Lots of people are realising that it's just as acceptable to bring beer to the table, as well as wine. But what beer goes best with Christmas food?
Christmas food, especially in Estonia, is particularly heavy. It's more often than not a little fatty too - think goose, pork, turkey and roast potatoes. There are some spices involved, such as black pepper, cloves, caraway and nutmeg. Sauces play a big part, with meat gravy, cherry, apple and orange all served as accompaniments.
That's a lot of flavours. But fortunately, there are plenty of beers to match.
Traditional Christmas beers are dark, and more often than not, contain a combination of spices similar to the ones I've already mentioned. These are great to go with smoked hams, pork and traditional Estonian food. Blood sausages and dark beer are a match made in heaven. You can even cook with dark beer. Sauerkraut slowly simmered in a dark Christmas beer stock, is a real crowd pleaser.
Here's a recipe taken from the excellent Estonian Nami Nami blogspot. www.nami-nami.blogspot.com
BEER BRAISED SAUERKRAUT
Serves 12
1KG Fresh Sauerkraut
100 grams soft brown sugar or honey
1 tsp salt
500ml strong dark Christmas beer
Pinch of caraway seeds
50g butter
Mix all ingredients in a large saucepan and heat on a medium setting. Stir every now and again until the cabbage is golden, soft and caramelised. Should be about an hour.
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I'd then pair this with a dark Christmas beer when eating. The caramel, burnt sugar flavours in the cabbage, go absolutely hand in hand with the roasted, caramel malts and spices.
What if you're having duck or goose? I'd go for a fruit beer. Especially a cherry one. The acidity of the beer cuts through the fat of the bird, while the subtle fruit flavours provide a beautiful counterpoint.
Here's a selection of my recommended dark traditional Christmas beers, which will go nicely with a dish of Pork, Saurkraut, blood sausages and all the trimmings
A Le Coq Jouluporter.
A nice traditional Baltic Porter, with some spices, and nice dry bitterness from the roasted malts.
Puls Joulu Legend.
Not as bitter as it's other Estonian counterparts, but a bit more spiced. Some nice juniper taste.
Brewdog Christmas Porter.
Lots of roast malts, chili and chocolate in this one. I think it'd go great with blood sausage.
Mikkeller Fra Til Via.
Super roasty, bitter, dry porter. It's got cloves, cumin and coriander in it. Christmas in a bottle!
Santa's Little Helper 2011 Speyside whisky edition.
Serve this after the meal in a 4cl glass. Super peaty, super whisky, super woody. Super!
Of course, there has to always be an alternative Christmas. Just as we've seen that the trend in beers is moving towards hop forward, refreshing beers, the same has happened with Christmas beers. Danish Brewer To Øl states on it's beer "Snowball":
"Enough heavy dark obnoxious sweet super malty x-mas and winter beers. When you eat heavy duck with fat gravy, the last thing you want is another heavy sweet malt liquor!
NO! you want something that can help you sink the dinner, ease you stomach and cleanse your throat"
I've got to admit I agree with them. Quite often my plate is so crammed with food at Christmas time, that I'm struggling to fit any liquid down my gullet. As I've mentioned before, temperature plays a big part in "drinkability", and for me, I prefer a nice cold beer sliding down my throat as I'm eating my third helping of turkey, than a heavy porter. If we take turkey as an example, it's often served with lemon, or has been basted or stuffed with lemon. Think of some of the modern beers packed with fresh new world hops - citrus, grapefruit and pine. These flavours will absolutely sing with a lemon basted turkey.
Here are some of the beers which should be served chilled at the table, and will provide a nice refreshing zing with your turkey:
To Øl Snowball.
A hopped Saison style beer. Nicely carbonated, it's almost like a sparkling wine. Refreshingly hoppy.
Mikkeller Hoppy Lovin Christmas.
An IPA made with ginger and pine needles. Really refreshing, with a great ginger bite towards the end.
Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale.
Not a Christmas beer as such, but contains cloves, cardomon, cinnamon and other "Xmas" spices.
Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted.
Again, not a Christmas beer, but it's got so much lemon zest, that it just works so well with white meat and fish.
And now we come to fruit. As I mentioned, a good cherry lambic will provide a little acidity to cut through the fat of a goose, turkey or piece of pork, as well as giving a bit of sweetness which goes nice with the meat. If you are going to serve some sort of sauce - like a cherry compote, or some cowberry jam, why not stir a little fruit beer into it just before serving? A glass of cherry beer with goose, chicken, turkey, duck and even pork is a real treat. You'll find that even those who say they don't like beer, will be totally amazed at what they are drinking. I'm willing to bet money that even Granny will love a Belgian fruit beer!
Ok, here's my recommendations:
Kasteel Rouge.
The old favourite. I have yet to find someone who doesn't like it. Hate beer? It's my trump card. Loves duck.
Lindemans kriek.
Takes the cherry up a notch. Expensive, but worth it. Expensive because it contains so much fruit.
Baltic Frontier.
Made with sea buckthorn. Super bitter, but this and some fatty meat are a match in heaven. Great paired with lamb.
So there you have it. And as I always say - if it doesn't work, sit back and decide why it didn't and try something else. That's the great thing about beer - there is ALWAYS a beer out there that will go with your food. Christmas time is an occasion to relax and let things come to you - maybe you'll just happen to stumble across a beer which you find a total favourite, and you'll make some food that goes with the beer, not the other way around :)
A big Happy hoppy Christmas from me, and a big thank you for all that read this blog!
Have a good one!
James
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