Brandied Cranberry Short-Rib Stew
Paired with: Deschutes Brewery Black Butte Porter
This silky, complex Oregon porter has notes of cranberry, chocolate, and warm spices, plus a hint of citrus. Browning the ribs and adding cocoa powder, cranberries, ginger, and orange zest make the stew sing in the same key.
Chicken, Quinoa, and Green-Olive Stew
Paired with: Gordon Biersch Blonde Bock
Briny olives, chiles, and bright citrus: That’s what you call a pairing challenge. This smooth, strong (7 percent alcohol) golden bock from the Bay Area can handle it, playing up the orange and toning down the chiles.
Miso Seafood Stew
Paired with: Longboard Island Lager
This delicately yeasty lager from Hawaii tasted so good with the miso that we poured some right into the stew.
Recipe: Miso Seafood Stew
Pork Vindaloo
Paired with: Boont Amber Ale
Vindaloo, a searingly spicy stew from Goa, India, cries out for beer. What does the trick: Boont Amber Ale, from Mendocino County, whose malty sweetness tames the flames.
Recipe: Pork Vindaloo
