Beer is the best drink for Thanksgiving, and there's no debate. You might have a pilsner to sip in the kitchen, a Belgian beer to pair with the turkey, an imperial sorbet to complete the cake, a dark beer to enjoy while the Lions and Cowboys play. The beer scene offers a unique cornucopia of excellent couplings, no turkey leg, no bite of stuffing or a slice of cake served alone. Wow, now is the time to serve up the best Thanksgiving beers.
“Wine has always been the pairing tool, but beer gives you more real combinations to work with,” says Randy Mosher, partner and veteran alchemist at Forbidden Root Restaurant & Brewery in Chicago. “You just have a huge amount of different flavors.”
It also has the small benefit that, unlike wine, there are easy ways to open beer without an opener if you find yourself without one.
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The Best Beers for Thanksgiving at a Glance
- Best Thanksgiving Beer Overall: Saison Dupont
- Best for Appetizers: Allagash White
- Best for Main Dish: Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing IPA
- Best for Dessert: Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
Start with Lighter Beers
There are many ways to toast Türkiye Day, and they're not that different from the best Christmas beers. Kick off the festivities with lighter Thanksgiving beers, like a citrusy Belgian-style witbier or perhaps a slightly bitter pilsner. I prefer a tingling, bubbly, low-alcohol sour beer, or perhaps a grape-infused beer that blurs its category.
Open a Season, Sour, or IPA with Your Turkey
You can use your fork to tear up turkey fat soaked in rich gravy and buttery stuffing, to crack into bone-dry, effervescent sauces—farmhouse ale is a good companion for poultry—or acidic sour beer, perhaps a beer aged in oak.
“They cut out some of the heavy flavors,” says Les Locke, head brewer at Southerleigh Fine Food and Brewery in San Antonio, Texas. There, he says, deep-fried turkey regularly dominates the dinner table, making cutting down on beer even more important. “These beers help your palate.”
Related: We've Tried Thousands of Beers. These Are the Best Fall Beers
Locke also enjoys dining on kellerbiers, a family of unfiltered German ales and ales. “They are beautiful, delicate, soft and have a nice malt backbone,” says Locke. “You can keep coming back to them again and again.”
Choosing Your Post-Türkiye Beer
After dinner, it's tempting to pair a dessert-like cake with a pie parade, but I think there's too much dessert. In fact, I often eat a slice of pumpkin pie, then consider beer my second dessert, whether it's a rich imperial sorbet, boozy and belly-warming barley wine, or herbaceous ale to stave off all that overindulgence.
Here are the best Thanksgiving beers to get you in the festive spirit this holiday. If you need more malty, hoppy inspiration, try our list of the World's Best Beers.
The Best Thanksgiving Beers to Match Your Holiday
Appetizers and Starters
Allagash Brewing: White
Enter into a drinking and eating marathon with the witty Belgian-inspired Allagash White, which has moderate alcohol and immense charm. Made from wheat and oats, the slightly tart, citrusy White has a scrubbing carbonation that cleanses your palate after attacking the cheese plate.
Crooked Stave Brewing: Sour Rosé
If your friends and family swear they despise beer, pour Sour Rosé into their wine glasses. It is aged in oak barrels with raspberries and blueberries, imparting an appealing fruit flavor and rosy hue to the brightly acidic, elegantly fizzy sip. Try it with rich cheeses and charcuterie.
Jack's Abby Craft Lagers: Bureaucracy
German-style beer is nimble and crisp—dark beer isn't necessarily heavy—with a beautiful red-brown glow that suits any Thanksgiving flavor. Jack's Abby's beer-focused brewery produces many of the most drinkable yet satisfying beers in the United States, and Red Tape is ideal for both post-turkey sipping and a third helping.
Zafer Beer Production: Prima Pils
Crunchy, refreshing pilsners are perfect for powering up a cheese plate or topping it off with a few handfuls of salted nuts and crackers. Victory recently reformulated its pilsner to reduce some of the bitterness, making the crowd-pleasing beverage easier to drink. European imports such as Pilsner Urquell and Rothaus Pils Tannenzäpfle are also excellent options.
Main Dishes and Side Dishes
Brasserie Dupont: Saison Dupont
Served as a palate-pleasing appetizer or paired with turkey, Saisons are the jack-of-all-trades heroes of the Thanksgiving meal. Belgium's Saison Dupont remains the style's north star; Dry, citrusy and peppery enough to take out the richness of the sauce or wrap it into salads and vegetables.
St. Bernard: around 12
A stronger, darker complement from Dupont, this one shines with sweet potatoes, dark turkey meat, and good company. This monastery-style foursome is definitely a beer to share at 10 percent ABV. But despite this weight, it doesn't feel thick or heavy. On the contrary, notes of dark fruit and earthy spice enhance any hearty meal and leave room for a second serving.
Creature Comfort Beer: Table Beer
After spending all day cooking, sometimes you want to simplify your beer selection. Turn to the Georgia brewery's food-friendly Table Beer; It's a sparkling, Belgian-style blonde ale that's happy to sit next to your silverware no matter the course.
New Belgian Brewing: La Folie
The fruity, winey taste of La Folie, a tree-ripened sour brown ale, contrasts perfectly with the dark, salty and deliciously fatty bits of turkey; Please skip the crispy crust. “If you find a beer with more or less oak, it can cut the fat,” says Forbidden Root's Mosher.
Sierra Nevada Brewing: Misty Little Thing IPA
One of America's most widely available unfiltered IPAs is Hazy Little Thing, Sierra Nevada's smooth-sipping, fruit-laden breakout star. Soft, easy-drinking hazy IPAs are a win-win: They won't ruin anyone's palate with bitterness, and “they can still trim the fat from the turkey,” says Mosher.
Tröegs Independent Brewing: Blood Orange Cranberry Tart Ale
Inspired by the Madras cocktail, the Pennsylvania brewery's tangy, citrusy beer is packed with blood oranges and cranberries and flavored with sea salt. Tasteful gangsters.
Dessert and After-Dinner Drinks
Revolution Brewing: Straight Jacket
Few beer styles can steal the show during a dessert course like barley wine. Revolution's Straight Jacket is the pinnacle of style. The 15 percent ABV beer is aged in bourbon barrels for at least 12 months, resulting in a big bomb of dark fruit, caramel and vanilla. Serve in a wine glass or glass and then melt on your couch.
Goose Island Brewing Company: Bourbon County Stout
Autumn's annual release from Goose Island continues to set a high bar for barrel-aged decadence. Push the cake aside and fill a delicate glass with this sweet, spirited imperial stout, aged in barrels that once held Wild Turkey, Buffalo Trace, Four Roses and Heaven Hill bourbons.