The Food 
Ingredients
1- 2kg live mussels cleaned and de bearded
1/2 a head of garlic skinned and finely chopped.
2 spring onions chopped finely.
1/3 a bottle of dry white wine
3 tblespns fish sauce
1/2 a cup of parsley roughly chopped.
Oil for frying
Gently fry off the garlic in the oil, add the spring onions
after 1 minute, raise the temperature and after a further minute add the
mussels, white wine and fish sauce. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes, sprinkle the parsley over the top . Serve in
the pot with crusty bread and butter.
The Beer: Hallertau Porter Noir
Porter Noir starts life as a strong
dark porter with hints of roast malt and rich dark chocolate. After fermentation
the beer is run into oak barrels that were previously used to age Pinot Noir. Here
the beer undergoes a four month transformation. The barrels contain a wild
yeast called Brettanomyces which is seen as a fault in wine but is highly
valued in certain Belgian beers. The Brettanomyces imparts a funky, tangy character
to the beer. Layers of chocolate, cherries, lime, oak, vanilla, rich malt,
musty cellar character, dark dried fruit, and gaminess all integrate perfectly
create a very unique beer.
The Match
Porter Noir works incredibly well
with mussels. The funky, spicy, tangy notes in the beer compliment the rich
gamy flavour of the mussels. The roast and chocolate notes in the beer contrast
with the richness of the mussels and cooking liquor with the carbonation of the
beer finally acting to clean the palate. Heaven!
Kieran Haslett-Moore