February – two big events for beer this month – the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day. You may be with me on the Super Bowl and beer, but Valentine’s Day? Let’s dig in.
If your Valentine’s Day Honey likes chocolate and beer, you could do a pairing and spend some quality time together. Three or four beers and the same number of chocolates could make a great Valentine’s Day event together. Here are some suggestions for a pairing. Select three or four chocolates – White Chocolate Orange/Key Lime, Hazelnut Milk Chocolate Truffle, Sea Salt Caramel and Espresso Dark Chocolate Truffle. Depending on your Honey, you may each want a chocolate to yourselves, so two of each chocolate.
Purchase one bottle/can of the following beers – a 12- or 16-ounce beer can be shared. Belgium Wit – Allagash White or Blue Moon; American Amber – New Belgium Fat Tire Ale or Bells Amber Ale; English Brown Ale – Cigar City Maduro or Newcastle Brown Ale; and last but not least, Stout or American Porter – Guinness Stout Irish Draft or Funky Buddha Last Snow Porter.
Here is how they pair up and sample in this order – lightest to darkest – chocolate and beer!
* White Chocolate Orange/ Key Lime Truffle with Allagash White or Blue Moon – citrus flavors in the ale will complement the citrus in the chocolate. * Hazelnut Milk Chocolate Truffle with New Belgium Fat Tire Amber Ale or Bell’s Amber Ale – the toasty caramel flavors, slightly fruity yeast flavors and slight bitterness will complement the milk chocolate and nut flavor of the truffle. * Sea Salt Caramel Dark Chocolate Truffle with Cigar City Maduro or Newcastle Brown Ale – the rich caramel and nut flavor of the ale will complement the caramel and dark chocolate of the truffle. * Espresso Dark Chocolate Truffle – Guinness Stout Irish Draft or Funky Buddha Last Snow Porter – the coffee bitterness and malty roast of these ales will complement the coffee and dark chocolate of the truffle.
Pour the beers, same size glasses if possible and let them warm up a bit – same with the chocolates. A bit of warmth releases more flavors. Each of these beers should complement some flavor in the chocolates. Eat a bite of chocolate, drink a sip of the paired beer and savor. The beer may enhance the flavor or draw out some flavor notes that were not noticed before. Talk with your Honey about the flavors and sensations! You may need to shop around for the chocolates and beer, but your beer and chocolate loving Honey is worth it. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Now back to the Super Bowl!
The big game is the time for beer and the TV ads during the game prove the point. What to drink if you want something different for your guests or to bring to the party? First think session beer – the game, halftime show and visiting with partygoers, lasts for hours. The beer chosen should be one that is a bit lower in alcohol but not low on taste – a session beer.
The big three Super Bowl party foods are chicken wings, spinach artichoke dip and pizza – quite a range of flavors to match up to. Here are some beers that can cover the flavors of these foods and are session beers. Cigar City Jai Low IPA, Fort Myers Brewing Gateway Gold Blond Ale, and Yuengling Traditional Lager. All of these beers are lower in alcohol but still big on taste.
These three beers can handle it all. Cigar City Jai Low IPA has more hop bitterness and hop aroma of the three beers – this can match well with the cheese and garlic of the spinach artichoke dip and the mix of ingredients on pizza like pepperoni, cheese, and red sauce and the crust of pizza. Fort Myers Gateway Gold Blond Ale is malty with very low bitterness and hop aroma with a slight fruitiness from the ale yeast. This pairs very well with all these foods – a very good complement to the vegetables in the dip, toppings for the pizza and the wings! Yuengling Traditional Lager is malty with a slight bitterness from hops. The slight bitterness pairs well with the cheeses in the dip and the pizza and the bitterness can handle the wings. All of these beers provide carbonation, and those bubbles can cleanse and reset your tastebuds between bites.
Enjoy the game, enjoy the food, your friends and enjoy these possible beer pairings. May the best team win!
February is a great month for beer. Remember to drink responsibly!
