With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about sweets (and sips) for your sweetheart. Poet Ogden Nash claimed that candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker. And wine country fans will say, “Wine is fine.” But as far as I’m concerned, beer is better. Why? You can pair beer with your valentine’s favorite candy, thereby creating a perfect taste combination. Here’s how.
Chocolate is king
Chocolate is the sweet treat most closely associated with Valentine’s Day. But it’s a flavor so well-suited to beer, many brewers use chocolate, usually in the form of cacao nibs, in the brewing process. The result is a beer so popular, it has its own category at the Great American Beer Festival. San Francisco Brewing Co.‘s chocolate beer, for example, is made with Ghirardelli chocolate.
But pairing beer with chocolate can be even better. Beer’s flavors, derived from roasted malt in all its chocolatey, coffee delight, complement milk chocolate flavors. Imperial stouts can work well, but remember, these strong stouts are meant to be sipped. Milk stouts, as you might expect, complement milk chocolate nicely, as do oatmeal stouts, most porters and traditional stouts. Any chocolate with added fruit, especially raspberries, is a winner, too. Try a framboise lambic, which is brewed with raspberries, or a kriek lambic made with cherries.
For dark chocolate, which is usually more bitter, avoid hoppier beers, since the double bitterness can overwhelm. Instead try something sweeter, like a Belgian-style tripel, a Belgian strong ale or even a pale ale with more modest bitterness. For a more medium-bodied dark chocolate, a pilsner will work nicely, and if there are added almonds, try a brown ale.
It can be tricky to pair those heart-shaped sampler boxes, which contain so many types of treats. Your best bet is to match the cocoa notes, so a porter or stout — not too strong or hoppy — should still do the trick.
If your Valentine is more into dime store candy bars than luxurious truffles, we have beer pairings for those too, although anyone who woos their true love with gummy worms probably needs to work on their skills in the courtship department. But if you’re doing that — Gushers or gummy worms — a hazy IPA can stand up to those bold flavors.
The best pairings for peanut butter cups are porters and stouts, but cream ales, Oktoberfest or Märzen beers (or something maltier) will work. For Snickers, try a dunkel or a brown ale. For a KitKat or Butterfinger, try a brown ale or Oktoberfest. Baby Ruths pair well with cream ale, Rolos with kolsch and Three Musketeers with porter.
Conversation hearts may be traditional at this time of year, but they tend toward chalky texture with tart and fruit flavors, so something lighter like a helles, Mexican lager or a light lager resets your palate.
Tropical IPAs can stand up to fruit-flavored candies, especially Starburst, the Skittles Love Mix or M&M’s Cupid’s Blend. A complex saison or delicate kölsch can work nicely too.
For Jolly Rancher Jelly Hearts’ cherry and watermelon flavors, try a watermelon wheat or a cherry beer, or lighter bodied beer like a helles or a cream ale. This would also work with Hershey’s Kisses Chocolate Dipped Strawberries or KitKat Raspberry Crèmes.
Caramel candies work beautifully with an English-style barley wine, but salted caramel and a pilsner is even lovelier.