National Geographic published an article last year that linked chocolate and beer, explaining that chocolate’s origin was most likely a by-product of beermaking that used the seedpods of the cocoa tree. In Central America, clay pots were found with a cacao residue dating to 800 B.C., putting chocolate’s birth 500 hundred years earlier than previously thought. The pods were fermented and used to make the beer; the seeds were discarded. The seeds were later made into a non-alcoholic, bitter drink that was used at celebrations. This might be the world’s first chocolate drink (though probably not as chocolaty as a Yoo-hoo). Spanish explorers brought the drink back to Europe in the 16th century and more modern examples of chocolate stemmed from there. Chocolate, as we know it today — in things like, say, a 100 Grand bar — has only existed for about 200 years.
Armed with this new information, I set about finding out how well modern-day beer and chocolate actually mix. Would it be the perfect marriage? Would there soon be commercials saying, “You got your beer in my chocolate…No you got your chocolate in my beer.” I did not think so, but maybe that is because the only time I had ever mixed the two before this was eating a frozen Milky Way while having a Rolling Rock. Not a pretty pair. There are two ways to combine beer and chocolate: Chocolate-tasting beer, or matching chocolate with beer.
I purchased two different “chocolate” beers. The first was Sam Adams Chocolate Bock, which comes in a fancy 750 ml bottle with a silver medallion on it. I was imagining these beers to be overly flavored, or just too heavy, and I was not expecting to enjoy them — it seemed like it would be a fake affair. But the Sam Adams had a mild nose and even a mild taste, far less than I expected from its dark color. Sam Adams Web site states: “After using a centuries-old brewing process, called Krausening, we slowly aged the beer on a bed of rare dark cocoa nibs from Felchlin, a renowned Swiss chocolatier. Known for their quality these wild cocoa nibs, harvested from the rainforest of Northern Bolivia, impart complex aromas and flavors of chocolate, honey and vanilla in the beer.” I did not find the honey or vanilla. I felt it had more of a coffee flavor to it. I know that chocolate and coffee have a similar taste, but they could have easily called this Coffee Bock and received no argument from me.
The second chocolate beer I tried was a Choklat Stout by Southern Tier Brewing. On Southern Tier’s Web site, they talk about the “food for the gods,” a caked xocoatl that the Mayans made. “Moving through centuries, the circular journey of cacao has been realized in our brewing house, encompassing the complexity of the darkest, bitter-sweet candy together with the original frothy cold beverage of the ancient Maya to bring to you our Blackwater Series Choklat Stout.” Maybe they had an advance of the National Geographic story?
Choklat Stout was closer than Sam Adams to what I was expecting. It had a very thick mouth feel with dark chocolate flavor. The smell and flavor were all chocolate. You could enjoy both examples as a dessert or after-dinner beer. Yet neither seemed like something that you would pair with actual chocolate. I think these two beers would go nice with biscotti or fresh berries rather than other desserts.
Generally, when pairing a beverage with chocolate or a chocolate desserts, the standard is red wine or port. Yet beer in many of its brewing styles is just complex as red wine, and some beer matches perfectly with chocolate. I set out to a local chocolatier to get various dark and milk chocolates — including some with fruit centers and others with caramel. Then it was out for several beers. The standard American styles (Budweiser, Coors, etc.) do not compliment beer very well or produce a positive experience. Americans, you need to move out of your comfort zone to find a better result.
This, to get on my soapbox, is part of the exercise here: We beer drinkers need to get more adventurous. We need to work harder to find out what best pairs with beer. One style might go well with a certain cheese or chicken dish, while others may not. The key is to try it all. You don’t think all those wine-pairing books and sites came about as common knowledge, do you? No, someone had to try it to see what works. Let’s move beer away from simply pairing it with burgers or pizza.
After some initial pairings, I came to one quick conclusion: Beers with higher alcohol by volume, beers with some bite, will match better with chocolate. Plenty of high-alcohol Belguim brews with fruit undertones, for instance, are good choices to match with chocolate, which makes sense, since Belgium is renowned for its chocolate.
Brasserie des Rocs (Brune) was the first beer that I paired with the chocolate. It is a Belgium Brown Ale with 9% ABV. No sugar is added to the beer, which I believe helps with the pairing. It is a dark, complex beer with a sweet musty flavor and it matched well.
Second, we tried a Chimay Grand Reserve Ale (blue label). This is a strong ale made by the Trappist Monks in Belgium. This beer had a pretty, dark cloudy pour with plenty of Belgium lace. It had a pleasant tang on the tongue and a nice little bite due to its high alcohol content. The Monks at Chimay have a long history, for just as long they have been matching beer and food. Besides chocolate, a good idea would be to pick up some Chimay cheese. If the monks are this good at brewing beer, you know their cheese will surely match well.
The third beer that we paired with our chocolates was a Framboise Lambic, brewed by Lindemans. I thought this raspberry lambic might make a nice fruit-and-chocolate dessert. The beer pours with a champagne head and bubble that is bright red. It almost sips like a champagne and is best served with a chill to it. Though it was a good beer, I did not think it matched well for me. Maybe it was too much sweet candy together, like when I tried chocolate matched with chocolate beer. I think I liked the offset the other beers supplied. On Lindemans’ Web site, they say that this matches with chocolate (or Baked Alaska or caviar) and I think some people will enjoy the pairing. It was just not the best of the bunch for me.
My bottom line is that we beer drinkers should all make more of an effort to explore radically different beer-and-food matches. I didn’t have a chance to match any porters in this tasting or non-chocolate stouts, but I think they might work as well. I would not match hoppy beers with chocolate, but, hey, I could be wrong — and maybe some hoppy beer will prove me wrong.
This is part of the fun: Find something that works for you. As I’m writing this I’ve matched a 100 Grand candy bar with a Blanche De Bruxelles (a Belgium White with a peeing boy label). Yeah, the beer is great and the candy bar delicious, but not so much together. Guess it’s back to the drawing board, if I truly am going to uncover that elusive “two great tastes that taste great together.”
Tyler Wilson drinks beer. Email him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Article photograph by LexnGer via Flickr (Creative Commons), "The Brew" photograph from Flickmor via Flickr (Creative Commons), "Bottle" photograph from istockphoto.com.
