CT Column 22/12/2010 : Christmas beer

LAST December I wrote a column on what I would be drinking and eating on Christmas Day. That column obviously captured the imagination of the drinking public as many people approached my family wanting to know if we really eat and drink that well at Christmas: we do.
This Christmas Sarah and myself will start the day with a Haslett-Moore family tradition, salmon, hollandaise and croissants accompanied by a glass of 3 Mont Bier de Flandres , a golden spritzy malt accented ale from the north of France. 3 Mont has a hint of earthy tangy cellar character and a high level of carbonation, which helps it cut the richness of the salmon perfectly.
At midday we will break out the Christmas mince pies and cream with a champagne flute of Three Boys Wild Plum. Wild Plum is a very individualistic fruit beer that uses wild plums from the Three Boys family farm in North Otago to create striking aromas and flavours of tart stone fruit and a prune note. With the mince pies Wild Plum taste dry and even more fruity with the prune character adding complexity to the fruit mince.
Late afternoon our families will arrive and the barbeque will be fired up. On the menu will be a boned out lamb leg marinated in cumin, coriander, paprika and peach and habanero sauce accompanied by a glass of the classic dry spicy Saison from Dupont, Paua fritters packed with garlic and coriander with a touch of chilli with the extravagantly hopped aromatic 8 Wired Tall Poppy, a garden herb marinated split chicken with the fruity hoppy rounded Emerson’s JP2010, and porterhouse steaks rubbed down in Richard Emerson’s own spicy beef rub accompanied by a glass of Yeastie Boys His Majesty 2010.
Then if we have any room left it will be time for a slice of Christmas cake with a nip of Fullers Vintage Ale 2009 a beer that absolutely bursts with marmelady orange fruit and rich fortified malt flavours.
After all that I think it will most definitely be time for a cup of tea!
Cheers, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!