Seven Craft Beers Paired with Easter Brunch

, Seven Craft Beers Paired with Easter BrunchEaster is this Sunday and that means the Lord has risen, the eggs are dyed and hidden in a places where you won’t find them until three months from now, and that same stupid Cadbury Crème Egg commercial from the 80’s has been playing for last 3 months. 

Traditionally Easter brunch or dinner marks the end of lent which means indulging in fatty delicious food and sweets that were given up for 40 days.  For those of us who drink craft beer and follow lent, it may also mean lifting your one to two beers a day restriction and reverting back to your guzzle gut ways. 

ACB has suggestions that will help you merge your beer immoderation with Aunt Doris’s feast, as we explore Easter craft beer pairings.

The Appetizer: Deviled Eggs

Possibly the best appetizer in history of appetizers are Deviled Eggs (they even beat out King George III’s Spotted Dick with Kidney Pudding).  I could eat a whole meal of these tangy and creamy hard boiled delicatessens if I didn’t mind the paint peeling off my bedroom walls that night. The perfect craft to cut through this spiced rich yolk mixture is the hop-heavy aromatic West Coast IPA.  The more pine and citrus notes the better, so we recommend west coast favorites Coronado Brewing’s Islander IPA and Stone IPA.

First Course: Quiche

I never trust a word with more vowels than consonants in it, but since “quiche” is a 3-3 tie, I’ll allow it.  Plus it’s a delicious savory breakfast pie.  Quiche is like a mini Chicago deep dish pizza, but with egg instead of 18 pounds of mozzarella and no sauce on top of course.  The light and fluffy flavors in quiche pair best with the light citrusy Belgian yeast spice flavors of witbiers.  We recommend Eagle Rock Manifesto and Dogfish Head Namaste to sip on when you get your quiche on.

, Seven Craft Beers Paired with Easter BrunchSide Dish: Scalloped Potatoes

There are few foods that make you want to say “Hallelujah!” more than gobs of cheddar cheese slathered on top of sliced potatoes.  Those greasy sharp and salty starch wafers are perfect for making you feel like a glutton which is perfect for Easter (wait, is that right?).  Try pairing this smoked cheddar gooey goodness with a fine Brown Ale such as Golden Road’s Get Up Offa That Brown or Lost Coast’s Downtown Brown.

Main Dish: Ham

My mouth waters every time I think of a spiral cut honey-glazed golden and pink slab of pig leg.  Yummy yum oink oink yum, Easter would not be complete without ham.  Belgian yeast, which yields the sweet and spiced taste of banana and cloves, is a perfect coupling with the salty and tangy taste of ham.  You should grab for a wheat beer or a Belgium trippel when you indulge in your non-kosher chunk of meat.  We highly recommend Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat, or if you’re in the Los Angeles area, fill your growler of Trois Filles Tripel from Ladyface Ale Companie.

Main Dish: Lamb

There’s no better way to celebrate the raising of the Lamb of God from the dead than eating a dead lamb.  If you think this sounds sacrilegious, then you’re probably right, but there are people who eat a traditional lamb shank on Easter.  If you’re one of those people, then no worries because we have the perfect craft beer that will make you forget your blasphemous ways (we won’t judge because we drink copious amounts of craft beer day in and day out).  You can complement the rich and strong flavor of lamb with a stronger ales such as Mendocino’s Eye of the Hawk or Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale.

, Seven Craft Beers Paired with Easter BrunchPre-Dessert: Chocolates or Chocolate Bunnies

If you think chocolate is better than sex, then you’re probably doing it wrong (psssst, you put the chocolate in your mouth).  Beer pairings with chocolate isn’t anything new, so no need to waste anyone’s reading minutes with the same ol’ same ol’.  Since Chocolate is the reason kids love Easter (sorry Jesus), we have to give it a mention.  Stouts seem like they were made to be matched with chocolate so we recommend North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout, Founders Breakfast Stout, and El Segundo Brewing Standard Crude Imperial Stout.

Dessert: Carrot Cake

Rabbits like carrots, people like cake, the Easter Bunny is a giant man rabbit, so naturally carrot cake should be the official dessert of Easter.  Love it or hate it, the sweetness and spice of the moist delicate cake goes perfectly with a double IPA.  Try yours with Pliny the Elder (if you can find it) or The Dude’s Double Trunk DIPA.

If you’re ready to take your Easter meal to the next level, then try some or all of these pairings.  Aunt Doris may even include your beer suggestions in her annual tradition, only if everyone is still standing at the end of the day.

 

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