Above: courtesy of berries.com
Friends, it’s that time of year again. The holidays have long since passed and so has football season. Yet spring is still a ways off. So where does our attention turn? To chocolate, of course!
Wait, but isn’t chocolate always on our minds? Absolutely. But with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it’s really time to get in touch with our “dark side.”
I’ve mentioned before in this column: With all due respect to wine, there are few more decadent pleasures than the pairing of beer and chocolate. They were made for each other.
The most important thing to remember when selecting beer and chocolate is that you pretty much can’t go wrong with whatever you choose. It’s fun and pretty easy, so if you’re planning that perfect romantic nightcap or afternoon picnic in the forest with that special someone, relax, use your imagination, and apply some basic pairing principles.
The first thing to keep in mind is matching intensities. You don’t want to marry a bitter, intense dark chocolate bar with a light cream ale or Belgian blonde. The chocolate will overwhelm the subtle nuances of the beer. Conversely, the intensity of a hoppy, bitter double IPA might squash the creamy, delicate sweetness of milk chocolate.
The other basic principle is identifying similarities and contrasts in the ingredients and flavors of the beer and the chocolate. This is where your endeavor gets really fun and creative. Let’s explore some examples of each.
The most obvious and popular of all beer and chocolate pairings based on similar qualities involves stouts. The beer’s dark color, natural chocolate and coffee notes from the specialty malts, and viscous, creamy body (found in imperial stouts) make it a natural soul mate with chocolate. There are, however, so many other possibilities.
Chocolate with nuts would go wonderfully with a nutty brown ale such as Bed of Nails from Asheville’s Hi-Wire Brewing.
Do you love caramel in your chocolate? Try pairing it with a caramel-malty brew such as the classic Gaelic Ale from Highland Brewing in Asheville, Copperhead Amber from Hendersonville’s Southern Appalachian Brewery, or the bold Hooligan Scotch Ale from Asheville’s Catawba Brewing.
Don’t let your imagination stop there. Seek out one of our breweries’ many oak bourbon barrel-aged beers, with notes of vanilla and toasted coconut serving as a terrific accompaniment to chocolate.
Remember to consider interesting contrasts, too. A big, strong, malty barley wine can both stand up to and balance an intense dark chocolate. Or add some fruit to your chocolate via the beer with Wicked Weed Brewing’s popular Black Angel Cherry Sour. And the ultimate fruit beer aphrodisiac for chocolate? That would be the raspberry juice-infused Lindemans Framboise from Belgium.
With each sip and bite, a great pairing will leave your palate wondering where the chocolate starts and the beer ends: a perfect, harmonious marriage.
Cheers and Happy Valentine’s Day!
Gary Glancy is a freelance writer, bartender and Certified Cicerone® living in Hendersonville.
