Thanksgiving has to be one of my favorite holidays.  Just think: A long weekend of great food, beers and good times.  In my family we make Thanksgiving weekend into a four day food orgy.  We all converge to Sun River, just outside Bend in the High Dessert of Oregon.  We create, share, teach and commune together in the kitchen and at the table.  Each breakfast, lunch and dinner become extravagant combinations of flavors and textures.  Then of course there is the big meal, the feast.

The day after Thanksgiving, we converge on the local breweries and find a smile on all our lips with the fresh nectar off the taps. 

Here a few Thanksgiving related beer recipe suggestions for the big day.  Enjoy.
Thanksgiving Beer Menu Suggestions
Roasted Root Vegetable Soup
Parsnips, Rutabaga and Imperial Red Ale


Thai Inspired Pumpkin Coconut Holiday Ale Soup
Served with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds and a Holiday Ale Foam


Beer Brined Free Range Chicken
Brined with Hefeweisen, Lemon, Garlic and Bay Leaves


Beer Brined Free Range Turkey
Brined with Oktoberfest, Lemon and Bay Leaves


Duck Porcini Stuffing
Braised in Belgian Dubbel with Artisanal Bread and Herbs


Roasted Garlic IPA Mashed Potatoes
The combination of homemade stock, earthy wild mushrooms and the malt backbone of a Doppelbock lager
work together in harmony.  Drink by its self in a shot glass or add any turkey or spoonful of mash potatoes.


Potato Celery Root Purée
Similar to the classic mash potato, yet in a whole new dimension


Doppelbock Wild Mushroom Gravy
I have to make this every year or I think my family would disown me


Cranberry Wit Sauce
Cranberries, Orange Peel, Coriander and Wit Sauce


Fall Spiced Cream Soda
Think cream soda meets your morning chai with a touch of Autumn
From last year’s Beeradvocate November issue article, “Give that Turkey a Brew”, are some more recipes that include:  Beer Injected Turkey, Vienna Lager Wild Mushroom Gravy, Pumpkin Barley Risotto and a Holiday Ale Cheesecake with Barley Malt Crust.
And at your local news stand, this month’s issue of Beeradvocate, Volume II Issue X, has recipes that include a Turducken, Pork and Caramelized Leek Stuffing, Purple Rice and Dried Cherry Stuffing, Ciabatta Stuffing With Mixed Fresh Herbs and Deschutes ESB, Cranberry Reserve Chutney and a Pumpkin Imperial Stout Tiramisu.

For the how to make a turducken pictorial, please visit the anatomy of a bird page.
For a printable Thanksgiving Menu, click here.
For more Holiday meal and treat suggestions, ckeck out Beer Inspired Holiday Menu