# Best beer for Thanksgiving? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** beer\ **Created:** [November 21, 2007, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beer-for-thanksgiving/427335 "2007-11-21T17:21:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beer-for-thanksgiving/427335/21 "2007-11-21T22:39:27Z")
Sam Adams feels like the right answer to this question, but I base that on absolutely nothing. > [@Siam Sam](#): > > We don’t get a lot of your fancy beers over here, although the beer situation has improved exponentially over the years. It’s improved a lot here in the U.S., too. Or, at least it has in New York. Not that long ago all anyone sold was the usual swill (Coors, Miller, Bud, etc.), and there were only a relative handful of shops and bars that sold good beer. Tons more choices now. A typical grocery store today can be counted on to have what you could only hope to find at a specialty shop eight years ago. Even a rinky-dink deli on the corner may well have, say, Hoegaarden, for which I used to spend whole afternoons scouring lower Manhattan. What a time to be alive. . . ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beer-for-thanksgiving/427335/22 "2007-11-21T22:58:33Z")
Personally, while being a fan of hoppy beers, given the weather around here this time of year and the food I’m eating, I would definitely go for something malty. I think a nice doppelbock, like Spaten Optimator, would go very well. I don’t think you’d go wrong with a nice Belgian ale, either. In fact, the raisiny, clovey-spicy, and yeasty flavors of a good Belgian like a Rochefort #10 or, really, any of the Chimays would go well. Normal, I default to something like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Three Floyd’s Alpha King, or even Anchor Steam. But, for Thanksgiving dinner and turkey, I definitely say play up the malt and yeasty beers. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beer-for-thanksgiving/427335/23 "2007-11-22T01:03:01Z")
[QUOTE=VarlosZ] It’s improved a lot here in the U.S., too. Or, at least it has in New York. Not that long ago all anyone sold was the usual swill (Coors, Miller, Bud, etc.), and there were only a relative handful of shops and bars that sold good beer. Tons more choices now. [/QUOTE] I like Thai beer, but it’s nice to have something else for a change. Way back when, there were only two types of Thai beer and nothing else. I remember – get this – when they introduced Budweiser to Thailand about 12 years ago, and it was considered a premium beer and charged accordingly! Wealthy people would make a point of ordering Budweiser in public to show how international they were. Yuk! We even have a couple of good microbreweries now in Bangkok. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beer-for-thanksgiving/427335/24 "2007-11-22T01:29:42Z")
Homebrew. Prevents the “Itis”. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beer-for-thanksgiving/427335/25 "2007-11-22T04:57:11Z")
Happy to report that Negra Modelo is doing fine through the brisket cooking process, yet to be determined if it goes with the brisket consuming. Oh who am I kidding, it goes great with slabs o’ beef. I’ll run out by Friday at this pace, need to throttle back to no more than 2 bottles/hr to survive. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beer-for-thanksgiving/427335/26 "2007-11-22T06:14:03Z")
[QUOTE=Missy2U] So y’all are sayin’ that Old Style is right out then, right? [/QUOTE] It only ever tasted good to me once, and that’s after eight weeks of boot camp during which I was totally dry. I finally got to the enlisted club after graduation to have lunch with my folks, and the bar was out of almost every beer but this one, which I as a Pittsburgh native had never heard of. It’s fine when you’re 23 and haven’t had a drop in months. Otherwise, I’ll pass. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beer-for-thanksgiving/427335/27 "2007-11-22T06:22:57Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Moto] It only ever tasted good to me once, and that’s after eight weeks of boot camp during which I was totally dry. I finally got to the enlisted club after graduation to have lunch with my folks, and the bar was out of almost every beer but this one, which I as a Pittsburgh native had never heard of. It’s fine when you’re 23 and haven’t had a drop in months. Otherwise, I’ll pass. [/QUOTE] I’m a bit of a beer aficionado usually (better word than “snob,” as I don’t care what other people drink or serve me), but when it comes to cheap beers, I actually enjoy Old Style over Bud, Miller, or Coors. It’s my blend-in-with-my-neighborhood-blue-collar-beer of choice. There are many, many beers worse than Old Style. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beer-for-thanksgiving/427335/28 "2007-11-22T07:06:23Z")
Old Style and Pabst are the hipster beers - Keystone and Natty are the “whoooooooo! Get fucked up!!!” crowd beers. Not to say that the hipsters don’t get just as fucked up as the frat crowd, but they prefer their cheap beer to have a long and venerable history and can designs that have remained the same for decades. I think Old Style is pretty decent, actually, and I would be happy with just that for Thanksgiving. I’m not very picky about booze. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beer-for-thanksgiving/427335/29 "2007-11-22T23:26:00Z")
At the pub last night (Thursday night) after Thanksgiving dinner, I had the usual Kilkenny, but I also tried a Belgian brew they had: Brugge Tripel. It was okay, but I preferred the Kilkenny. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beer-for-thanksgiving/427335/30 "2007-11-22T23:43:50Z")
Stay away from Kennebunkport Pumpkin Ale. > [@anamnesis](#): > > It’s very tart and is probably the only Sam Adams variety besides their springtime White Ale that left me with a sour look on my face because they’re both so sweet and citrusy and not in a good way, so they weren’t very drinkable to me. Yeah, that’s lambic. It’s tart and citrusy. If you’re willing to deal with that, though, you can probably find much, much better lambics than the Sam Adams ones. Can’t recommend a specific brand, as I’ve only had homebrewed lambic. ---
**Author:** ![anamnesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@anamnesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anamnesis)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beer-for-thanksgiving/427335/31 "2007-11-23T01:53:11Z")
Totally agreed. I never did mention that I don’t even consider it a true lambic. It’s just “off”. There are much more authentic lambics that aren’t as sour. I kinda wondered what it might taste like mixed with Thanksgiving cranberry sauce though, hehe. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beer-for-thanksgiving/427335/32 "2007-11-23T01:59:46Z")
[QUOTE=anamnesis] Totally agreed. I never did mention that I don’t even consider it a true lambic. It’s just “off”. There are much more authentic lambics that aren’t as sour. [/QUOTE] Sam Adams lambic is actually pretty tame, in terms of sourness, compared with most Belgian lambics. Try an unflavored lambic like a gueuze/geuze. It tastes like carbonated alcoholic pickle juice. Once you get the unflavored lambic taste in your mouth, you notice the underlying sourness/stinkiness of fruit lambics. I think a Lindemann’s is much tarter than Sam Adams. Also, Old Style is a hipster beer now? Funny that. Around here, where Old Style is pretty much omnipresent in working class neighborhoods (I pretty much associate old-school Chicago taverns with an Old Style sign), it never really did catch on with the hipsters. Instead, PBR is the beer of choice for them. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2007, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beer-for-thanksgiving/427335/33 "2007-11-23T02:26:52Z")
I used to think of myself as a hipster, until I found out what kind of beer they drink (in this thread). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beer-for-thanksgiving/427335.md?page=1)