Tag: cider

Cider For Thanksgiving

Long time readers and/or followers of mine may remember that my go-to Thanksgiving beer is Figgy Pudding by The Alementary. Figgy Pudding is an English Barleywine aged in Rum barrels and conditioned on Figs, Prunes, Apricots, and Dates. It’s slightly different every year but every year it’s amazing. That’s for me though, what else are we drinking?

Cider. The answer is cider. For Thanksgiving I’m a big proponent of early drinks and late drinks. The beverages you might enjoy early on in the day are much different than the ones you might want when you’ve already packed in some heavy food. Drink whatever you want first, good time for that Figgy Pudding, or Gingerbread Cookie Porter or whatever, but once you’ve sampled from all eight cheeses I bought? Maybe switch to something a little crisper. Like Cider!

A nice dry cider feels like the perfect contrast to rich food, plus it’s apples, which is harvesty and topical! As luck would have it, and totally not the reason for this post, I was just a a cider mill in Vermont and came back with a six-pack of a hard cider I liked. This one’s from Cold Hollow Cider Mill, called Rural Recess. It’s not quite as dry and crisp as I would pick for Thanksgiving, but it’s pretty balanced and it’s also dry-hopped with Cascade Hops, which gives it that nice fresh flavor.

So Figgy Pudding early, and Rural Recess late, and maybe I’ll mix in a Alchemist Heady Topper in there, because this is a beer blog and I did just go to Vermont. What are YOU drinking for Thanksgiving? Tag us on Instagram or Twitter and let us know.

 

Ceetar can be found on Twitter and Untappd where he’s making too many potato dishes for Thanksgiving  You can also email him at beer@ceetar.com.

 

The Thanksgiving Beer Post

I like wine well enough, but Thanksgiving should be more of a beer holiday, and I don’t mean downing eight beers with old friends the night before off dirty taps and watching the parade with a hangover. True story, I once went out to a local place with a great selection, had two beers and woke up absolutely miserable on Thanksgiving. It was in the early 2000s, and I blame dirty taps, even if I don’t have any proof.

So now that I’m “grown up” and hosting Thanksgiving and a little more in control of the menu and the beverage selection, what’s the plan? The crowd will still be pandemic-limited, so there won’t be that many drinkers at my house, which is a shame, but that’s not going to stop me. 

Alementary Brewing releases a Thanksgiving beer, an English Barleywine called Figgy Pudding. It’s a beer aged on Turkish figs, Turkish apricots, and Medjool dates and then into Jamaican rum barrels. It’s a great rich and malty beer that pairs well with the season. 

Another great drink is cider. Apple cider is already a delicious fall/harvest beverage, and it’s even better with booze. I recently purchased a pack of cider from Graft Cidery called Back Country Old Fashioned Cider, Citrus & Bourbon, and it’s quite delicious. It’s almost like a cocktail, because of the bourbon flavor, but the lemony citrus gives it enough acidity to not be overly sweet, and it just seems to go well with everything. 

What, you might ask, is Botty McBotface, our resident AI, drinking for Thanksgiving? 

“I’ll tell you what,” Botty said, “I’m gonna make a big batch of wine spritzer. I’m really excited about it. It’s gonna be great! I’ll put the wine in the blender, add some soda water, ice, and cranberry juice. That way, everybody can have a glass of wine.”

Sure. You could do wine. Spritzers seem like the way to go, give yourself a little carbonation to go with the big meal. I saw a fun recipe of Limoncello, cranberry juice, and seltzer, which I might give a whirl. Maybe even use prosecco instead of seltzer. 

I personally like to drink Oktoberfests on Thanksgiving, because I feel like beyond that I start looking at all the stouts and dark rich Christmasy stuff, and if I have any Oktoberfest left they just linger in my fridge, despite being one of my more loved styles. Drink ‘em while you got ‘em, so to speak. 

All in all, the best Thanksgiving drink is the one that’s in your hand, and if it hits the spot and pairs well with whatever you’re eating, all the better. So feel free to share your beer photos with us on Twitter or Instagram, and have a happy Thanksgiving!

Ceetar can be found on Twitter and Untappd where he’s currently making apple pie and drinking an Alementary Random Placement Of Things.  You can also email him at beer@ceetar.com.