Beer school is rarely this well attended; perhaps every event should involve chocolate. Chocolate and beer pairing is a little different from food pairing. It is important to match the sweetness of the chocolate with your beer choice. With food, this is not an issue. Another possibility is to match flavours within the chocolate with your chosen beer. This is getting easier with brewers experimenting with adjuncts and flavours enhancers. Here is a summary of the treats beer school attendees enjoyed. Thanks to Rod Phillips at Liquor Plus for helping me track down these great craft beers.


This was everyone's least favourite pairing of the evening. The hazelnut in each beer was fun, but that was about it.










Those who liked caramel, loved these two together. Russells Wee Angry had mild caramel notes which was mirrored in the Purdy's chocolate. The cashews in the chocolate brought out the light roasted/peatiness in the Russells. A match made in beer heaven.





This was the bold choice: two very strong tasting delicacies. Both the Old Cellar Dwellar and the ice wine truffle can be hard to enjoy by themselves. They worked perfectly as a pair. The vineous richness of the truffle was almost equal to the warmth provided by the OCD. Conversely the intense, citrus, piney and resin from the OCD only made the luscious dark chocolate better.