Beer, chocolates perfect valentines
With apologies to all the florists, wine vendors, Hallmark, and online toy vendors, there is only one way to show your passion on Valentine’s Day.
That’s with a brown ale, stout or porter, paired with chocolatey desserts.
Brown ales, with their malty flavour and caramel- flavour character, also have a friend in chocolate, and are included in an excellent guide provided by Beerlicious, owners of the Toronto’s Beer Festival which attracts 35,000 people to Bandshell Park at Exhibition Place each summer to check out some of the more than 400 brews on site.
All these beers are Ontario crafts brews available at the LCBO, Beer Store, select grocery stores, or online from the brewery.
Browns
The beer: County Brown Ale by Wellington Brewery of Guelph. A medal- winner in Canadian, Ontario, and U. S. Open competitions, County Brown has nut and toffee notes.
The pair: Chocolate pecan pie
Get it: LCBO, some Beer Store locations.
The beer: Downtown Brown Nut Ale by Amsterdam Brewing of Toronto. Crisp and smooth, this is my favourite from Amsterdam. It’s brewed with a special blend of malts, including a chocolate one.
The Pair: Nutty chocolate brownies
Get it: LCBO, Beer Store
The beer: Dark and Sticky India Brown Ale by Cameron’s Brewing of Oakville. Cameron’s mixed a hop- forward IPA with a balanced brown. The “sticky” part comes from the hops used. It’s one of the beers in Cameron’s Brewmaster four- pack with Black Forest Dark Lager, Ambear Red, and Cosmic Cream Ale.
The pair: Mocha almond fudge cake
Get it: LCBO, select grocery stores
The beer: Pioneer Black Creek Rifleman’s Ration by All or Nothing Brewhouse and Trafalgar Ales and Meads of Oakville. With an aroma of darkly- toasted bread, it’s based on a historic recipe recalling the days when British soldiers were stationed in Canada and enjoyed daily beer rations.
The pair: Hazelnut chocolates
Find it: LCBO, select Beer Store and Loblaws locations.
Stouts
The beer: Sweet Jesus Mocha Marshmallow by Left Field of Toronto. Starting with a sweet stout recipe, Left Field added, among other ingredients, marshmallows and coffee beans.
The pair: Vanilla ice cream or s’mores.
Find it: Order online from the Left Field Fan Shop, www. leftfieldbrewery. ca
The beer: Chocolate Manifesto by Flying Monkeys of Barrie. Made with three kinds of chocolate.
The pair: Chocolate bread pudding
Find it: LCBO
The beer: Tom Green Beer by Beau’s All Natural of Vankleek Hill. A creamy milk stout with aromas of chocolate, espresso and Canadian humour.
The pair: Chocolate creme brulee
Find it: LCBO, Beer Store The beer: Oatmeal Coffee Stout by Stone Hammer of Guelph. Brewed in partnership with coffee roaster Planet Bean using a single origin roast.
The pair: Mocha chocolate icebox cake.
Find it: Beer Store, select grocery stores in Brantford, Waterloo Region, and other regions.
Porters
The beer: Cheat Day Black Forest Porter by Hop City of Brampton. A new seasonal with a hint of cherry.
The pair: Black Forest cake Find it: LCBO
The beer: Collective Project Imperial Porter by Collective Arts of Hamilton. Beer of choice for dark chocolate lovers.
The pair: Chocolate peanut butter cookies
Find it: LCBO, Collective Arts online store ( www. collectiveartsbrewing. com)
Wayne Newton is a freelance journalist based in London. wayne. newton@ bell. net