a nice balance of malt and hops to keep it from being too over the top. My second choice is an Amber Ale, full of flavor but smooth and easy drinking, goes well with a big meal.  My recommendations for the Tripel: Allagash Tripel and for the Amber: Rising Tide Ishmael

 Lobster: Living in Maine I’m sure there are people out there having a Lobster feed for their Christmas meal. Lobster has a lighter more delicate flavor and that’s what you’ll want to look for in your beer pairing. I recommend a Hefeweizen or a pilsner. The Hef is a wheat beer with a lighter flavor but has some body to it, they usually have a citrusy bite as well which works well with seafood. Pilsners are very light, crisp and clean, I believe this refreshing beer will cleanse your palate of that drawn butter you’re dunking that lobster in. My recommendations for the Hefeweizen:  Paulaner Hefe-weizen and for a Pilsner: Sixpoint the Crisp.

 Ham: When I put the question out on Twitter “what do you serve for your Christmas meal” the answer I got back the most was ham. My pairing choices for ham are a Bock or a Rauchbier. Bocks are strong, flavorful malty beers that should stand up to this main dish. Rauchbier might be a bit of a stretch for some people, but for me a smoke beer works well with ham. My recommendations for the Bock: Ayinger Weizen-bock and for the Rauchbier: Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Weizen

Roast Beef: My choices here are a Dubbel, a rich, flavorful, malty beer with some fruity notes and a mild bitterness without a hoppy flavor and an Altbier, German style brown ale that is very smooth and well balanced. My recommendation for the Dubbel: Westmalle Trappist Ale Dubbel, the larger bottle with cork and cage also make for a nice presentation, and for the Altbier: Otter Creek Copper Ale.

If you are looking for a couple new dessert beer options I would recommend checking out Samuel Adams Merry Mischief Gingerbread Stout and St. Bernardus Christmas Ale. These two are sold in larger bottles and have pretty hefty ABV’s that make them perfect to share, I believe either of these would be an excellent way to cap off your holiday meal.

Cheers!

Chaddah

Chad Lothian

About Chad Lothian

Chad Lothian lives in Old Town, Maine. He is a craft beer enthusiast and homebrewer. Chad has travelled to brewpubs, breweries and brewfests all over New England.