Brews News: Try beer pairing for Thanksgiving

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Turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, yams and pumpkin pie. Put aside the wine and let’s add some fresh craft beer to this year’s Thanksgiving menu.

Citrusy Belgian saisons and malty German styles are popular choices, as are safe-bet pale ales. Hoppy IPAs dominate throughout the year and Thanksgiving is no different. An IPA is a useful pairing with turkey and gravy to reset the palate. And let’s not forget dark beers – stouts and porters – to pair with pie. I call them my second dessert.

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Craft beers are still as much about starting conversations as anything else, meaning Thanksgiving gatherings are a great time to serve beers that are new and interesting.

At London Brewing, Aaron Lawrence sets the table with two very different beers, a raspberry vanilla sour made with berries from Heeman’s that’s light with enough acidity to cut through the gravy and cleanse your palate for dessert. And, after eating a big Thanksgiving meal, Lawrence offers a dark lager instead of a more heavy stout. London Brewing collaborated with BackRoads Brews and Shoes for Night Run Black Lager. “Dark lagers shine in this arena, flavourful yet also light and easy to drink,” Lawrence said.

Among beers at the LCBO, a three-part Thanksgiving dinner beer pairing might look like this:

Appetizers: Marvin the Marzen by Neustadt Springs. It’s a 5.2 per cent German lager brewed with malts from the Munich area.

Main course: Powerhouse Homecoming APA. Aromas of citrus and melon, flavours of pine resin and lemon, this is a broad-appeal American pale ale brewed in London. It goes well with roasted meat. Homecoming is 5.5 per cent alcohol and $3.65 for a 473 ml can.

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Dessert: Whitewater Brewing Dark Roast Pumpkin Spice Espresso Porter. Throwing all things fall into one beer, the Ottawa-area brewery’s seasonal porter has clove, cinnamon and ginger. It’s 4.4 per cent alcohol and $3.65 for a 473 ml can.

AYLMER MEETS GUELPH

Time’s ticking to get a taste of 2025 today.

Fresh Off the Wire, a wet hopped pale ale brew by Wellington Brewery of Guelph with hops from Hayhoe of Aylmer, should be on the board at the brewery and its online store until near the end of October. But next year, the vision gets bigger.

“Next year, we’re planning to scale up our wet hop collaboration with Hayhoe and bring this to LCBO stores across Ontario next fall, so we’ve got big plans,” said Brad McInerney, marketing director at Wellington.

Wellington has brewed a wet hop beer at harvest time for several years.

“We took a break over the pandemic, but we’ve brewed a wet hop beer periodically over the past decade,” McInerney said in an email. “They are tricky to plan as you have to get the timing right since it’s always best to get the hops into the beer within 24 hours of being harvested.

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“We have also brewed an IPA as a wet hop beer, but ultimately a pale ale is a great option to let the fresh hop character shine.”

Two of Wellington’s most popular beers feature hops from Aylmer: Upside IPA and Special Pale Ale.

“By working with our local hop farmers we not only get some incredible quality hops but we’re also putting sustainability first,” McInerney said.

Fresh Off the Wire is $4 for a 473 ml can.

NEW AND NOTED

Daytripping to Elora and Fergus for Monster Month, their Halloween celebration? It’s a perfect time to check out Elora Brewing where Oatmeal Gothic, a milk stout with notes of chocolate, is new and on nitro. For IPA travellers, Shine Hazy IPA is back in rotation.

Heading to Beaver Valley for leaf peeping? Thornbury Village Craft Cider and Beer has a 7.1 per cent alcohol sweet-meets-tart pear and apple cider.

Bad Apple north of Grand Bend has a graf, a beverage blending cider and beer. Bad Apple Cider-Weiss Apple Graf combines cider with a German-influenced wheat beer. It’s 5.8 per cent alcohol and is priced at $3.50 for a 473 ml can.

Wayne Newton is a freelance journalist based in London.

BrewsNewsTravels@gmail.com

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