I had some smoked porter made by the Alaskan Brewing Company, and suspected it would be great for braising short ribs. I thought apples, leeks, and fennel would compliment the beer's flavor so used them in place of a traditional mirepoix. The beer with the apples made me think of rye bread for some odd reason, so I added caraway seed to the mix. The resulting sauce is rich and slightly tangy. It's got a whisper of bitterness from the beer and caraway, which I think adds nice flavor depth. A small amount of brown sugar added at the end of cooking will temper the bitterness if desired. My absolute favorite thing to serve this with is mashed parsnips. The sweetness from the parsnips is a perfect foil for the succulent beef and robust sauce. - hardlikearmour

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