Talking Head: Thanksgiving beers: Don’t serve a turkey with your turkey

If you are dreading the uninspired jug of chardonnay or white zin that your in-laws break out every Thanksgiving, why not shake things up a bit by bringing something out of the ordinary, something special, something with a beautiful label and a cork-and-cage closure that opens with a satisfying pop? No, not Champagne, but beer.

Sure, MGD or Bud Light are fine when you’re chilling in front of the TV watching the game, but finding something appropriate for the dinner table can be a bit more intimidating. So many different flavors and textures are part of the mix, and not everyone has the palate for a complex, richly-flavored  beer. But don’t despair; there are a number of excellent options that can outshine any wine.

Brooklyn Brewery’s Garrett Oliver, author of The Brewmaster’s Table, a book celebrating the pairing of beer and food, finds that bière de gardes, the earthy, country-style ales brewed in the border region between France and Belgium, are the quintessential Thanksgiving beers, and it’s not necessarily because they pair well with turkey. “Well, let’s face it--the Butterball is a sideshow; modern turkeys don’t really have much flavor,” Oliver writes. “But both the stuffing and the gravy have strong herbal flavors, which anchor the match with the beer’s herbal flavors. Then the caramelized malt meets the brown turkey skin, the biscuity malt flavors match the lightly nutty flavor of the meat, and the carbonation lifts everything, so you don’t realize you’re eating so much.”