When you think about pairing chocolate with an alcoholic drink, most people would normally think of red wine. It’s kind of a “girls night out” thing, right?
Wrong. Chocolate and beer are becoming fast BFFs in the world of pairing and different restaurants and brands are starting to latch on to that. Last week, Samuel Adams announced their partnership with San Francisco chocolate company TCHO and the creation of their new Beer Lover’s Chocolate Box. The box has 12, 8 gram pieces of chocolate that were chosen to complement the Samuel Adams Winter Classics Variety Pack. Brad Kintzer, the Chief Chocolate Maker at TCHO said they knew the beer/chocolate pairing venture would work for a few reasons:

“As both a veteran chocolate maker and novice home brewer, I’m amazed by the flavor complexity found in beer – and by the similarities in the chocolate making process and how complementary the resulting flavors can be. Great beer – like great chocolate – is the result of a careful fermentation that yields an array of flavor possibilities. Many of the flavors found in cocoa and chocolate can also be found in beer…”

It’s pretty much only available online, but there is a limited quantity available in the Samuel Adams gift shop. The box of chocolate is $16.95 and the 12-pack of beer should be around $13.99, so that makes for an affordable (and delicious) present this holiday season.

If you’re more social and you like to get out to the restaurants and bars, keep an eye out for beer and chocolate tastings in your area. We just saw that the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum in Long Island teamed up with Oyster Bay’s Chocolate lady for a beer and chocolate tasting benefit event. They had four beers and chocolates and the beers included a pilsner, an Oktoberfest, a Guinness, and an Imperial Stout. We can’t think of a better way to support a non-profit organization and drink beer at the same time. Is that a tax write-off?

 

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