Beers for Jewish Holiday Feasts

Beers for Jewish Holiday Feasts

by Marty Nachel,

APPETIZER COURSE · MAIN COURSE · DESSERT COURSE

APPETIZER COURSE
First-course items on a Jewish-holiday menu can vary from borscht to blintzes to gefilte fish, so advising pairings is a bit of a challenge. A warm cheese blintz, for instance, could be paired with a well-balanced European pale lager, while a tangy borscht might be best matched by a citrusy pale ale from the American Northwest. Gefilte fish — depending on its degree of "fishy" taste — would be best partnered by a more complex beer, something malty and mouth-coating like a British Special Bitter, or a mild brown ale. Chopped liver (or any dish based on organ meats) should be served with dark, strong-tasting lagers along the lines of Schwarzbier or Doppelbock.

MAIN COURSE
Lighter entrees such as roast chicken or other poultry are easily paired with pale lager beers, while beef dishes call for richer, more complex brews. Roasts should be accompanied by brisk, hoppy pale ales, while broiled (or barbecued) steaks fair better with porters and stouts. Lamb, due to its more pronounced sweet and almost gamy flavor, requires a beer with more malt and depth: Altbier ("old beer") and pale bock beers are well suited to it.

Foods fried in oil, such as latkes or fritters, or even deep-fried pastries dipped in honey, need the richness of a malty beer that can stand up to their flavors and textures. Maltiness is desired here, but bitterness is not, so avoid well-hopped beers and dark ales in general. Seek instead gold to amber colored lagers: Munich Helles and Märzen-style beers are good matches.

DESSERT COURSE
With cookies or pastries, such as warmly spiced hamantaschen and fruit-filled rugalach, few beers would be as successful as those that fall under the mantle of "winter warmers" or "yule ales." Despite brand names that are readily associated with Christmas, these beers are more broadly produced for the winter season itself. As the weather begins to cool, brewers often produce a limited-run beer that is typically richer and maltier than the average year 'round beer, and usually slightly higher in alcohol content. While some of these seasonal brews may be made with additional flavorings such as fruit or spices, the vast majority of them are simply a more complex once-a-year "special reserve" beer. Be sure and reserve some for dessert.

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