Beer Cheese Corn Spoon Bread & How To Throw a Craft Beer Thanksgiving

07.11.2013 Jackie Dodd-Mallory (Senior Editor) 11 Comments

As we fly through the fall, hurdling towards the holiday season, our first major stop will be the festival of glutton that I love so much.  While many of you will show up to your respective Thanksgiving feasts bearing bottles of wine, craft beer has earned a spot in America’s Favorite Meal. But there is a bit of a dilemma when it comes to pairing beer with such a huge spread, since very (very) few gatherings this large will allow the opportunity to pair a different beer with each dish, you need to pick beers that play well with many others.

Pick three separate beers for the meal progressoin. The first to pair with the appetizers that you’ve set out as your guests arrive, the second beer to pair with the poultry centric main attraction, and the third for the dessert round.

The Appetizer Beer should be like the food, a warm up for whats to come. Nothing overwhelming, you don’t want to wreck you guest palates before the meals have even begun. Look for something refreshing, clean and bright to get people ready for the onslaught of flavors that are about to come their way. My picks:

Ommegang Witte

Rogue Good Chit Pilsner

Drakes Blonde Ale

The Main Event Beer has to pair with everything from turkey to jello salad (don’t pretend like you don’t have an aunt that always brings that) so it has to be versatile. Look for a beer thats earthy, malty, moderately carbonated and low(ish) hops, you want the beer to highlight the food, not fight with it. My picks:

Smuttynose Farmhouse Ale

The Bruery Saison Rue

Schlafly Bière De Garde 

Dessert Beer will give you a bit more flexibility. You will probably have an assortment of pies ranging from fruit to chocolate, so you’ll need a beer that can mesh well with what you have. Since this is the final offering, it’s OK to go off the rails a bit and mix it up. I love to end a big meal with a malty, big, barrel aged beer, or a strong barleywine beer, it’s a dessert all on it’s own. My picks:

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron

Southern Tier Backburner 

North Coast Barrel-Aged Old Rasputin

So now that you’ve got the beer down, it’s time to think about the menu.

Until the end of time there are two beerified offerings that will always grace my late November Holiday Table:

Beer Brined Turkey

Hefeweizen Honey Dinner Rolls

But you might need more than just turkey and rolls, although those do happen to be the cornerstones of the leftover sandwiches. Here are a few more beerified offerings for your holiday table:

Beer Cheese Skillet Potatoes

Stove Top Beer & Bacon Mac n Cheese

Pumpkin Ale Farro Roasted Asparagus Pomegranate and Goat Cheese Salad

IPA Sweet Potato Mash

Chipotle White Ale Cranberry Sauce

Porter Pecan Pie

Bruleed Pumpkin Beer Pie

Apple Pie with Pale Ale Mascarpone Cream and Beer Pie Dough

Mile High Chocolate Stout Pie

And for that Black Friday Pick me Up: Sriracha Bloody Beer with Chili Sugar Bacon

And don’t forget about this Midwestern treat that I appropriately beerified, the corn soufflé that goes by many names and usually includes a box of Jiffy mix. Today we skip the mixes in favor of some real life cheese, beer and all kinds of deliciousness.