Chicagoist's Beer Of The Week: Off Color's Le Predateur

By Jason Baldacci in Food on Nov 28, 2014 8:30PM

This week we're taking a look at a beer that would have gone wonderfully with Thanksgiving dinner yesterday, but will be just as great with your leftovers in the days to come.

Le Predateur is a Farmhouse Ale from the folks at Off Color Brewing that was made with French malts, French Saison yeast and Nelson Sauvin hops that were sourced from down under. It pours a pale gold color in the glass, and we pick up prevalent aromas of lemon zest from the hops on the nose. On the palate, the smooth clean malts take center stage, lending a hint of malty sweetness and biscuits up front and a creamy mouthfeel that rides strong through the finish. That initial sweetness dissipates and we get a wonderful note of tangy spice from the yeast on the mid-palate, and those lemony hops that kick on the backend to linger on the finish. At 6.5% alcohol content, Le Predateur is a great take on a French Farmhouse Ale and a wonderful spin on Off Color's year-round Apex Predator that we're also fond of.

If you do have Thanksgiving leftovers, you would truly be doing yourself a huge favor by picking up a four-pack of Le Predateur this weekend. The pale malts and creamy mouthfeel won't overpower the turkey, but the beer has enough acidity to stand up to gravy or the hefty amount of butter that's (hopefully) in your mashed potatoes. Those lemony hops will play very well with cranberries and the spicy yeast will probably just laugh at your green bean casserole or take your stuffing straight to the bank. It's rare that a beer will pair with so many different things on the same plate, but Le Predateur is complex enough to do so. The fact that it does this while only being 6.5% alcohol content is just whipped cream on your pumpkin pie.

Le Predateur is mostly available in 12 oz bottles, check beermenus.com to see where you can pick some up in your neighborhood.