Beer and Thanksgiving Dinner

Here's the requisite beer and turkey post I mentioned yesterday. I start thinking several weeks ago about what beer I should take to my parents house when we visited for Thanksgiving. I had a few requirements in mind. Since we would have a two hour drive home after dinner, I wanted something not too big in ABV. I wanted something in large, corked bottles since I'd be offering it as a replacement for wine and wanted similar impression at the table. Of course, it would have to go with the traditional Thanksgiving meal of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, etc.

I few weeks ago I watched this video tour of the Ommegang Brewery on the Brewing Network. When they discussed their various beers I made a note that the Ommegang Rare Vos seemed a likely candidate. Last week I saw an article on Beer Advocate suggesting beers for pairing with various Thanksgiving foods. One of the beers listed was the Rare Vos, so I took that as confirmation. I decided to bring a couple bottles of this beer when we visited, despite never having tried it.

The Ommegang Rare Vos didn't disappoint. My parents had some thistle glasses on the bar which I used to serve the beer. This Belgian-style Amber Ale pours a cloudy amber red with a nice foamy head that lingers for a long time. It has a very light bready and spice aroma. The beer had just enough spice in the taste to make it interesting, with a slightly sweet, caramel malt body and a light hop bite at the end. Mom and Dad both had a second glass which I took as a sign they enjoyed it. At 6.5% ABV it's quite drinkable. Overall a very easy drinking beer.

And there's more! I was able to bring a new beer home as well. A few weeks ago I sent my parents a link to an article about the Green Peppercorn Tripel being released in bottles by Brewer's Art in Baltimore. I asked them to keep an eye out in their local liquor stores. But they went one step further! They went to Brewer's Art and picked up three bottles for me. I'm looking forward to trying this beer in the future.

Overall, a pretty good beer and Thanksgiving day I'd say. :-)