Tis the season to get feasting, relaxing that gastric band and getting the bathroom scales out of sight. So with plenty on the menu this holiday season, what better time to try your hand at food pairing or even introducing a family member or ten to the wonders of craft beer.

Craft beer is incredibly social and the opportunity for discussion, debate and discovery is maximised when it’s paired with some carefully considered grub.

So, with less than a week to go until domestic chaos breaks out in homes up and down the country, we thought we’d lend a hand and try and restore some order and beery goodness to accompany you throughout the day.

12.30pm: Guests arrive

Tacky Christmas sweater on? Check. Granny plumbed into a bottle of sherry? Check. Preventative measures in place to ensure dog doesn’t have access to turkey? Check. Cue the doorbell. While champagne cocktails or a glass of wine might be par for the course when your guests arrive, why not mix things up by offering a selection of craft beers served in 1/3 pint measures instead? An ideal ice breaker in a size that won’t overwhelm the faint hearted but also allows craft beer converts to sample more than one, pick out 4 or 5 varieties to ensure there’s something to wet everyone’s whistle. 

1.30pm: Lunch ensues

And now for the scary bit –trying to feign nonchalance instead of surprise at your own culinary expertise or attempting to decode your relatives’ already questionable body language as to whether they’ve sussed you microwaved the whole thing.  Fear not, however, as this is where your beer pairing skills can take centre stage. For those planning to dine on traditional fayre – such as turkey or goose– consider a pairing with 5am Saint. This iconoclastic amber ale is a notoriously smooth beer whose uber hoppy aftertaste is a great way of livening up a roast bird.

For those of who’ll be munching on richer meats like lamb, pheasant or venison, opt for something super bitter like Hardcore IPA  to refresh the palette between mouthfuls.

And, of course, there’s also the fresh fruitiness of Trashy Blonde which will compliment any dreaded vegetarian options you’ve had to concoct.

3pm: Queen’s Speech

From dining room to living room, time to get yourself seated for her Maj’s Xmas drone-fest. Given the last time you gave the royals much attention was probably during the Kate and Will’s wedding frenzy, there isn’t a more apt time than to raise a glass of Royal Virility. Brewed with chocolate, horny goat weed and a healthy dose of sarcasm, this beer is the perfect ‘perk me up’ should your Christmas day have already begun to flag. Oh, and should you be amongst the lucky few to have snagged yourself a bottle, we think Christmas is a suitably special occasion to crack it open…maybe best to avoid sharing it with any weird uncles though, it’s still early doors.

BrewDog will be posting an 'Alternative Queen's Speech' reviewing 2012 on our website at 3pm on the 25th of December.

5pm: Presents opened

Queen’s speech done and dinner digesting, things can only get better right? Wrong. It’s present opening time, hoo-freaking-ray. A veritable minefield of unwanted gifts, horrified cries of ‘You think my size is Extra Large?’ and tantrums (and that’s just from granny now that the sherry’s run dry); there’s got to be some way to get through this blackest of hours. Thankfully there is and it’s called The End of History. In fact, the End of History provides a two pronged attack - the first allows you to sup on one of the World’s Strongest beers whilst musing on Western Democracy. The second distracts your family from their gifts by a beer that’s poured from the mouth of a squirrel. Susan the stoat also makes a very fetching tree topper if we do say so.

7pm: Left overs, desserts and cheese boards

You may have gorged yourself on enough turkey to feed a family of four a mere six hours ago, but this is Christmas and Christmas isn’t over until indigestion kicks in. 7pm is the perfect time for left overs, sweets and cheese boards to put in an appearance and naturally there’s a raft of craft beers that are well suited accompaniments.

For fans of desserts, ramp up the sweetness scale with a glass of Sink the Bismark!, our Christmas Porter or Tokyo which all work well with dark chocolate, syrups, white chocolate, mint or basically puddings of any kind.

For those who prefer to add to Christmas’ inherent cheesiness with a cheese board why not try the likes of Alice Porter with soft, creamy varieties, 77 lager with super mild, crumbly cheddars or even Punk IPA with some slightly more specialist varieties like cambozla or other slightly stinky blue cheeses.

So there you have it. A very BrewDog Christmas paired with a selection of our finest craft beers.

How are you intending on spending your Christmas? We want to know!

Oh, and Merry Christmas from everyone at BrewDog.

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