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.