Originally, I wanted to try four classic styles of beer to get a real benchmark of sausage and beer matching, but after visiting my local beer merchant - the unpredictable but always interesting Kris Wines in Camden - I ended up with something completely different.
The ‘classic lambic’ box was instantly ticked by the excellent Cantillon Gueuze 100% Lambic Bio, although my plans for an English amber ale went a little skew-wiff as I ended up selecting instead Brew Dog's 5am Saint, their new-world hop infused version of a classic amber ale (i.e. not classic at all).
The American IPA I’d anticipated buying had to wait for another day in the face of couple of bottles of Belgium's stonkingly good – and very limited – De Struise Brouwers Ignis & Flamma IPA. By that point I had gone completely off-piste, and while Kris Wines had no rauchbier, they did have Flying Dog's Dog Schwarz, a smoked 'double lager' – not too far off I thought.
So that was the beer sorted – now for the sausages: Gloucester Old Spot pork and sage, free range pork and onion marmalade, and veal pork and fennel. As with the beer, choosing these was by no means an exact science – they just looked the best at the counter. I served them with garlic and parsley mash. spring greens, red onion gravy and apple crisps (well if you’re going to do it, you've got to do it properly). And so on to the tasting…
Cantillon 100% Geuze (5%)
Disappointingly, the beer’s tart apple flavours that I thought would nestle up nicely to the sweet sausages really battled with the caramel flavours they’d taken on during frying. It was quite nice with the only lightly herbed 'old spot' sausages, but on the whole the sourness was overpowering, and exacerbated rather than tempered the fat. I do think it's definitely worth trying lambic beers with other pork preparations though – perhaps sweet and sour pork, or chops.
Brew Dog 5am Saint (5%)
The fruity new-world hops really want to get amongst the sausages’ sweetness, but there is something about the spiky hops that doesn't quite gel. However the fruit and caramel notes from the slightly roasted malt goes very well with the sausages - matching so well it almost cancels itself out. A good all-rounder, but the very grassy and citrusy hops, while making the beer delicious on its own, aren’t quite perfect with sausages.
De Struise Brouwers Ignis & Flamma IPA (7%)
Now this is a seriously good beer that I could write a whole blog about on its own - but for now we're here to talk sausages. For an IPA, this is extremely well balanced, and the very fruity, herbacious hops snuggle right up next to the sweetness of the sausages, and hold hands delightfully with the herbs. Combine that with the round, biscuity, fruity malt flavours against the caramelised sausage skin and you have a seriously fun time which accentuates the taste of both the beer and the sausages – my favourite match yet.
Flying Dog Dog Schwarz (7.8%)
While certainly not as smoky as a proper rauchbier, The Dog Schwarz did however have a lovely roast coffee character with chocolate and raisin flavours and a little touch of liquorice, giving it more in common with an imperial stout. Now I know what you’re thinking – doesn't sound like a sausage beer – and you would be right. Its extremely rich flavours almost completely overpower the sausages, although a light (albeit peaty, not bacony) smoky note in the background does come through eventually. It would have been great with beef sausages, kidney or rich game dishes, but keep it away from the pork.
Verdict
Belgian IPA is easily my new favourite sausage beer. When you get a drink that not only compliments the flavours of a dish but actually lifts them, you know you have a winner. Brew Dog's 5am Saint was so nearly there that I think a traditional English amber ale would have been perfect. Unsurprisingly, traditional English food and traditional English beer go together pretty well. For the sausage lovers, the Gloucester Old Spot pork and sage sausage was my favourite, a classic banger of serious high quality. Delicious.
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