Valentine's Day is coming up and, to us, what could be better than celebrating with some craft beer and chocolate? How about raising money for The Greater Boston Food Bank? What if we told you you could do all those things at the same time?!

Well on Saturday, February 11th, 2012 from 2-6pm you can! Drink Craft Beer is taking over the Taza Chocolate Factory Store and we're doing some pretty cool stuff.

Taza Chocolate is a bean-to-bar, organic, direct trade chocolate company that has been growing like crazy over the past years. We met them when it was just a couple guys in a factory in Somerville and we’ve watched them grow to national distribution. To us, it’s incredible what Taza Chocolate is able to do with just a few select, high quality ingredients. It actually mirrors our love of craft beer, as brewers do the same with a few simple ingredients. That’s why we think that these two are such a perfect complement to each other.

It’s no secret, Taza Chocolate and Drink Craft Beer have long been friends. We’ve done not just one, but two events together in the past where we’ve paired some of the best craft beer on the market with our favorite bean-to-bar, organic chocolates. But we’ve never brought you all to the factory before!

Given the reaction to past events, we knew we had to do another and what better time than right before Valentine’s Day? So, with that in mind, we’re taking over the Taza Chocolate Factory Store on Saturday, February 11th from 2-6pm and offering you a chance to try four delicious chocolate and craft beer pairings! All we ask in return is a $3 donation at the door, 100% of which will go to The Greater Boston Food Bank. Come join us at:

Taza Chocolate Factory Store
561 Windsor Street
Somerville, MA 02143

Every dollar that gets donated allows them to provide 2.5 meals to those in need, so your $3 donation will provide 7.5 meals! If you bring just one friend, that’s 15 meals for people who are going hungry!

For just $3, you'll get:

• Four samples of craft beer paired with four Taza Mexicano Chocolates
• Meet Rob Lucente, Co-Founder of Peak Organic Brewing Company
• Meet Caitlin Jewell & Jeff Leiter, Co-Founders of Somerville Brewing Company (aka Slumbrew)
• Hang out with Devon and Jeff from Drink Craft Beer
• A chance to provide 7.5 meals to those who are in need

The pairings you'll get to try are:

Peak Organic Oak Aged Mocha Stout with Taza Mexicano Salted Almond Chocolate

Honestly, we originally thought that Taza’s Mexicano Coffee Chocolate would pair with this beer. But the coffee and chocolate (the chocolate is actually nibs from the Taza factory...it all comes full circle!) in Peak Organic’s Oak Aged Mocha Stout just mirrored the flavors in the chocolate way too much...it tasted good together but it didn’t enhance anything, which is the goal when you’re pairing food and beer. The salted almond chocolate, however, was a great surprise choice! By itself, this is possibly our favorite of Taza’s offerings, it tastes almost like a high-end peanut butter cup. But the beer takes it to a whole other level. The oak introduces a bit of a vanilla taste to the beer, which draws out the richness of the chocolate. While this is going on, the sweetness of the chocolate (in our mind, the sweetest tasting of the Taza Chocolates) adds a little bit of body to the Peak Organic Stout that the high alcohol diminishes. Wrap this sweetness up with the flavor-enhancing salt and the nutty almonds and you’ve got yourself a pairing made in heaven. As you walk away, you’ll note an alcoholy vanilla note. Yeah...it’s nice.

Slumbrew Happy Sol with Taza Mexicano Ginger Chocolate

The Taza Mexicano Ginger Chocolate can vary from having a light ginger taste all the way to an intense ginger taste. The great part about pairing it with Slumbrew’s Happy Sol Blood Orange Hefeweizen is that the combination works at all ends of the spectrum. The Hefeweizen really brings out the ginger in the chocolate. Then, once that’s out there, the flavor goes perfectly with the clovey spice and orange of the beer. You end up finishing on a juicy, gingery thought and almost forget you’re eating chocolate. It’s a really neat effect!

Sixpoint The Crisp with Taza Mexicano Orange Chocolate

OK, we know what you’re thinking: “Chocolate with a pilsner?! But that’s such a light beer!” And yeah, we know it’s light. But you don’t need dark beer for dark chocolate. In this case, the pairing works because the orange is a bit subdued and almost hidden when you’re just eating the chocolate. Sixpoint’s The Crisp, though, is a crisp but full pilsner with some fruity notes at the end of the taste. These serve to bring out the orange in the chocolate and really brighten it up, so you’re left feeling as if you’ve just bitten into a big, juicy, chocolate orange. It’s delicious! These are some of our favorite types of pairings to do because, while we love a dark beer with chocolate, this is what really tends to throw people for a loop and push the bounds of what they think for food pairing.

Narragansett Porter with Taza Mexicano Coffee Chocolate

Now that we’ve done some nontraditional pairings, let’s get back to one that people will expect a little more. Taza’s Mexicano Coffee Chocolate has some pretty serious coffee to it and, while it’s on the sweeter end of their offerings by sugar content, the coffee lowers this apparent sweetness. Narragansett’s Porter, a robust, roasty and malty porter really serves to bring some sweetness to the pairing and rounds the whole thing out. Putting them together really makes the taste of both a lot more full, which is what we always look for in a pairing; 1+1=3.

This is an awesome chance to come and try some great chocolate, drink some amazing beer and meet some of the coolest brewery owners in New England! Not to mention, you'll be raising money for a great cause. Come on out and see us on Saturday, February 11th! Again, it's 2-6pm and the location is:

Taza Chocolate Factory Store
561 Windsor Street
Somerville, MA 02143

Add a comment

In our continued effort to make Drink Craft Beer better for you, our readers, we're going to take this chance to turn a Friday Craft Beer Poll a little inward looking. 2011 was a great year for Drink Craft Beer and we want 2012 to be even better. That said, the only way we can do that is to make you happy! So we want to know what you'd like to see more of in 2012. Do you like our interviews with brewers, brewery owners, and other craft beer industry people? Do you want us to recommend and review more beers? Do you really enjoy our multi-beer articles where we do a quick overview of what we like for different styles and/or seasons and what you might want to check out? Or, do you like hearing about our beery exploits as we go to breweries, other cities and other craft beer things we do?

As usual, vote below then let us know what you want to see on Twitter, on Facebook or in the comments below the poll.

 

Add a comment

Last year at about this time, I came across a new beer from 21st Amendment (a brewpub out in San Francisco, CA) that I loved. I bought it by the sixpack regularly but then one day, on a day that came far too soon, I was told it was gone. Sold out. “Sorry, it’s a seasonal and the season is done!” OK, so that last part isn’t a direct quote, but that was the gist. I was amazed. It wasn’t even Spring yet, and this deliciously crisp session beer was off the market?! Well this year I’ve learned my lesson, and I’m going to buy even more. [Editor's Note: Since writing this, 21st Amendment has announced that this beer is now year round.] Why don’t I tell you a little bit about it:

Bitter American does not pour like what many think of as “American beer.” That is, if you think of American beers as represented by the likes of light, corn/rice filled lagers that are best consumed out of cups sitting on a ping-pong table or during a super hot summer day after mowing the lawn. This brew pours a crystal clear deep orangey golden...almost a burnt sienna, if I wanted to pick a fancy sounding word.The head is white with just the slightest hint of brown to it, and it puffs right up before falling down to a good, solid half finger that just lounges at the top of your glass.

Now if you’re one of those people who think session beer is weak and flavorless well...well, you’re probably new to this site, actually, come to think of it...and this beer will certainly turn your mind around! The smell is nothing but American hops! Citrusy, a little piney and fruity, this beer smells like a crisp hop-bomb that needs to be drank, like, right now.

Oh yeah! Lately I’ve been a little sick of over-resiny hoppy beers and this is exactly what I’m looking for. It’s got some major fruity hop flavor, just like it smells. The bitterness is assertive, but it keeps a respectful distance at the same time; it’s just very well balanced for the minimal malt in this beer. Speaking of malt, it’s definitely there and you can taste it, but the only word I can think of to describe it is clean. It provides a nice, mild character to the beer, but it’s not overdone. I guess that would be how I sum up this whole beer. It’s got assertive hops, good bitterness and some tasty clean malt to it, but not of it is overdone.

[Editor's Note: This was written before 21st Amendment announced that this beer was going year-round...so please consume the rest of this article with that in mind.]

I wish this was a year-round beer from 21st Amendment because this would be a staple in my fridge at all times. It’s a great beer for relaxing with in the winter, but I bet it would be an even better beer for hanging out with in the summer! Plus, the fact that it comes in cans means it’s perfect for barbecues, the beach and any other place that glass can’t go. The fact that it’s only available from January to March seems like a crime given how well it would work for summer.

In fact, you know what? Why don’t you email Nico and Shaun, the founders of 21st Amendment, and let them know that this should be a year-round beer. Here’s the contact information from their website:

Nico Freccia - Co-Founder/Businesss Operations - email: Nico AT 21st-Amendment.com

Shaun O'Sullivan -- Co-Founder/Brewmaster/Media Relations - email: Shaun AT 21st-Amendment.com

I picked up a six-pack of this craft beer at Craft Beer Cellar in Belmont.

Add a comment

A few weeks ago, we interviewed the founder of Heavy Seas Beers, Hugh Sisson. While I was writing up the article, I got to thinking how much I’ve enjoyed many of their beers as well as how I haven’t had anything by them in a long time. Flash into the future a couple weeks and I find myself at Craft Beer Cellar in Belmont, MA picking up a few bottles when what do I see? Heavy Seas Mutiny Fleet 2011 Cabernet Barrel Aged Below Decks Barleywine! I think, “This has got to be a sign!” and pick up a bottle. I’m glad I did! Heavy Seas doesn’t always get the attention it deserves up here in the well-served craft beer market of Massachusetts, but this might change a couple peoples’ minds!

Normally barleywines pour a golden to rich honey hue, but Barrel Aged Below Decks bucks that trend and falls into the glass a rich, near-opaque coffee color. A tan, single header forms on top but quickly dissipates into a patchy film on top, most likely an effect of the high alcohol and wine barrel aging.

With a barrel aged beer, I often worry that the barrel is going to overwhelm any inkling of the original expression. In this case my fear is assuaged, the first smell I get is a sweet, kind of boozy, malt. It’s rich, smooth and, honestly, smells like the perfectly comforting beer for a cold night. We haven’t had many of those in Boston this year yet, but it’s starting to trend that way so I’m happy to have this one.

Upon reexamining, though, you’ll definitely find a good, strong hint of that Cabernet barrel they splash across the front label. It’s possible to overlook it at first as the dark fruit tones of the wine blend so well with the character of the malt and slightly fruity nature of the English-style barleywine. This is a great example of finding a character that enhances the beer and playing it up. It’s always great to see barrel aging done subtly and in a thoughtful way.

Let this beer warm up a bit before drinking. Then, my instructions are simple: Sip. Pause. Enjoy. Think. Repeat. Honestly, all the components have just come together very well and I am super impressed! One of my favor aspects of this brew is just how smooth and creamy it is; it’s nothing short of incredible in the mouthfeel department. As you take the initial sip, just before it hits your tongue, there’s a quick suggestion of cocoa, but it’s gone as soon as the beer hits your lips, overtaken by  plum and fig-like dark English malts. The Cabernet plays right into these aspects, adding an extra level of fruitiness that, with the sweet malt, makes this beer an enjoyment to linger over every sip. Finally, the oak wraps it all up and melds everything together while smoothing the whole shebang out. Only at the end will you note a bit of alcohol but hey, that ain’t bad for a 10% abv beer, right? Definitely go out and try this one soon, it’s a limited batch but it’s oh so worth hunting down.

By the way, this would be a great Valentine’s Day beer! It’s got notes of chocolate, fruit and is insanely smooth. Most anyone will like the beer and it will go great with desert.

I picked this bottle up at Craft Beer Cellar in Belmont.

Add a comment