Beer and chocolate pairing with dark, milk and white chocolate

Why beer and chocolate work

Chocolate and dark beer are made in similar ways. Cocoa beans are fermented and roasted. Malt is germinated and kilned. Dark malts are roasted. Both processes create the same families of aroma: coffee, caramel, toast, dried fruit and sometimes smoke.

Beer also brings things chocolate does not have. Carbonation scrubs the cocoa butter coating off your tongue. Bitterness and acidity cut sweetness. Those two effects keep each bite tasting fresh. Our guide to beer and dessert pairing sets out the general rules.

The three rules

• Match intensity. A delicate beer disappears beside a strong dark bar. A big imperial stout flattens a mild white chocolate.
• The beer should be as sweet as the chocolate, or sweeter. If the chocolate is sweeter, the beer tastes thin and harsh.
• Find a bridge. A shared flavour, such as roast, caramel, fruit or vanilla, links the two.

Everything else is personal taste. Treat these as starting points, not laws.

Dark chocolate

Dark chocolate, roughly 60 to 85% cocoa, is bitter, roasty and often fruity. It needs a beer with matching weight and some sweetness.

• Imperial stout. The classic. Rich, roasty and sweet enough to stand up to high-cocoa bars. Our imperial stout guide covers the style.
• Porter. Lighter, good with 60 to 70% bars.
• Belgian strong dark ale or quadrupel. Dried fruit and caramel flavours pick up fruity dark chocolate.
• Kriek or other cherry beers. Cherry and dark chocolate is a famous pair. The acidity cuts the richness.

Be careful with very dry, bitter beers like West Coast IPAs. Bitter on bitter can turn harsh and metallic.

Milk chocolate

Milk chocolate is sweeter, creamier and less bitter. It suits beers with caramel, nut and toast flavours and a softer bitterness.

• Milk stout. Lactose sweetness and gentle roast mirror the chocolate. The pairing tastes like a mocha.
• Brown ale. Nutty and caramel, good with hazelnut milk chocolate.
• Doppelbock. Bready and rich with toffee notes.
• Scotch ale. Caramel and a hint of smoke.

Sweet chocolate makes beer taste more bitter, so lean towards malty beers here.

White chocolate

White chocolate has no cocoa solids, only cocoa butter, sugar and milk. It is sweet, creamy and vanilla-like. Dark beers usually overwhelm it.

• Witbier. Orange and coriander lift the vanilla. A surprising favourite.
• Hefeweizen. Banana and clove with white chocolate tastes like a dessert.
• Fruit beers with raspberry or passion fruit. Acid and fruit balance the sweetness.
• Belgian tripel. Spicy, fruity and dry enough to cut through.

Flavoured bars

Flavoured chocolate gives you an extra bridge to work with. Orange dark chocolate suits a witbier or a Belgian dubbel. Sea salt caramel milk chocolate meets a brown ale or a doppelbock halfway. Chilli dark chocolate is trickier: carbonation and alcohol both amplify heat, so pick a sweeter, lower alcohol beer such as a milk stout rather than a strong one. Mint chocolate is hard to pair with almost anything. That is fine.

Running a pairing at home

Buy three bars, one of each type. Pick three beers chosen from the lists above. Break the chocolate into small squares. Pour 60 to 90 ml of each beer.

1. Taste the beer alone. Note sweetness, bitterness and main flavours.
2. Let a square of chocolate melt on your tongue for a few seconds.
3. Sip the beer while some chocolate is still in your mouth.
4. Note what changes. Did the beer get sweeter, more bitter or more fruity? Did the chocolate taste richer?

Then try a deliberately bad match, such as an IPA with milk chocolate. Learning why a pair fails teaches as much as finding one that works.

Indian twists

Indian chocolate makers now produce single-origin dark bars from cocoa grown in Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Many are bright and fruity, which suits fruit beers and porters. Try a stout with a mithai-like sweet such as a chocolate barfi, or a wheat beer with a white chocolate and cardamom bar.

In Indian heat, keep chocolate cool but not fridge cold. Let it sit out for 10 minutes before tasting so it melts properly on the tongue. Cold chocolate tastes of very little.

Common questions

What is the best beer for dark chocolate?

Imperial stout and porter are the classic matches. Cherry beers and Belgian dark ales also work well with fruity dark bars.

Which beer goes with white chocolate?

Lighter, fruity or spicy beers such as witbier, hefeweizen and fruit beers. Dark beers usually overpower white chocolate.

Why does my beer taste bitter with chocolate?

The chocolate is probably sweeter than the beer, which makes the beer's bitterness stand out. Choose a maltier, sweeter beer.

Can IPA go with chocolate?

Sometimes with fruity, high-cocoa bars, but bitter on bitter often turns harsh. Malty and fruity beers are safer choices.