11 festive beers to pair with any holiday meal

Colorful lights, tinsel and evergreen garlands. Fellowship with friends and family. Celebrations of faith. The holidays are about many things, and certainly one of the most important among them is food and drink.

No gathering is complete without something to eat. And the fare can’t be just any old thing; the season calls for something special. There are history, culture and family traditions involved. Whether full table settings with fancy dishes or buffet-style with paper plates, the food that’s served has meaning.

The drink that accompanies it should be equally elevated. It’s not there just to quench your thirst or induce a bit of cheer. What you pour makes the meal complete and complements whatever you eat. It deserves the same attention as the food.

There are so many directions one can take with a holiday feast. Turkey, goose, prime rib and duck breast are just a few traditional favorites. Then there are all the sides to consider — sweet potatoes, winter squash, deviled eggs and Brussels sprouts. And don’t forget the green bean casserole. The range of flavors is varied and intense.

It’s difficult to pick a beer to pair with such a spectrum of flavors. While no beer will be perfect with everything on the table, there are some good all-around picks that will be satisfying, whatever you serve.

Amber lagers are a great place to start. Malt-forward with a modest bitter bite, they are flavorful enough to stand up to most foods, but not so intense that they overpower them.

Schell’s Firebrick is a Minnesota classic. With subtle sweetness and notes of toasted grain and herbal hops, it will go with almost any holiday dish, especially poultry and ham. It’s also great with roasted vegetables.

You won’t be disappointed with Vienna Lager from Venn Brewing Co. of Minneapolis. With toasty, brown bread maltiness, this mildly sweet lager would be a great counterpoint to salty ham. Sturdy bitterness, spicy-herbal hop flavor and a crisp dry finish make it a palate-cleansing partner to most anything you serve.

If you like beers with a bit more hops, amber ales are a good way to go. A caramel malt base supports modest citrus and pine hops that both complement and contrast traditional fare.

It doesn’t get much better than Michigan’s Bell’s Amber Ale. There are caramel leads, but it’s joined by light notes of brown bread with a toasty crust. Moderate bitterness accompanies citrus, earth and herbs from the hops. It will complement all the savory goodness on the table and the added hop kick will cut through the richness of the meal.

Brave Woman Scottish amber ale from Little Thistle Brewing Co. in Rochester leans more to the malty side. In fact, it’s a full-on malt assault, boasting ample caramel and a touch of roast. Whether turkey, goose, ham or even prime rib, this rich beer will handle it all. And it will sing with the caramelized sweetness of roasted squash and sweet potatoes.

IPA fans will want a beer with a bigger malt presence. The dry, bitter profile of typical West Coast style IPA is too aggressive. The thin body of most hazy IPAs won’t stand up.

Little Thistle’s First Footing fresh-hop IPA is a lovely choice. The caramel malt complements the strong grapefruit/orange citrus character. Fresh hopping gives a particularly vibrant hop flavor. I’d love this with a rib roast. The bright citrus would offer a perfect complement to herbal poultry.

Brown ales generally are good all-around food beers. Light and balanced notes of roast, caramel, biscuit and chocolate give them something to match nearly every item on the plate. But they’ll be especially good with beef.

River Town Brown Ale from Dual Citizen Brewing Co. in St. Paul is a lighter bodied, well-balanced example. Nuts, toast, toffee and mild semisweet chocolate are the main show with lingering roast bitterness in the finish. Light herbal hops give a sage-like tie-in to the food.

The simply named Brown Ale from Wisconsin’s Oliphant Brewing brings a more robust voice to the party. All-out chocolate at the start quickly gives way to toffee, coffee and toasted bread. Hints of dried dates mingle among them. I really want to try this with horseradish on a hunk of roasted beef.

Belgian ales are a great way to go with holiday fare. Light and lively tripels with their fruity sweetness and peppery-herbal hops or dusky dubbels with malty dark fruits and chocolate — both will serve you well. And the fruity and spicy character of Belgian yeast strains just make the pairings that much better.

I was super excited to learn that the beers of Allagash Brewing Co. in Maine have recently entered the local market. Their Curieux, a bourbon barrel-aged Belgian tripel, is one of my favorite beers, and one that would be a welcome addition to a holiday feast. The stone fruits, peppery spice and cleansing effervescence that make a tripel perfect with poultry and roasted sprouts are all there. These are joined by subtle vanilla, caramel and raisin that give more depth to match a wider range of foods.

For a Belgian dubbel, you can’t go wrong with Chimay Première, also called Chimay Red, for the red label. It presents a perfect balance of toasted grain and dried dark fruits, like prunes and dates. A trace of herbal hops and minerality add a savory note. The bone-dry finish is enhanced by just a touch of roasted malt.

Saison originated as a farmhouse ale. It has a rustic character that perfectly fits the simple, savory preparation of many traditional holiday foods.

The benchmark for the style is without a doubt Saison DuPont Vieille Provision from Brasserie DuPont in Belgium. It features loads of lemon and orange citrus countered by a forceful black pepper spice. A bit of honey malt sweetness up front quickly fades to a very dry, bitter finish. It’s a perfect partner for roasted duck breast with crispy skin and savory herbs.

Sometimes the moment simply calls for a celebratory toast. There’s a beer for that, too.

Deus Brut des Flandres from Belgium’s Brouwerij Bosteels had disappeared from the local market for a time. But now it’s back. Brewed using the traditional Champagne method, Deus uncorks with a pop that heralds the ebullient beverage to come. Fruit is the dominant character with vinous apple, pear and citrus underscored by herbal and spicy notes from the moderate use of European hops. The bitterness is low, making for a sweeter beer, but the dry finish keeps it crisp. It would be good with dinner, but it’s perfect for a festive toast.

Michael Agnew is a certified cicerone (beer-world version of sommelier) and owner of A Perfect Pint. He conducts private and corporate beer tasting events in the Twin Cities, and can be reached at michael@aperfectpint.net.