Hearts and Drafts: Valentine’s Day Beer & Chocolate Pairings

February 10, 2015

Nothing says Valentine’s Day like a heart-shaped box of assorted nougat- and caramel-filled chocolates. Sure, there are more exciting and innovative gifts—but once you introduce some craft beer to the mix, it takes the candies to a whole new level.

If you’ve experienced chocolate paired with beer, it was probably a stout or porter already bursting with dark, roasted chocolatey flavors. The rich, sweet taste profiles of dark beers and chocolates complement each other and make for a truly decadent combo. But in preparation for Valentine’s Day, we decided to try something a little different.

We sat down armed with a box of chocolates (you can go as fancy or simple as you’d like; we used a generic chocolate-filled heart) and a spread of craft beer ranging from light to dark and got to experimenting with combinations. Not only did we find some delicious hits—and a few emphatic misses—but it also made for a fun, romantic night in.

Dark Chocolate-Covered Marshmallow

Blood Orange Gose | Anderson Valley Brewing Co. | Boonville, CA

This gose from Anderson Valley Brewing Co. is bright and fruity, with hints of salt that add a refreshing element when paired with chocolate. Blood orange adds tartness but is not overly sharp or sour. The low alcohol content of 4.5 percent makes it an easy drinker, kind of like a champagne toast to kick off the tasting.

Surprisingly, the Blood Orange Gose is delicious when paired with a dark chocolate-covered marshmallow. The sweetness of the candy softens the slight sharpness of the beer while the tart blood orange tames the sugary marshmallow. The two taste like they belong together.

Honorable Mention: A milk chocolate-covered cherry nougat also works with the blood orange flavor, as the tartness in the candy stands up to the beer well. Sweet milk chocolate mellows the salty character of the gose, resulting in a light, mouthwatering finish.

Other blood orange-inspired beers:

Bloodline Blood Orange Ale | Flying Dog Brewery | Frederick, MD

Blood Orange Pale Ale | Great South Bay Brewery | Bay Shore, NY

Three Skills Blood Orange Wit | Northwest Brewing Co. | Pacific, WA

Milk Chocolate-Covered Toffee

Beazly Golden Ale | The Brewers Art | Baltimore, MD

Beazly, a Belgian golden strong ale from The Brewers Art, has notes of banana, bubblegum and a little pepper on top of a malty, sweet body. The finish is dry and slightly warming, with a spiced peach flavor lingering in the aftertaste.

A milk chocolate-covered toffee is the best complement to Beazly, with its salty character bringing forward a sweetness in the beer while muting the alcohol. The aftertaste is on the savory side, with nutty salted notes mixing with fruity malt.

Not-So-Honorable Mention: Dark chocolate-covered coconut does not play well with this golden strong. Oddly, the flavors match a bit and don’t seem too bad—until you are hit with an aftertaste that is comparable to a cloying coconut-based liqueur.

Other Belgian golden strong ales to try:

Milk Chocolate-Covered Pistachio Nougat

Solitude | Brewery Vivant | Grand Rapids, MI

Solitude, Brewery Vivant’s dubbel, is packaged in a 16-ounce can and boasts flavors of rich malt and candied dark fruits. The medium carbonation and slight dryness in the finish provide balance, preventing the beer from being overly candy-like.

We found this sweet Belgian-style dubbel to work best with a milk chocolate-covered pistachio nougat. The nutty flavor of the candy brings out an almond amaretto flavor from the beer without overshadowing any of the other characteristics. Dark fruit flavors, mostly raisins and dates, really pop from the beer in contrast to the less-sweet pistachio nougat.

Honorable Mention: Regular old milk chocolate also nicely complements this beer, bringing out caramel malt notes from the dubbel and finishing on a drier note.

Other Belgian-style dubbels to try:

Lost and Found Abbey Ale | The Lost Abbey | San Marcos, CA

Dubbel Fisted | Iron Fist Brewing Co. | Vista, CA

Orthus Belgian Dubbel | Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. | Akron, OH

Dark Chocolate-Covered Nutty Nougat

Boris the Spider | Spider Bite Beer Co. | Holbrook, NY

Alright, so we snuck one dark beer into the mix with this Russian imperial stout. Boris is a bold beer with lots of roast, chocolate and alcohol in both the aroma and taste. There are smoky notes throughout, reminiscent of a campfire, and dark sweet fruit balances out the slightly bitter cocoa flavor. Calling it “Burly the Spider” wouldn’t be too far off.

This strong stout brewed by Spider Bite Beer Co. is best enhanced by a dark chocolate-covered nutty nougat. Together, the two almost taste like chocolate-covered espresso beans with faint hints of grape in the background. The nuts in the candy combine with the roast in the stout and give off a rich earthy flavor with some warming alcohol still present. A strong chocolatey accent remains around the edges of your palate long after the nougat and beer are gone.

Honorable Mention: Chocolate-covered chocolate—how can you go wrong with chocolate on chocolate washed down with a chocolate-flavored beverage? The milky candy brings out roasted notes in the beer, while the slight bitterness of the stout tones down the sugar. There’s an aftertaste of black coffee, which is balancing after all that sweetness.

Dark Chocolate Coconut Caramel

Lil One | Maine Beer Co. | Freeport, ME

Maine Beer Co.’s description of this beer reads: “Some call it a hoppy barleywine, some call it a malty double IPA. We call it our strong winter ale.” Whatever you call it, Lil One is anything but little. It’s packed with aromas of spiced orange and big floral hops. Though hops are prominent throughout the sip, they lend themselves to a bright, citrus flavor rather than harsh bitterness.

This beer works best with caramel candies. Actually, it was the only beer of the night that didn’t have an off flavor when paired with caramel. Our favorite option is a dark chocolate coconut caramel, as it amplifies the aroma of the beer and brings out notes of spiced orange and bright tropical fruits. The buttery caramel marries with the vibrant, sometimes resin-like hops to produce a smooth, pleasant aftertaste reminiscent of a coconut drink.

Honorable mention: If your box of chocolates doesn’t happen to have a coconut caramel—something we have not come across too often—Lil One pairs almost as well with a straight-up milk chocolate-covered caramel. The sweetness of the candy really makes the hops pop in a desirable way, bringing out some of their more subtle flavors and only a faint hint of bitterness that is welcome in the aftertaste.

Other double IPAs to try:

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