Yeah, yeah. We know. Champagne’s romantic.

But let’s face it — not everybody has $50 to spend to set the mood on Valentine’s Day. Fortunately, you don’t have to.

Beer can be every bit as romantic as that mighty French sparkling wine. And given the wide range of flavours found in beer, it can also pair with a much bigger variety of food than champagne can.

(Note to wine folks: Happy to take this discussion up in person over drinks).

Here are a few options for setting a romantic mood on Valentine’s Day this Saturday:

Breakfast in bed: Let’s say you want to make your beloved a nice breakfast in bed. Who doesn’t love a nice bit of OJ with breakfast? Tip some of that OJ into a glass of Belgian-style wittier — say Unibroue’s Blanche de Chambly or Hoegaarden — and you’ve got yourself a beermosa. (A nice mango puree is also a delicious addition. A splash of crème de cassis and you’ve got a beer royale). Not your thing? Maybe you’ve made an omelette or some scrambled eggs. There are few better pairings — period — than a Bavarian-style wheat beer such as Sidelaunch Wheat or Schneider Weisse.

Oysters: The time-honoured food of love just happens to go very well with beer. A dry stout is a classic match, largely because of the contrast it provides to the briny character of the bivalve. Scrimshaw Oyster stout — which actually contains PEI oysters — is a good choice, and is local-ish to boot, coming from Barley Days brewery in Prince Edward County. Mill Street Cobblestone Stout is another decent option. But if, like me, you prefer to taste a little more of your oyster and a little less of the beer, you could always pair them with a well-made Pilsner, such as Steamwhistle. Wernesgruner Pils Legende or Jever Pils — both from Germany — are also two reliable choices.

Chocolate: Some sweets for your sweetie? Say, maybe a nice homemade dark chocolate mousse? (You are making it yourself, right?) Try pairing it with some Mort Subite Framboise, the epitome of elegance. Ever so slightly tart, and fragrantly fruity, this is the perfect match for chocolate. Best served in — wait for it — champagne flutes, it’s also elegant to look at. Another good pairing for dark chocolate, either in mousse or cake form, is Kentucky Bastard from Burlington’s Nickelbrook. It’s a powerful (10 per cent), dark and ever-so-slighty sweet. There are notes of dark roasted coffee, chocolate, vanilla and bourbon (those latter two would be from the Buffalo Trace barrels it was aged in).

Memory lane: Surely, you’ve had a romantic trip somewhere with your sweetheart (honeymoon? Visit to a long-lost relative’s Tuscan castle? A weekend in cottage country without the kids?) If you can’t recreate it, you can at least recall the trip fondly over a bottle of their local beer. (Every time I see a can of Efes Pils — an otherwise-unremarkable lager — it takes me back to my honeymoon in Turkey. Ditto for Cristal and beach vacations in Cuba).