Christmas Gets Earlier

Cast your mind back a couple of months. What did you drink on Christmas Day?

I've landed a commission to contribute to a book of Christmas food and drink which, all being well, will be flying off the shelves next December. No, I haven't been given the Terry's Chocolate Orange or Toblerone sections. Funnily enough, I've been given the beer entry.

I don't have a huge number of words to play with so I'm going to concentrate on beer/food matching for the classic festive comestibles.

My brother and I have been attempting to create sublime beer and food matches at Christmas for years. We've come up with a few principles to narrow down our own Christmas beer search e.g. golden ale or darkish lager, low to medium bitterness, to go with the turkey.

What are your Christmas beer/food guidelines? I'd like to see if my perceptions are are shared by other beerophiles, or whether I'm going to look like a turkey with my suggestions.

Might be worth keeping it simple, such as festive comestible / beer style / example such as roast turkey / golden ale / Swannay Orkney Blast.

Your wisdom is appreciated. Remind me to get you a pint next time I see you.

Last-minute Christmas Shopping

Festive Beer And Food Matching

Last Christmas my brother and I matched Orkney Blast by Swannay Brewery with our Christmas turkey. It was heaven. This golden ale with moderate bitterness and malty character partnered the roast avian and chipolatas with distinction. Brother and I grinned while sister-in-law, mother and step-father supped their indifferent plonk.

The great thing was, we hadn't planned the pairing. It has become a tradition for us to have multiple beer aperitifs on Christmas day by sampling a selection of beers we've picked up in the preceding weeks (we deserve it, up before dawn to put the sprouts on and slaving in slaving in a hot kitchen all morning). Orkney Blast made it to the table as it was the one that we opened just as everything was ready to serve.

This year we want to repeat the food matching triumph. Going for the same beer again, if we can find it, is much too obvious – what do you recommend?

Remember this in twelve months

On Christmas day, as brother and I slaved over a hot stove, we held a beer aperitif tasting session. It was largely selected at random from the various beers Steve had recently picked up from Rehill's (we know it as "Refills") of Jesmond, Newcastle.

Cutting a long story short, the beer that accompanied our turkey to the dinner table was "Orkney Blast" from the Swannay Brewery of Orkney. It achieved Christmas Day pole-position entirely by accident and, bloody hell, it matched perfectly.

A 6% strong golden ale with well-balanced  honeyed sweetness and low hop bitterness backed by gentle caramel malt, it matched the traditional Christmas turkey combo rather excellently. Had I been asked to recommend a beer style for Christmas turkey matching I might have been tempted to look for a Vienna or darker Czech lager or a bock. Accidently we stumbled across a beautiful match.

Let's hope we can get some next year and that we can wean family members off their Jacob's Creek!