If you’re a chocolate fan, there seemingly limitless nougat-filled, peanut-butter-centric chocolate bars and chocolate-covered treats for you to enjoy. Plus you’ve got a wealth of $9 free range, shade-grown chocolate at every hipster grocer. And, more to the point today, there are also a ton of beer options.
When it comes to beer for chocolate fans, there are two ways of thinking about the concept. The first is simply beer that tastes like chocolate or has chocolate as one of its main flavors and the other is beer that doesn’t taste like chocolate but pairs well with it. To find these chocolate-centric beers, we turned to the professionals for help. We asked a few well-known craft beer experts to tell us about the best beers for chocolate fans.
Keep reading to see them all. If you’re a chocaholic, you’ll be glad you did.
Adam Lukey, head brewer at Eventide Brewing in Atlanta
ABV: 2.5%
Average Price: $11 for a 75ml bottle
The Beer:
In beer and food pairings, it is important to use complementary and contrasting flavors. A great beer to contrast and cleanse the palate while nibbling on some dark chocolate is Lindemans Brewery’s Framboise, a lambic beer with macerated raspberries. Lindemans is located in Belgium and has been brewing lambics since 1822.
Tasting Notes:
Framboise is strongly effervescent and tart with its characteristic aroma of raspberries with a touch of sweetness. Typically, lambics are a blend of one, two and three-year-old lambics into a cuvée, but Framboise is younger, tending to be just a year old.
Chad Henderson, head brewer and co-owner at NoDa Brewing Company in Charlotte, North Carolina
ABV: 7%
Average Price: $16 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Bell’s Cherry Stout. This malty, complex stout is known for its mix of roasted malt and dark chocolate flavor as well as sweet, tart cherry from the addition of Montmorency cherries locally sourced for nearby Traverse City.
Tasting Notes:
When paired with dark chocolate, its prominent cherry notes explode and enhance the overall tasting experience.
Shaun O’Sullivan, co-founder and brew master at 21st Amendment Brewing in San Francisco
ABV: 4.7%
Average Price: $11 for a six-pack
The Beer:
I didn’t know what to expect from Yuengling Hershey’s Chocolate Porter, but it delivers on all fronts. This 100-year-old iconic brewery with this collaboration brewed a porter with Hershey’s chocolate syrup, cocoa powder, and cocoa nibs.
Tasting Notes:
This beer is everything a chocolate fan could hope for. It’s quite tasty with chocolate milk flavors and a light-dark roast character. It’s chocolate through and through.
Michael Ng, USBG bartender at Behind The Glass Bartending in Los Angeles
ABV: 5%
Average Price: $11 for a four-pack
The Beer:
For chocolate fans, one of the best beers to try is Samuel Smith’s Organic Chocolate Stout. This beer is a true delight for chocolate lovers, and here’s why it’s a must-try: The Samuel Smith’s Organic Chocolate Stout is a rich and velvety stout that beautifully incorporates the flavors of chocolate.
Tasting Notes:
When you take your first sip, you’ll be greeted by a sumptuous blend of dark chocolate, cocoa, and roasted malt notes. It’s like indulging in a luxurious chocolate dessert in liquid form. What makes this beer stand out is the authenticity of its chocolate flavor. The brewery uses high-quality cocoa in the brewing process, and it shows. The chocolate notes are not overly sweet but rather have a deep, bittersweet quality that complements the beer’s roasted malt character. The balance in this stout is remarkable.
Dean Jones, brewmaster at the Genesee Brew House in Rochester, New York
ABV: 9.3%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Swiftwater Muncheez Truck. This bold, complex stout was named for a food truck that’s often parked across the street from the brewery. It’s an imperial stout with coconut, cocoa nibs, and peanut butter. This is truly a chocolate lover’s beer.
Tasting Notes:
I drank this at Swiftwater’s 5th anniversary. It’s super smooth and completely balanced with notes of chocolate and roasted malts in the finish, let it warm up a bit to get the coconut.
George Hummel, grain master at My Local Brew Works in Philadelphia
ABV: 5.5%
Average Price: $17 for a four-pack
The Beer:
While I’m sure most folks are answering with porters and stouts, I’m going to buck the trend and say Monk’s Cafe Sour Flemish Ale. It’s brewed in Belgium for Philly’s premier beer bar and is the perfect complement to your favorite chocolate.
Tasting Notes:
For the same reasons that a rich dark chocolate can be wonderfully paired with a robust red wine, the sweet, tart, and fruity character of this Flemish red ale is a perfect match for a super dark chocolate. The beer is medium-bodied with notes of dry fruit. The sweetness and acidity a perfectly balanced. It’s very food-friendly.
Matthew Steinberg, co-founder and head brewer at Exhibit A Brewing in Framingham, Massachusetts
ABV: 6%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
It might not sound like a beer for chocolate fans, but my pick is Black Pepper Porter, and American Porter from Navigation Brewing in Lowell, Massachusetts. It’s a porter brewed and fermented with black peppercorns.
Tasting Notes:
It’s slightly spicy and has some bitterness on the finish which pairs nicely with the nutty, chocolate notes. It’s a highly memorable beer.
Garth Beyer, certified Cicerone and owner of Garth’s Brew Bar in Madison, Wisconsin
ABV: 10%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Paid Time Off by 3 Sheeps Brewing is a liquid candy bar. It balances fresh coconut flavors with chocolate milk and roasted walnuts, but also restrains its sweetness just enough that it doesn’t feel like you ate a bag of candy.
Tasting Notes:
Subtle notes of molasses play throughout, and the finish is creamy and chocolaty. If you love chocolate, you’ll love the complexity of this beer.
Drayton Lewis, USBG bartender at Hellbender Bed & Beverage in Charlotte, North Carolina
ABV: 9.6%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Sexual Chocolate from Foothills Brewing. You have a pretty good idea about what you’re going to get into when you crack open a beer called “Sexual Chocolate”. This beer is truly top-notch for a chocolate lover who loves a good stout beer.
Tasting Notes:
A yearly release, the decadent chocolate meets notes of espresso, toffee, and a touch of dark fruit. It’s an indulgent beer for the biggest chocolate fans.
Travis Sprague, USBG bartender at Reunion Wine and Bar in Spring Hill, Tennessee
ABV: 8.1%
Average Price: $13 for a 375ml bottle
The Beer:
PFriem Mexican Chocolate Stout. Crafted to taste like a spicy, warming Mexican hot chocolate, it’s brewed with Chinook hops as well as a handful of specialty malts, and American ale yeast. It gets its unique flavor profile from the addition of vanilla beans, cinnamon, nutmeg, liquid cacao, lactose, and Pasilla peppers.
Tasting Notes:
It has a very complex profile of vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and peppers in a milk stout base and those flavors together make for a good sipping beer if you like chocolate.
