HopHeadSaid
  • Blog
  • pintsandpairings
  • ABOS

5 Holiday goodie Beer Pairings

12/23/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Sing with me! 

Do you smell what I smell? .. 

Below you will find 5 new ways to enjoy those holiday goodies . . . with beer, of course. 

If you have a favorite goodie beer pairing share it with us in the comments below.

Click here for more holiday beer pairing entries.


Sugar Cookies

 Finally, an alternative to dipping your cookies in milk!
Picture
Sugar cookies are a Christmas favorite in many homes and mine don't look anywhere near as good as these beautiful Cooking Classy cookies.
Picture
This holiday porter from Bison Brewing is full of, wait for it . .. ... ginger... and a whole bunch of other holiday spices.  This is what makes it a great pairing for sugar cookies.  All of those spices will complement the cookie creating a taste experience with a sum greater than its parts.  

Figgy Pudding

Yep, I'm talking about the popular English Christmas dessert and one of the only verses a group of second graders can sing together, in time... Figgy Pudding. 
Picture
If you do a web search you will find many examples of figgy pudding. It seems, you can put just about anything in a figgy pudding and prepare it anyway you like.  The link above will take you to a recipe and give you a historical perspective from which to enjoy this dessert.

Perhaps you'd like some Piggy pudding...
Picture
Samuel Adams Holiday Porter is the perfect pairing for this rich dessert.  The roasty notes in the porter will resonate with the caramel/burnt notes (from the flambe' or baking or frying) in the pudding.  The spices used in brewing will also resonate with the spices used in the pudding. 

Fruit Cake

You know, that 5 pound loafy-cake thing full of nuts and dried fruit that sits alone, on the counter, for several months, just begging to be put out of its rejected misery.  
Picture
I won't go on and on about the bad fruit cake especially since I found this tasty looking one at Simply Gourmet.  This cake is full of the spices and just a little bit of booze!  

However, if you aren't the baking type may I suggest the best commercial fruit cake I have ever had.  Hawaiian Happy Cakes are rich, flavorful and moist. All good things right?
Picture
Picture
Wassail's caramel notes will resonate with the candied fruit and dark dried fruit (and molasses if used) found in the fruit cakes. Wassail's pleasant alcohol warmth will resonate with the brandy (used in the recipe from Simply Gourmet) and the crisp hop character will help cleanse the palate after each bite.

Lebkuchen

Part gingerbread cookie, part cake, sometimes with jelly and coated with dark chocolate; lebkuchen is always good. 
Picture
My favorite variety of lebkuchen is the one coated in a thin layer of dark chocolate with just a touch of dark fruit jelly hidden inside. 
Picture
My favorite beer pairing for lebkuchen, especially the ones with the little spot of jelly, is a nice strong dark Belgian beer like Delirium Noel.  

The dark fruit flavors (fig/raisin) will resonate with jelly filling while the sweet malt flavors will resonate with the cookie.  Last, but certainly not least, the yeast spices resonate perfectly with the ginger spicing in then cookie
Picture
If Belgian Christmas beers aren't your thang, then here is an alternative that rivals any lebkuchen beer pairing.  Narwhal from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company is thick, rich with wonderful roasty notes that complement the lebkuchen so well the only way you can tell which is which is you actually have to chew the beer!-)

Tea Cakes

These bite-sized balls of cookie dough are baked and rolled in powder sugar are,by far, my favorite holiday cookie. They are so simple and delicious that they trump sugar cookies, IMHO.
Picture
In my house these tasty little morsels are called Russian Tea Cakes and they are perfect holiday beer munchies!  The recipe above the illustrated version of my family recipe, so you know it's good!  

Below, is a beautiful picture of the tea cakes in real life.  Click the picture to visit Zoe Bakes.
Picture
Picture
Ok, this pairing isn't fair to anyone who doesn't live within an hour radius from Wolf Creek Brewing Company, but that doesn't mean this pairing isn't killer.  Go get yourself a growler of Winter Wonderland, come home and enjoy a pint while you make the tea cakes, then enjoy another pint while you mow down some cookies. 

The spices used in brewing this beer complement the vanilla in the tea cakes very nicely while the sweet malt flavors resonate with the baked dough creating a tasty base layer.
Picture
This pairing featuring Deschutes' Jubelale is a little more inclusive and just as tasty -for all the same reasons as above.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    101 Beer Trail
    10 Things You Should Know
    14 Cannons
    Advent Calendar
    Advent Calendar Pairing
    Afc East
    Afc North
    Afc South
    Afc West
    Ahi
    American Light Lager
    American Pale Ale
    Anacapa Brewing Co
    Appetizer
    Artichoke
    Asain
    Asian
    Bad Beer
    Bass
    Beer
    Beer Bars
    Beer Bloggers
    Beer Blogging Friday
    Beer Colors
    Beer Gear
    Beer Pourn
    Beer Swatches
    Beer Trail
    Belgian Golden Strong
    Best In Fest
    Biere De Mars
    Bohemian Pilsner
    Bold City Brewery
    Book Review
    Books
    Booze
    Booze Beats Bitesc09b82b735
    Bread Pudding
    Breweriana
    Brewery Highlight
    Brooklyn Brewery
    Bud Light
    Burger
    Cake
    California Beer Festival
    Carrot Cake
    Casa Agria
    Casa Pacifica
    Cbf
    Chicago
    Chicken
    Chocolate
    Coasters
    Contest
    Cookies
    Coors Light
    Craftbeer.com
    Crostini
    Curry
    Deep Ellum Brewing Co.
    Dessert
    Distillery
    Dr. Seuss
    Duchesse De Bourgogne
    Ecards
    Egg Rolls
    Elysian
    Enegren
    Enigma
    Esb
    Festival
    Figueroa Mountain
    Firemans Brew
    Firestone Walker
    Five Threads Brewing Co
    Food And Brew Festival
    Football
    Four Points
    Framboise
    Fruit Cake
    Gift Guide
    Gifts
    Giveaway
    Great Divide
    Happy Hour
    Hefeweizen
    Holiday Beers
    Homebrew
    Hops&horrors
    Infection
    Infographic
    Institution Ale Co
    Interview
    Ipa
    Island Brewing
    Kickstarter
    Lab Brewing
    Ladyface
    Ladyface Ale Companie
    Leashless Brewing
    Limoncello
    Lindens
    Lists
    MadeWest
    Madewest Brewing Co
    Mai Bock
    Miller Lite
    Mission Street
    Movies
    My List
    Nfc East
    Nfc North
    Nfc South
    Nfc West
    Nfl
    Ninkasi
    Nonsense
    Ojai Valley Brewery
    Pairing
    Pale Ale
    Phestival Barrel House
    Pictures
    Pilsner
    Pintspairings
    Poll
    Porter
    Posters
    Press Release
    Print
    Radio
    Rail Ale Trail
    Ravioli
    Red Tandem Brewery
    Re:Find
    Review
    Russian Imperial Stout
    Saison
    Salmon
    Santa Barbra Brewing Co.
    Session IPA
    Snowflakes
    Spirits
    Stella Artois
    Stout
    Stouts
    Style Profile
    Style Survey
    Summit Brewing
    Sundowner Brewery
    Sun King Brewing Co.
    Superbowl
    Surf Brewing
    Sushi
    Tacos
    Tap
    Telegraph Brewing Co
    The Big Game
    Theme Song
    The Session
    Tom And Sandy
    Top 10
    Trader Joe's
    Trappist
    Tuna
    Twisted Oak Tavern
    Two Trees Brewing
    Unfiltered
    Vcbuzz
    Vc Reporter
    Ventura
    Ventura Limoncello
    Video
    Wandering Wino
    Westo Beer
    Wine
    Wolf Creek Brewery
    Yeti
    Yuengling
    Zombies

    Archives

    May 2018
    June 2017
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012

    RSS Feed

All Content © Curtis Taylor 2010-2020