What Brew is Best for the Bird? CWU’s Craft Brew Expert Shares His Views

Thanksgiving dinner, with all of its rich and complex flavors, can be difficult to pair with beverages. Steve Wagner, biology professor and director of CWU’s unique craft brewing program, has a few tips to help you find the best — and mostly local—brew for your turkey day.

“A good, simple choice would be an American pale ale,” said Wagner. “Its crisp fruity and flavor flavor profile doesn’t conflict with the complex flavors of the typical Thanksgiving spread. It enhances the sweet and savory flavors of the feast.” His recommendations include Bale Breaker Field 41 Pale Ale, Engine House No. 9’s Don of Time, and Hilliard’s 12th Can Pale Ale.

For those who like a darker, more malty, sweet beer, Wagner recommends a Deschutes Brewery Jubelale—“it’s not as dark as a porter but it is chewy with raisin, dried plum, and toffee notes ”—and won’t fill you up like a heavier beer. He also recommends Yakima Craft 1982 Amber Ale and Dru Bru Schwarzbier.

For a brew that will take you through desert, Wagner suggests a Ninkasi’s Sleigh’r Dark Double Alt Ale or Iron Horse Brewery’s Cozy Sweater will pair nicely with pumpkin pie. “But if you want something different for desert,” he notes, “you might try a sour beer such as pFriem’s Frambozen (Raspberry) Lambic-style Ale or Double Mountain’s Tahoma (Rainier) Kriek Lambic-style Ale.”

“Of course, these are just suggestions,” he added. “The important thing is that you enjoy it.”

And if it matters to you, a great craft beer can add up to 250 calories per pint to the feast. But considering that one average slice of pumpkin pie is close to 350 calories, sans whipped cream, a tasty brew won’t be a dietary dealbreaker.

CWU offers the only craft brewing baccalaureate program in the United States. The Craft Brewing degree is built upon a strong foundation in science and is focused on providing students with content, experience, and skills in brewing science, analytical laboratory techniques, quality assurance, and management. Additionally, courses incorporate hands-on and inquiry based learning opportunities through case studies, pilot brewing, field trips, industry speakers, and research activities. The program prepares graduates for a career in the brewing production, quality assurance, brewery management, beer merchandising, distribution, brewing technology, packaging, safety, sanitation, sensory evaluation, and entrepreneurship. For more information, go to www.cwu.edu/sciences/craft-brewing

Media Contact: Valerie Chapman-Stockwell, Public Affairs, 509-963-1518, valeriec@cwu.edu
November 23, 2016