Pairing Beer & Chocolate
Wine and chocolate tastings are becoming familiar and popular events; however, a little more rare, but growing in interest, is a focus on pairing chocolate with beer. Yup, that’s right, beer.
There are people who believe wine can be easily overwhelmed by chocolate, while beer, on the other hand, is thought to have the strength to stand up to its richness. It really comes down to complementary flavours: earthy, roasted, even chocolaty and bitter flavors of beer, which are echoed in chocolate.
Chocolate, especially dark chocolate, and beer are such natural partners that almost any random beer will do very nicely with a chunk of chocolate. Good chocolate can complement the taste of a creamy stout, a rich barley wine, a malty bock and even a simple pilsner. More specifically, there are three general categories of beers that tend to combine particularly well with a range of chocolates.
The first group is dark beer, such as porters and stouts. These beers are made from malted barley that has been roasted to a deep, dark color. It is this darkened barley that produces the roasted, toasty and sometimes coffee flavours that go well with nearly any type of chocolate.
German-style wheat beers and strong Belgian-style ales often feature fruity and spicy flavours. The former often feature notes of banana and cloves, while the latter are known for their notes of apple, apricot and peach punctuated with cinnamon or nutmeg. It’s easy to see how these combinations of traditionally dessert-focused flavours would enhance the enjoyment of chocolate.
Another group of beers to try with chocolate are malty golden beers like golden ales, American wheat ales or pale bock beers. While these sweeter, lighter colored beers may not be the best choice to pair with pure chocolate, they are thought to pair well with dishes such as chocolate-chip cookies where the chocolate is not so highly concentrated.
So the next time you’re looking to be adventurous at dessert-time, try some unique combinations of chocolate and beer.