When most people think about pairing chocolate with an alcoholic beverage the product they usually consider is wine. However, there are components in wine which can make these pairings difficult and often unpredictable.
Tannins in red wine can make dark chocolates seem more bitter, and the acidity in wines often does not balance well with the chocolate. Because of the variation in wine styles, even within varietals, it’s often difficult to generalize about ideal wine and chocolate pairings.
This is not the case for beer!
Beer is every bit as complex as wine, perhaps more so. There are more than 60 recognized styles of beer. Styles of beer include stout, porter, India pale ale, bock, Oktoberfest, amber ale, lager, and many more.
While each style is unique, most brewers create beers within the style guidelines for that beer type. Beers within a style are recognizable cousins of each other, unlike wines within a wine varietal.
One of the things that makes a chocolate and beer tasting great is the fact that it is unusual, yet it works! Even people who say they don’t like beer, often do like chocolate so everyone can enjoy the event. Serious beer aficionados can find toasty, caramel, toffee, roasted, chocolate, coffee and fruity notes in beer. All these same notes can be found in chocolate.
Through years of experimentation, beer drinkers have discovered that a number of different beer styles can pair well with the unique flavors in, and sweetness of, chocolate.
Three general categories of beers usually do well when paired with a range of chocolate selections. We’ll take a look at each of these categories in upcoming posts.
Sue Langstaff, a member of the Primal Chocolate Club, has contributed this series about chocolate and beer pairing. Her company Applied Sensory, LLC offers analytical sensory services for the wine, brewing, and food industries.
Inferior? No.
