Stop Worrying About Food Pairings & Just Drink a Damn Beer Already

We need to talk about craft beer, you guys. Because it's getting out of control. As an obligatory disclosure: I love craft beer. I write about it regularly as part of my job. I drink it regularly, too. I only just came to grips with this, but I've become a full-blown beer snob. I used to think there was a time and place for Lite beer – day drinking with buddies, bachelor parties, when water is scarce. Now, no: There's an IPA for that, too. Honestly, if your uncle hands you a Miller Lite  ... go for it.[/pullquote] You've read all the stats by now, the stuff about living in the Golden Age of beer. We're awash in breweries in 2016, more today than at any point in our history. Two are popping up every damn day across the U.S. of A. And each and every one of them is offering multiple styles, all vying for your love and affection. That'll be $22 for a 4-pack, thank you. But all this has come at a cost. With the proliferation of great beer has come a heightened expectation in finding the perfect beer for every occasion. Google "Thanksgiving beers" and you'll get a sense of what I'm talking about here. Will Gordon, a Cambridge-based beer and food writer, puts it thus: Therefore, I really must insist that each of you drink each of these eight beers on Thursday — even the ones that aren’t distributed in your state; even the one that isn’t a beer. It’s a tall order, but it’s the sort of unity we’re going to need to pull through this year. Gordon is great. But on this point, allow me to offer some contrarian advice. During the holidays, allow yourself to focus less on the "perfect" beer for that green bean casserole and more on beers you like. Maybe try some you haven't had before. Perhaps venture off the couch to that brewery in your hometown you've been saying you'll visit for the last five years. It's a mile down the street, dude. My point: Who really gives a shit if your Vienna Lager perfectly complements the sweet potatoes and ham? The holidays are "a time to be with your family and friends, and talk over a good meal," Drink Craft Beer's Jeff Wharton tells me, "not a time to worry too much about getting JUST the right beer. Yeah, definitely have some good stuff to drink. But don't let that be the driver of your holiday season." Wharton, mind you, is at the helm of some of Boston's best craft beer events, including the upcoming Boston Beer & Cheese Fest, which focuses squarely on pairing the one with the other. There's a time and a place for this, no question."We're big proponents of the idea that the right beer and the right food together create an experience that's better than either alone," he says. "But that said, even we feel that there are a lot of times where the right beer is the one in your hand, facilitating conversation and enjoyment. And the holidays is DEFINITELY one of those times." There really is no such thing as the perfect beer, anyway. A beer my friends covet might taste like dishwater to me. I've seen people spit out tastes of IPAs that hundreds of people might wait in line for hours for. There's too much great beer in the world right now to fixate on the chosen few. Even if a Night Shift Pfaffenheck might elevate your turkey pie to a transcendent experience. "This is a time to be social, and beer should be a vehicle to help, not inhibit that," Wharton says. "And, honestly, if your uncle hands you a Miller Lite while all the family is gathered around, go for it. Some of the best times I've had came in similar situations, and they would've been totally missed if I'd ruined the moment to awkwardly walk off, interrupt the flow, and get a different beer." Fine. I'll allow it.