BitterSweet Blog

Whether you love beer or you hate it, we'd love to hear from you.

Stories, opinions, suggestions, anything you feel you want to share, it all helps.

Mar

11

Beer and Food Matching: is Combining Beer with Chocolate the Perfect Partnership?

By Kristy | Posted: March 11, 2010

I don’t mind admitting that beer and chocolate are my two favourite things but have you ever tried matching beer with chocolate? Although you might think it’d be a recipe for disaster, we’ve tried it out at BitterSweet and believe me, it’s a food match made in heaven! Last Wednesday, we invited top journalists and bloggers such as Jenny from The Style PA and Cate from BitchBuzz to L’atelier des Chefs in order to demonstrate just how well the two go together.

Beer and chocolate are a perfect double act, with many more flavours in common than wine and chocolate. In fact no wine can match chocolate puddings nearly as well as the right beer !! Hops used to brew beer are what cause the bitterness in the taste, but a lot of chocolates are bitter too which makes the beer a perfect complement. The bitterness of beer also helps the drink hold its own when paired with chocolate – chocolate is such a distinctive flavour that it can overwhelm blander drinks. The citrus flavours in certain beers are also there thanks to the hops (hops are great things!!) – and as we already know, citrus flavours, like orange and chocolate are already a popular flavour mix (it’s not Terry’s, it’s mine!)

During the evening we tried seven different delicious combinations of chocolate and beer – such as Kasteel Cru Rosé with white-chocolate-dipped strawberries, and Blue Moon with an orange sponge cake topped with white chocolate. Following that, we got our hands (in gloves) dirty by making some beer and chocolate truffles – the success of which is proof that beer has a place in sweet as well as savoury recipes!

If you’re interested in trying beer and chocolate, watch this space: soon we’ll be launching more information about how to get the best out of this pairing, as well as an exciting new chocolate-themed competition!