Beer pairing: bowl of chili

A simple chili with the perfect beer pairing

Author

Joseph Lavoie
January 10, 2023

Good Morning!

Welcome to our new subscribers. You can expect specific deep dives on Tuesdays, and our popular weekly new beer releases on Fridays. Today, we bring you our monthly food and beer pairing.

With January kicking off with lots of rain, a warm bowl of chili always seems to bring comfort, especially on Super Bowl Sunday, which is only three weeks away. If you want to enjoy that game at home with a perfectly paired chili and beer, we've got you covered with this ridiculously easy and quick recipe.

— Joseph Lavoie

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The Dish

As with all our recipes, our goal is always to keep the ingredient list simple, and the cooking method easy. For that reason, we use canned beans to save you the hassle of overnight soaking. We've gone with mushrooms in place of meat, but if you're hankering for some beef or other protein, you can swap it in for the mushrooms.

Ingredients

Serves 4

  • 2 tsp olive oil

  • 1 medium onion, diced

  • 1 398-ml can of black or pinto beans

  • 1 398-ml can of red beans

  • 2 red, orange, or yellow bell peppers, diced

  • 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped (use half if you want less spice)

  • 20 mushrooms (button or cremini)

  • 1 tbsp chili powder

  • 2 tsp cumin

  • 1 398-ml can of crushed or peeled tomatoes

  • Your favourite toppings (sour cream, shredded cheese, sliced green onions, chopped cilantro)

Directions

  1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion, pepper, jalapeño and mushrooms and sauté for 5-7 minutes.

  2. Add the chili powder, cumin and some cracked pepper and sauté another 2-3 minutes.

  3. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add the beans, 1.5 cups water and simmer another 15-20 minutes.

  4. Transfer a quarter of the chili to a blender and purée until smooth, stirring this smooth solution back into the pot. Or use a wand if you have one to do the same. Simmer another 5-7 minutes and adjust seasoning to taste.

  5. Serve in warm bowls and top with your favourite toppings.

The Beer

It's tempting with a dish like this to go for an American Light Lager, but we can step it up a notch and go with a beer style that offers a touch more character while also being refreshing and flexible enough to pair with your chili. The key is to find a beer that can accommodate a range of spice levels, and one style that can do that very well is Vienna Lager. 

Vienna Lager thrived in Mexico with Austrian immigrant brewers and over the years has become a go-to pairing with Mexican dishes. Over time, the style even evolved to become a bit lighter in what we now call Mexican Lager. Of course, Mexican Lager would also make for a great pairing, but we're going to lean into the slightly bolder, toasted notes of a Vienna Lager for this pairing. 

The challenge, of course, is that Vienna Lager is not readily available at most breweries the same way IPAs are. So, we took a look at what's on tap and in liquor stores right now, and one of our favourite beers of the month stepped up to the plate: Moody Ales' Vienna Lager.

This beer pours brilliantly clear with a light reddish amber colour. The colours foreshadow what you can expect in the nose: toasty and malty rich aromas that are punctuated with a light floral hop spice. Soft, complex, and very enjoyable malt flavours drive the forefront. The balance of the flavours are toasty without verging into caramel notes. With a medium-dry finish, this is a great treatment of the style and a fantastic beer to complement the spice mix in our chili recipe.

MORE PAIRINGS

Bold new beers to warm up winter

Last week breweries released bold new flavours including sour cherries, coffee stouts, and smokey imperial stouts. Which flavours will you explore?

Upcoming Events

🏃Steel & Oak hosts a run club every Wednesday night. Run 3km or 5km to earn that beer!

🎤 It's comedy night at Container Brewing tonight, January 24, February 7, and February 21. Tickets here.

🧠 You can keep your trivia streak tonight at Old Yale Brewing.

🎶 Love Bingo? How about Music Bingo? Ace Brewing's got you covered on January 11.

♟️ Container Brewing is hosting a regular games night, with the next sessions taking place on January 17 and then the first and third Tuesday of every month. Seating is limited, so you'll need to get a ticket.

🎴 Small Gods also hosts games night every week, with the next one taking place January 12.

🎉 Barnside is turning three years old with a party on January 13 11am through to 7pm on January 15.

🧘 Patina Brewing is hosting a mindful beer tasting yoga class monthly on Saturdays. The next sessions are on January 28, February 18, and March 11.

🧘Container Brewing is also offering Beer Yoga sessions on January 15 and February 25.

⚽ Cumberland has Foosball Tuesdays for the entire month of January and February, starting at 3pm. Bring a partner or come solo.

WE WANT TO KNOW

In case you missed it on Friday, we're wondering....

FROM THE ARCHIVES

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