wine with a beef braised in beer dish

[Innkeeper]

Hi Dchen, and welcome to the Wine Board. It is hard to argue with Roberto, but this is a wine board (he sometimes forgets). Although the Carbonnades he refers to may be the ultimate, there are others that are just fine too including Julia's. We have made a crock pot version for decades that we adapted from a 1975 book on slow cooking by Jacqueling Heriteau, a French Canadian. We have found that the best wines to go with it are Australian blends such as cabernet/shiraz. One in particular is Wynns Coonawarra Estate, Cabernet-Shiraz-Merlot Coonawarra. If you can find it, it runs around $12-$14. Here is our version of the Carbonnades:

BELGIAN BEEF STEW: (Carbonnades `A La Flamande). For slow (crock/crockery) pot; serve with boiled potatoes and carrots

3-4 lb Rump, round, or boneless chuck
1/2 tbl Olive oil
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
2 tbl Butter
2 Sliced Bermuda onion (approx 4 cups)
2 Cloves garlic minced (or 1 tsp bottled)
1 Bottle Becks or Henikens dark beer
2 tbl Brown sugar
1/2 tbl Salt
1/2 tsp Granulated garlic (garlic powder)
2 Springs parsley
1 Large bay leaf
1/2 tsp Dried thyme
1 1/2 tbl Cornstarch
2 tbl White wine vinegar

Cut beef into 1-1/2 to 2 inch pieces. Brown meat in olive oil in large skillet. Remove to bowl and season with 1/2 tsp salt and the pepper. Cook onion in same skillet with butter until medium brown. Stir in minced garlic for last minute. Put onion/garlic into slow-cooker with meat and its juices on top. Bring beer to boil in skillet with sugar, scraping up pan juices. Add to cooker with remaining salt, garlic powder, parsley, bay leaf, and thyme. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Drain stew in colander, reserving liquid. Pick parsley stems and bay leaf out if possible. Reduce liquid in sauce pan until it measures two cups. Dissolve cornstarch in vinegar, and add to liquid. Simmer till sauce thickens (3-4 min). Return colander contents and sauce to cooker, and keep warm till serving time.