Strong ale and haggis

This week’s match is a predictive one rather than one I’ve recently experienced as I’ve been invited to a Burn’s Night dinner tomorrow night by the quirky Brewdog brewery and don’t yet know what the outcome will be.

But my bet is that their beers will be a good match, a view endorsed by an experiment carried out by Scottish producer McSweens who explored a number of options with a group of drink writers.

Apparently Belgian beers fared best which doesn’t surprise me as they not only have the strength to deal with the powerfully gamey flavours of haggis but - unusually for beer - the acidity. Apparently the best pairings were Duvel, Brugge Tripel and Chimay Blue. Two dark beers, Orkney Dark Island and Skull Splitter, did well too.

Rose Murray Brown in the Scotsman yesterday recommended Innis & Gunn which I’ve also enjoyed with steak and game. And apparently Harviestoun has released a beer called Harviestoun Haggis Hunter which is available at branches of Wetherspoon’s, though at 4.3% ABV that’s quite a bit lighter.

I have a feeling that gueuze would also work well but maybe more so with haggis on its own rather than haggis with gravy. If you can contemplate haggis without gravy. Or contemplate gueuze for that matter.

Roast suckling pig and amber ale

I realise this is not the first time I’ve written about the virtues of roast pork and beer but it’s such a great match (and such an underrated one) that I keep on coming back to it. This time I came across it in a splendid northern French tavern called Le Bruegel in Bergues, the highlight of what was otherwise a rather cold, miserable journey on our way back to England last week.

In this part of France, which is known as the Pas-de-Calais, beer rather than wine is the drink of choice as it is just over the border in Belgium. The restaurants too, which are known as estaminets are much more like pubs than bistros. Le Breugel, which was festively decorated with flags, lines of washing and assorted agricultural implements also had a blazing log fire which made it very cheery and welcoming on a wet winter’s night. And the portions were huge. I mean HUGE!

My cochon de lait grillé (which you can see from the picture was enough for at least three people) was wonderfully sweet and fall-apart tender with crisp crackling and needed just the refreshing bite of a cellar-cool, malty Brasseur bière ambrée as they call it in this part of the world to clear the palate for the next mouthful.

Other good matches were a sourish blonde ale with a rich dish of braised chicory and the pungent local Maroilles cheese and a citrussy ‘blanche’ (witbier) with the local speciality pot’che vleesch, a selection of boiled meats that included rabbit, pork, chicken and veal in a flavoursome jelly - served Belgian-style with chips! (I’ve also had it as a terrine)

Good as the food was I can’t really recommend an extended stay in the area which is one of the least attractive, most industrial parts of France but as it’s a mere half hour from the Channel Tunnel it makes a good - and very inexpensive - stopover for any beer-lover. (There is also a shop called La Cave du Berguenard at 2, bis quai des maçons where you can buy 120 different French and Belgian beers)

Steak pie and strong ale

There’s a distinct nip in the air this week that makes makes me suddenly feel much less like eating summery food. Last night we went round to friends and shared some absolutely awesome steak pies they’d brought back from a butcher called Murray Mitchell in St Andrews in Scotland (they will send them by mail order in the UK apparently if you ring them on 01334 474465).

They’re incredibly plain (the pies, not our friends) - great chunks of beef, rich gravy and a crisp, flaky pastry made from lard rather than butter. (Classic heart-attack fodder, in other words but that's the Scots for you! I convince myself they're harmless as an occasional indulgence.)

We drank a bottle of Faugères, a hearty red wine from the Languedoc, with them which worked very well but I’ve also had them before with a good strong English ale such as Fuller’s ESB or Young’s Special London Ale which I think is probably the better match. Beer, gravy and pastry is always a sure-fire hit.

Chicken caesar salad and blonde ale

It’s so automatic to think of a wine match these days that one sometimes overlooks the fact that a beer will work just as well, if not better. So it is with that great restaurant favourite, chicken caesar salad.

On the face of it, chicken, lettuce, croutons and parmesan makes a pretty easy pairing but the dressing which typically contains garlic, anchovies and mustard has quite a kick. A blonde ale, particularly a Belgian blonde like Leffe or a northern French blonde ale, provides a touch of sweetness that complements the dressing perfectly. A strong golden ale like Duvel would also work well as would a golden lager like Schiehallion.

Winewise I find that Chardonnay makes the best match - unoaked or lightly oaked like Chablis, if the dressing is particularly piquant, oaked if the parmesan note is uppermost or the chicken is chargrilled.

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