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During the holidays, websites, social media and stores push wine pairings.
This year I’m swapping wine glasses for mugs and considering beer as a holiday food pairing.
What triggered this change was a beer tasting at World of Beer in Dublin where I met brewmaster Hendrik Verspecht of CUVER Belgian Brewers in Windsor, Calif. After enjoying his Tripel Golden Abbey ale, I decided the holidays were a good time to explore pairing food beyond pizza and tacos with beer.
But I needed help with this mission. Since I like wine and often write about it, empty slots in my wine racks are rare. As for beer, I counted two cans in the fridge and decided I have a lot to learn. The variables in beer making—hops, malts, yeast, base grains—are as numerous as holiday lights shining in Tri-Valley homes.
What beer, I wondered, pairs well with latkes, the classic Hanukkah savory potato pancakes? This year Hanukkah starts on Thursday evening, Dec. 7th and lasts for eight days. Faith Kramer, an East Bay food writer, emailed me a new latke recipe to try with beer. The author of “52 Shabbats: Friday Night Dinners Inspired by a Global Jewish Kitchen” developed the caramelized onion and turkey, beef or veggie “bacon” latke recipe as a center-of-the-plate meal. Riffing off the Pittsburgh Primanti burger layered with French fries on a patty, Kramer also suggested stacking the latkes inside the bun for a tasty Hanukkah burger.
Kramer’s son, a former craft beer sales rep, suggested pairing the latkes with a malty, light bodied amber ale such as Fat Tire from New Belgium Brewing that won’t overpower the rich and savory latkes. For the latke burger, Noah recommends a pale ale.
For another take on Hanukkah parings with beer, I contacted Jeremy Cowan who founded the He’Brew beer brand at Schmatlz Brewing Co. in San Francisco in 1996. Now located in Troy, N.Y., the beer brand is on hiatus while Cowan’s new partner gears up for 2024 production. For the traditional brisket Hanukkah main course, Cowan recommended cooking the meat with Oatmeal Stout from East Brothers Brewing Co. in Richmond, Calif. and serving the beer at the table.
Cowan believes that beer is better than wine as a food pairing with its diversity of ingredients and styles of production that create subtleties of flavor.
Brian Blackburn, owner of Shadow Puppet Brewing in Livermore, would agree with Cowan. He shared a holiday menu with options for his beer. For a savory appetizer of Butternut Squash bisque, Blackburn would pair what he describes as “mellow and malty” Kentucky Uncommon amber ale. To complement a mixed green salad with Champagne vinaigrette, the brewer recommends Tartbreak, a tangy light wheat beer with sweet notes from pink guava.
For a main dish of roasted turkey or meats, Blackburn suggests Hella Lush IPA, a double dry-hopped West Coast IPA that is a collaboration with Livermore’s Altamont Beer Works. Blackburn shared a photo of the Hella Lush on the left and Kokonati on the right.
The many styles of IPA show how every region and country develops their unique beer heritage. I contacted Jorge Tinoco who believes both wine and beer pair well with the Southwestern-style food at Posada Alta Cocina in Livermore. Tinoco, a certified sommelier and Posada’s Beverage Director, is also a certified beer server by the Cicerone Certification Program.
For those of Hispanic heritage, he said, beer plays an important role during holidays. With Posada’s braised lamb shank with blackberry mole, he suggests Modelo Negra which contrasts the richness of the braised meat. Blind Pig IPA from Russian River Brewing, he said, matches up to the complexity of their King Ranch Enchiladas. Tinoco also pours local Altamont Maui Waui IPA on draft at Posada.
I asked Verspecht of CUVER Belgian Brewers for a Northern European perspective on beer and holiday food. Verspecht, whose family is from the Flanders area, named Carbonnade Flamande beef stew traditionally cooked with mustard and Belgian dubbel, a dark Abbey-style ale. Verspecht pairs the dish with CUVER Dobbel or Papavervelden, their barrel-aged Flanders red ale.
Verspecht referred me to Patrick Van Lierde of Pleasanton, a fellow Belgian beer lover. Also from the Flanders area, Van Lierde added CUVER Dobbel to his simmering carbonade Flamande and serves the beer with it. He shared a photo of his beer-infused creation.
For holiday appetizers, Van Lierde recommends oysters with a Gose style light beer, crab cakes with a Pilsner, and grilled lobster with Duvel Strong Golden Pale Ale from Duvel Moortgat Brewery in Belgium. For those eating Asian food during the holidays, he recommends Altamont Maui Waui IPA.
Though my niece Sima isn’t Irish, she pours Guiness Extra stout into her wintertime Guiness stew and accompanies it with beer. She also adds Yuengling lager from her birth state of Pennsylvania into the batter for hearty fish and chips.
An Amador Valley High School graduate and current resident of Boise, Idaho, family friend Isaac has won awards in six homebrew competitions this year. For a holiday turkey or spiral ham, the beer aficionado recommends an Altamont Beer Works blonde ale. But with prime rib, his preference is a Belgian dubbel.
As a dessert lover, I was kid-in-a-toy-store happy to learn about beer pairings. Since Hanukkah features sufganiyot, jelly-filled donuts, Cowan of Schmaltz Brewing suggests serving Sierra Nevada Celebration Fresh Hop IPA with citrus flavors to balance the sweet pastry. Blackburn of Shadow Puppet Brewing pairs a chocolate pecan pie with vanilla whipped cream with his Kokonati Coconut Porter, a dark beer, with dark chocolate, espresso, and coconut notes.
Already craving Kokonati, Dobbel and Guiness, I then heard Isaac describe his homemade peanut butter chocolate cake with ganache icing paired with barrel aged stout. A six-pack may soon join the shopping list.
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If you’re interested in Faith Kramer’s Caramelized onions with turkey “bacon” recipe contact me in the Comments section.
As long as you aren’t serving any Bud Light, your friends should be pleased with your beer selections.
Your buddies should be happy with the beers you choose, as long as you’re not serving Bud Light. https://google.com
Margorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) has referred to Bud Light as “The queen of beers.”