Match of the week

Haggis and Westmalle Dubbel

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on January 25 2010 at 14:05

If you’re going to or hosting a Burns’ Night dinner tonight and want to create a bit of a stir, crack open a bottle of Westmalle Dubbel, a classic Belgian Trappist ale that is still made by monks at the monastery of Westmalle. You could of course drink a Scottish beer - there are plenty of good ones - but haggis to my mind needs a bit of roundness, sweetness and strength, qualities you find more often in Belgian than British beers.

Haggis is quite gamey and also tends to be accompanied with a rich gravy that can knock lighter bitters and hoppy IPAs off their stride. The Westmalle Dubbel is a powerful 7%, rich and sweet. It would also be great with a beef stew or steak and onions and with cheese. (The monks make their own at the monastery but it also works well with those strong, stinky, difficult-to-match cheeses that are popular in Belgium and Northern France.)

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