What to Drink for Thanksgiving, Part 4

Whether you're planning the dinner at your home, or whether you're a guest in need of something to bring, or whether you're eating out and you want to be knowledgeable when ordering, today's final "What to Drink" installment is all about craft beer. At the end of this post, we'll link to the earlier installments.

Certainly, craft beer pairs perfectly with all of the the Thanksgiving Day football games. But beer is often an afterthought when it comes to the dinner itself, and we'll argue that beer has earned its place at the table. And if you want to make the beer menu as varied as the food, here's a quick guide: start with something lighter (like a Pilsner), move to something more bitter and/or acidic with the meal, before moving to a stout or a porter. Beer with caramel or malty notes are also great companions to the varied dishes that are part of a traditional Thanksgiving.

Here are several beer recommendations that will fit nicely on your holiday table:

Thanksgiving can be a marathon of eating, whether you're preparing the meal or not. It's best to start out with something light and easy-drinking, Victory Golden Monkey is an excellent choice, with its richness of imported malts and Belgian yeast that are tempered by a sparkling approach and overall light body. If you're looking for something with a slightly more assertive and hoppy character, the Victory Prima Pils is a good beer to enjoy with football and appetizers.

It's a love/hate thing. Cranberry sauce can be one of the usual sources of disagreement with your relatives, but there's little arguing the virtues of the seasonal Grateful Harvest Ale, from Harpoon Brewery. The cranberries are harvested from the local bogs of AD Makepeace, mere miles from where the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock! But this beer is about more than history. Harpoon donates $1 per six-pack to the local food bank in the area in which it was purchased.

Harpoon Grateful Harvest combines rich malt character with the subtle sweetness of those locally harvested cranberries, giving a tart, fruity, slightly acidic finish.

Then there's The Bruery Autumn Maple. Brewed with 17 lbs. of yams per barrel (in other words, a lot of yams!), this autumn seasonal is a different take on the pumpkin beer style. Brewed with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, vanilla, molasses, and maple syrup, and fermented with The Bruery's traditional Belgian yeast strain, this bold and spicy beer is perfect on a cold autumn evening. And we've already had our share of cold November nights.

Finally, we recommend Southern Tier Pumking. This king among pumpkin beers makes a welcome addition to a meal that celebrates the bounty and flavors of fall. Sweet, with a bevy of spice notes that include cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, it achieves that pie-in-a-glass quality if you're looking for more of a liquid dessert.

The earlier installments of "What to Drink for Thanksgiving":
Part 1: Cocktails
Part 2: Red Wine
Part 3: White wine