My last (and final "experimental") bean stew recipe was version 3.5, about 3 weeks ago. Bean texture in the most recent chili execution is definitely missing, and I don't have a dedicated bag of pintos handy, so I figured I'd make up a 5-bean stew batch and round out the chili with some of it. The chili is of course already brimming with turkey and tomato umami, so I'm not concerned about not having any wine on hand. But MAYBE... try swapping Guinness in for the usual amount of wine I'd use in the recipe.
On a side note, I conceived a hankering for Stoli Vanil, ostensibly for coffee, when I was shopping for beer and hard cider treats last night. Perhaps fortunately, Total Wine happened to only have one 1.5L bottle in stock. As I knew a 750ml bottle was already a dangerous plan, the larger size was right out of the question. Between haunting the spirits aisles (bourbon and whiskey getting too expensive to justify) and poring over craft beers and ciders, I spent enough time there that I couldn't be arsed to select wines too, hence no cooking wine handy.
Anyway, beans log 4.1: Wash storage containers that need it. Inspect 1/3 cup each pinto, black, great northern, and garbanzo beans. Combine, rinse and drain 2 passes in cool water. Bring to a boil in 2 cups fresh water with a couple shakes of lite salt. Remove from heat and let soak at least an hour.
Intermission. I started tasting my Total Wine purchases last night with the Woodchuck ginger cider. As noted on FB, the dominant flavor is sweet, not cidery and the ginger is not particularly spicy, but at 6.9% ABV and $4/sixpack of 12 oz bottles, it works out to an eye-opening 36.8 bodines. Earlier this afternoon I found it compared favorably to Angry Orchard apple ginger hard cider which, at $1.50/12oz bottle, demonstrated only a vague suggestion of pickled (i.e. vinegary) ginger, and only 5% ABV.
I lust ever for the ambrosial balance of Hennepin; and in my hunt for more economical approximations, I took a chance on a $5/22oz bottle of 6.5%ABV Saison Houblon from Seattle's Pike Brewing Company. Only on pulling it from the fridge to warm a little for tasting did I notice the label proclaims "WATER, MALT, HOPS, YEAST". -Which lowered my expectations of saison flavor as iconized to me by Hennepin. Then I popped the cap and sniffed. If that's the complete ingredient list, then I've misunderstood what gives saison style brews their distinct character. Cloudy straw color, big head, spotty lacing, honey/allspice nose fully consistent with saison, toasty malt and pleasantly sourdough palate, crisp mouthfeel and a long hoppy finish. Two thumbs up. Apples-to-apples against Hennepin's 7.7% ABV at $9/fourpack of 12oz bottles, Pike's saison costs more per ounce for less ABV, but with this much flavor I don't much mind the bodine value gap.
Getting back to beans though: add ~2 tbsp olive oil, a couple more shakes lite salt, ~2 cups total of frozen greens (maybe 1/3 cup frozen spinach but mostly broccoli crowns), 2/3 cup dry lentils, a cup of water and 1+1/3 cups Guinness Extra Stout. (For future reference, add non-water liquids (wine, beer) first, then measure water in the same cup, thereby rinsing out the last drops of your premium liquid.) Heat to simmering and simmer low ~30 minutes.
Spoon some of that and some chili over brown rice, mix a little but not to uniformity, maybe heat a minute or two in the nuker if your chili and rice are fresh out of fridge storage, and OMG YUM :Q