Beer Pairing with Winter Food

Well, last night was definitely a sign that winter is well on its way in Victoria. While there were some hints of sunshine throughout the day, there was also a lot of pouring rain and wind, which led to the decision to make a form of comfort food: sausage cassoulet.
For those who aren't familiar with cassoulet, Larousse Gastronomique says that it is 'essentially a bean stew of the Languedoc region in France with the addition of pork, and/or mutton, goose and duck'. The one that I prepared came from the Jamie Oliver website, and was a quick version of the classic. http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/meat-recipes/quick-time-sausage-cassoulet
As usual, there was enough to feed an army, but luckily others just happened to stop by in time to help eat the dinner. Most came bearing beer in hand, so there ended up being an interesting selection of beer from all around the world.
There was the Traquair Jacobite- a potent spiced ale from an ancient recipe-, Innis & Gunn oak aged, Rogue Brewing's Double Dead Guy, a Strong Ale; Lost Coast's Great White wheat beer; Driftwood Brewery's Farmhand Ale (Victoria's newest brewery, with Jason Meyer and Kevin Hearsum - last with Lighthouse Brewing- at the helm); Pike Brewing's Tandem Double Ale and Phillips' Surly Blonde Belgian style ale.

There were two types of sausage in the cassoulet- a spicy Italian style and a Portuguese Chorizo which we assumed would go well with the hoppier or sweeter beers in the assortment.
Turns out that Phillips' Surly Blonde (http://phillipsbeer.com/) and the Driftwood Farmhand (http://driftwoodbeer.com/) were the two best matches with the cassoulet. Each of the beer has a certain sweetness that helped to tame the fire of the spicy Italian but also brought out a bit more of the Chorizo flavour, while still pairing well with the beans and sauce.

The next best beer with the cassoulet was the Traquair Jacobite(http://www.traquair.co.uk/brewery.html)- its molasses and spice went exceptionally well with the spice in the sausages and the savory bean stew. The Pike Tandem Double Ale(http://www.pikebrewing.com/) was also a good choice, as its initial sweetness matched the savory richness of the beans, while its hoppy finish helped to cleanse the palate for the next bite.

The Lost Coast Great White wheat beer (http://www.lostcoast.com/) was a surprisingly good choice as well- the hits of coriander and orange peel were a nice foil for the spice, and the refreshing qualities of the beer were perfect for cleansing the palate.
Equally refreshing was the Rogue Double Dead Guy(http://www.rogue.com/)- although this beer is so hoppy it was a complete contrast to the stew.
The only beer that didn't pair super well was the Innis & Gunn oak aged beer, but this was mainly because there were so many flavours in the stew that the gorgeous sweetness and scotch- like finish were kind of lost, so rather than waste this delicious beer, we just drank it after dinner.
With this impromptu beer and food pairing going so well, I can hope for more chilly winter weather to try some different combinations.