Posted on February 11th, 2010

Although traditional gifts like chocolate and flowers usually dominate the gift giving on Valentine’s Day, there are plenty of creative ways you can incorporate beer into your gifts for the beer lover in your life.

Chocolate ales – A box of chocolates are the gift probably most closely associated with V Day. A great companion to chocolate candy is of course chocolate ale. There are lots of great chocolate flavored beers out there. Young’s Double Chocolate Stout is a personal favorite. It’s brewed to be velvety smooth and silky with a light but rich dose of chocolate taste. Another great one to try by an American brewer is Rogue’s Chocolate stout. While not nearly as smooth in taste as Young’s, it has the chocolate aromas and flavors to make this one a must try

Floral beers – Flowers are another great gift on February 14th. Roses and tulips look and smell terrific, especially in this cold time of year. Fortunately there are plenty of beers with distinctly floral aromas courtesy of their hops that will go along great with any bunch of your favorite flowers. Most pale ales and IPAs will have floral notes to them, but for my money no ale captures that fresh floral hop aroma better than Brooklyn Brewery’s East India Pale Ale. The best part is that this beer tastes just as good as it smells. Lagunitas IPA and its stronger cousin Lagunitas Maximus Double IPA also have a distinctly floral aroma to them thanks to their massive amounts of Cascade hops.

AleSmith’s My Bloody Valentine – If the whole Valentine’s Day thing isn’t your thing, perhaps this beer is more your speed. It’s a delicious ale with a distinct blood red color and an alcohol percentage of 6.66% ABV. After a few of these you won’t care if it’s Valentine’s Day or Arbor Day. Be sure to drink with caution.

What do you get for the beer loving Valentine in your life? Hit us up in the comments or on twitter to let us know you thoughts.