January 2021 is here. Finally.

A time-honored tradition among many craft-beer drinkers every January is Dryanuary or, a month without alcohol. But this January, craft breweries need our help more than ever. And, let’s face it, we all need a beer more than ever. So what’s a good compromise between cutting out drinking altogether for a month and giving craft breweries our support? Let’s go with drinking more low-ABV beers. If you indulged in a lot of high-ABV beers over the holidays like we did, it’s time to cleanse the palate anyway.

Indianapolis’ Central State Brewing (now brewing as The Koelschip) has the perfect solution: an elegant yet rustic Farmhouse Blonde Ale called simply Table. Coming in at 4% ABV, Table is a Brett-fermented rustic blonde ale brewed in the style of French and Belgian table beers. Historically, a table beer was literally a beer that everyone at the table would drink, even down to the wee ones. It would have been very lightly fermented and only around 1% ABV. While the ABV has climbed a bit in modern times and we don’t recommend serving it to the wee ones, table beers are still meant to be a low-ABV palate cleanser.

 

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Central State’s Table goes well with lighter meals such as seafood, poultry or fruit and cheese dishes. While light in body, Table has a surprising complexity. Fermented with Brett, it has a rustic drying tartness that slides down easily. Bits of spicy rye intermingle with a slight lemony flavor that closes off with notes of earthy bread. The hops are there but mostly play a supporting role. Bitterness is slight, and there really isn’t any hoppy aroma, as is expected for a table beer. The Brett influence is slight. Don’t expect any strong barnyard or sour flavors. While table beers can be anywhere from lightly carbonated to flat, Table keeps a nice pillowy head in the glass. It’s not overly carbonated by any means, but it does have a pleasant soft fizz.

Enjoy it at the dinner table or during a relaxing chill-out evening on the patio.

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