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The Brew Guru isn’t really into beer-food pairings. As long as there’s beer, he’s happy; the food is just gravy. But the general lack of tradition of beer being an integral part of the Thanksgiving meal is mystifying. It’s a feast, right? A celebration of bounty, of plenty, of abundance? So how can you have that without a great beer? Not just the really good beer you have in your fridge 300 days of the year, but a great beer for special occasions – a once-a-year beer. So this year, join The Brew Guru in declaring beer – preferably a fall/winter brew and preferably brewed in Wisconsin – as essential to Thanksgiving as turkey.
This week’s brew: Fireside Nut Brown
Style: Brown ale
Brewed by: Leinenkugel Brewing Co., Chippewa Falls.
Availability: This Leinie has taken over the winter seasonal slot that opened when Creamy Dark moved to year-round production. Officially, it’s only offered in November and December.
Taste: The first sip of Fireside ignited an instant deja vu back to winter 2006 and Miller’s limited-release chocolate lager. That beer was spiked with actual chocolate; here the effect presumably comes from the two-row malt. Caramel, hazelnut and maple notes combine with the chocolate to make this a brownie of a beer, but it’s a complexity that’s somewhat suspicious. As with other new Leinie’s brews the last few years, Fireside bears “Beer with natural flavor” on the label. This is uncommon on beer labels, so either Leinie’s is cheating at brewing or is overly honest. Either way, serve Fireside above typical fridge temperature to let that cornucopia of flavor breathe.
Backwash: The nut brown is probably a bummer of a style to brew: It’s easy to mess up, and even when you nail it, it’s ... still just a nut brown, unobjectionable and interesting but never transcendent the way a great weizen, stout or pale can be. That said, you can hoist worse beers over your gravy-covered plate this Thanksgiving.
2 mugs (out of four)
It’s 10:30. You’ve been at the bar for about two hours, and the ballgame or darts or whatever is great. You’re staying. Maybe for a while. But that stupid salad you had at 6 seems really far away. You’re hungry, and you’re heading for the promised land, the place where the possibilities are so many and so good that they must be bundled in sampler baskets. The appetizer menu – all the bounties of the modern food service industry, all deep fried.
But wait, prospector! Not all is as it seems. Is a cheese curd really better battered and fried? OK, yes, it is, but is it really a cheese curd in the first place, or a rubbery cube of cheap cheddar? That salsa, a perfect garnish for the stale chips, will let you down as sure as the Milwaukee Brewers. Mini tacos are not as good as big ones.
No, it’s time to go to the app menu’s No. 1 draft choice: the Buffalo wing. It’s not without its risks – a bad wing is cold, greasy and bland, masked in flavorless burn. But a good one is a harmonic nexus of tangy, savory and heat that can make a good night transcendent. It’s a delicate alchemy, which makes it cosmically correct that so many wings are washed down with beer – when done well, an exercise in balance in its own right.
This week’s brew: Bison Blonde.
Style: Blonde lager.
Brewed by: Buffalo Water Beer Co., found at the corner of Buffalo and Water streets, Milwaukee.
Availability: The Brew Guru got his in bottles at Woodman's. It's on tap at the source and at other Milwaukee establishments.
Taste: This is a blonde its crafters say was inspired by and is best washing down a spicy chicken wing, so imagine the kind of beer you’d most like paired with a Buffalo wing. Light body? Check. Mild hop? Check. Light carbonation? Check. Buffalo Water founder Craig Peterson refers to “poundability,” in all capital letters, in the packaging and Web notes for Bison Blonde, and that’s definitely what he’s got. The flavor hits the mark but comes across as secondary to its other characteristics.
Backwash: The Brew Guru must admit he snickered at the first glimpse of this six-pack. If you’re not familiar with the brewery’s geographic origins, “Buffalo Water Bison Blonde” might evoke a Rust Belt city’s tap water or a bladderful from a big, sweaty animal – neither of which seems like a good idea in a pint glass. But after some due diligence and a few Buffalo wings, this beer delivers – crisp, tasty and, yes, poundable. Hot wings optional.
3½ mugs (out of four)
This week’s brew: Fireside Nut Brown
