Friendsgiving or family get together, at Angel City we know it can be tough to decide what to bring to your holiday feast. Well, we can’t help you with the food side, but if you can figure out what culinary item to offer, we’re here to help you with the refreshments. This year, skip the wine – here are seven beers to pair with your turkey-day feast. And all of them, of course, are available in growlers at the Public House.
- Green Bean Casserole – This dish represents the best of America: A fine blend of rich cream, crisp texture, and herbal vegetable lightness; but ultimately, originating from a soup can. For this balance of heavy and bright, we recommend the Angel City Pilsner. Bright hoppy flavor and zippy effervescence will marry together the flavors here, and the finish will be almost as crisp as the fried onions.
- Sweet Potatoes – Obviously these will be covered tip-to-tail in marshmallows. If you’re bringing your yams to the potluck naked, then your host is fully within their rights to refuse you entry. So what to pair? Don’t discount the Don’t worry, we’ve been brewing this stuff all fall, so it will still be plenty fresh. Big sweet malt flavors will resonate with the gooey goodness here, and there’s just enough toast in the grain to punch up the brulee on top.
- Stuffing – We like our stuffing with plenty of herbs and spices, so to bring out those big bold flavors from this big bready food, you’ll want to bring in the big guns in. Enter stage left, Angel City IPA. Gorgeous hops in a pas de deux with pungent aromatics. Your guests will be screaming encore.
- Cranberry Sauce – Whether you prefer fresh, lovingly assembled, homemade cranberry sauce, or you like gelatinous red ectoplasm, the pairing here is clear: Berliner Weisse. This bright tart beer begs to be paired with fruit, and the balance of tart and citrus in a good cranberry sauce will be appreciated by the beer. Hell, towards the end of the night, you could even throw the sauce into the beer itself.
- Gravy – Yes, this counts as a dish. If you’ve made your gravy right, your guests will want to eat it directly from the boat. So what do you pair with it? Black Lager – the presence of roasted notes will complement, but not overwhelm, the rich stock that forms the base of the dish. The light body will accentuate the mirepoix. And the bright finish will wipe away the creaminess.
- Pumpkin Pie – Nothing. Pumpkin pie is a garbage pie, and pumpkins are a garbage gourd. Instead, bring Pecan Pie, so you get invited back next year. If you really want them to like you, grab a bottle of Imperial Irish Red Ale, which is only going to be on sale at the Public House for this week (so grab it quick!). At 16%, it’s as decadent as the pie pan full of syrup that comprises this dish, and the nuts that you put on top to hide your shame will dovetail nicely with the big vanilla and oak flavors that come from aging this beer in Jameson barrels for 6 months.
- Turkey – Oh yeah, the star of the show. We’re gonna cheat here – there is no beer style on the planet that goes better with roast turkey than Flanders Red. It’s that rarefied blend of malty, sour, oaky, and fruity that elevates the bird higher than its feeble wings can carry it. We actually just made our first batch of this beer about a month ago. But sad news, folks – this one’s gonna take at least a year in red wine and port barrels until it reaches perfection.
So what do you bring if you don’t want to be 12 months late? Honestly – any of the ones we’ve mentioned above will be just fine. As much as turkey gets the credit for the day, most of the flavor is going to be coming from the sides. Swing by the Public House and grab a growler of any of the beers listed above (and then some). Starting on Monday, November 21st we’ll even be giving a free growler glass when you buy two growler fills – all the way until Thanksgiving day!
