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The New York City Craft Beer Festival took place on Saturday, March 3rd, at the Lexington Avenue Armory in Manhattan. Close to 60 craft breweries and cider makers from around the country were pouring over 100 different offerings covering the gamut of beer styles.

I was asked by Jimmy Carbone, owner of Jimmy's #43 and the host of Beer Sessions Radio on the Heritage Radio Network to give two chocolate and beer pairing seminars - one during each of the afternoon and evening sessions - as a part of the educational program that also included Joshua Bernstein, beer sommelier Hayley Jensen, Adam Levy, and Samuel Merritt.

60 breweries gave me a lot to select from - an embarrassment of riches, in fact. After consultation with Jimmy and others, I narrowed the selection down to five beers, all from breweries pouring at the event, each a different style. My goal was to select as many brews as possible that were not being poured in the tasting sessions, and four of the five brews I selected were only served in my pairing programs.

And, because I like to live dangerously ... I had actually tasted just three of the five brews and four of the five chocolates before the day of the festival, and I'd only tried one of the pairings. I was trusting my gut that I could make the rest work as I imagined in my mind.

The five breweries and brews were (in the order they were served):

1) Brooklyn Brewery (NYC) Pennant Ale - (English Pale Ale)
2) Wandering Star (MA) Zingari Witbier
3) Blue Point (LI, NY) RastafaRye
4) Clown Shoes (MA) Muffintop - Belgian Trippel style IPA (India Pale Ale)
5) Firestone Walker (CO) Sucaba - Barleywine aged in bourbon barrels

With these five brews I paired six chocolates (also in the order of service):

1) Valrhona Tanariva (33% milk)
2) Pacari Lemongrass
3) Valrhona Guanaja (66%)
4) Valrhona Caraibe (70%)
5) Ki Xocolatl Oregano and Almond milk
6) Raaka Bourbon

Beer and Chocolate?

Over time, I have come to understand that pairing chocolate with beers is not only easier than pairing with wines, it's also a lot more fun and satisfying. Part of my enjoyment is that the craft beer and fine chocolate audiences have a lot in common. It's a lot more satisfying because "everyone knows" that chocolate and wine go together so introducing them to the nuances of beer with chocolate is a new experience for most of them. It's also easier because chocolate and beer not only share fermentation flavors, but also roast flavors, plus the soft bubble structure of beer complements the texture of chocolate; it does not clash the same way that tannins in wines often clash.

Beers tend not to be vintaged, as most wines are. So when you find a beer you like, chances are that it's not going to change in flavor from year to year as wines can and do. I ran into this recently where I asked for a wine for a pairing and the 2009 that I had always used was no longer available ... the merchant delivered the 2010 vintage and it was not the same wine at all!

Finally, virtually all beers are lower in alcohol than wines. This means you can enjoy more beer with your chocolate because you don't get buzzed nearly as quickly.

My number one tip for pairing beers with chocolates? Select beers that can be served at something close to room temperature. Beers that need to be really cold (or are served too cold) are really hard to work with because they cause the fat in the chocolate to harden, slowing down the release of chocolate flavor.

My number two tip? Don't go for the obvious choices. You will notice there is not one stout, chocolate stout, or porter in my pairing lineup, and half of my chocolate selections are not mainstream. Why? Because what would my audience (and I) learn from staying within the bounds of what is obvious?

The Pairings

#1 - Brooklyn Brewery Pennant Ale with Valrhona Tanariva

I am a contrarian when it comes to wine pairings, and I tend to prefer pairing white wines (I like a loit of Gewrztraminers and my all-time favorite pairing wine is Prosecco) with dark chocolates and red wines with milk chocolates whenever I can. Many chocolate "connoisseurs" think it's bad form to admit they like milk chocolate (just as wine drinkers have been trained to say they prefer pinot over merlot), and these days, IPAs not English Pales Ales are all the rage. So what better way to start a pairing program than by crashing through stereotypes by pairing a classic French milk chocolate with an English Pale Ale?

In this case, the warm bready, yeasty flavors of the beer marry extremely well with the rich, sweet, caramel notes of the milk chocolate. The very soft bubble structure of the beer mingles well with the soft, velvety texture of the chocolate. This pairing was selected to highlight how the texture of the beer plays an important role. Plus, I also happen to like this particular milk chocolate. A lot. The pairing is obvious in hindsight (hind-taste?).

#2 - Wandering Star Zingari Witbier with Pacari Lemongrass

I forget why I was talking with Wandering Star's Chris Cuzme about this beer, but it was shortly after I returned from San Francisco in mid-January where I attended a Pacari and Whiskey tasting that included the lemongrass bar.

Most Wit beers don't have lemongrass in their recipes, but when Chris mentioned that Zingari did (along with the more traditional coriander and cardamom and the decidedly untraditional fenugreek), I intuited that the lemongrass in the chocolate would provide a nice bridge linking the two. And I was right. What was also nice was that the additional lemongrass notes in the chocolate enhanced the other spices in the beer, making the combination more complex than either, individually.

#3 - Blue Point RastafaRye with Valrhona Guanaja and Caraibe

The RastafaRye was one of the three beers I'd tasted before the seminars, at Roberta's in Bushwick (which is, coincidentally, the home of the Heritage Radio Network Studios - and some of the best pizza in the NYC metro area; I can recommend the guanciale with egg). The other reason I selected it was because ryes tend to be spicy but without the aggressive piney resinous quality of many IPAs and I wanted a distinct style different from the other brews.

The purpose of this pairing was more educational in nature, rather than being something that I knew in advance "worked." The idea was to taste the chocolate with the beer to see how the flavor of the beer changed with the two different chocolates. (In color theory in art, we call this the principle of simultaneous contrast). Even though the percentages are only 4% apart, the difference in sugar content, as well as the bean origin and roast, make the flavor combinations wildly different.

I always like to include one pairing like this in all my sessions as I get to use it to show part of the process of making the pairing selections. It's also instructive to note that some audience members really prefer one pairing over the other while some don't really care for either.

#4 - Clown Shoes Muffintop with Ki Xocolatl Oregano w/Almond Milk Chocolate

This was one of those completely blind pairings that were either going to be fabulously wonderful or absolute dreck. For me, this was the standout pairing of the session, in part because it was the most surprising. This is a really counterintuitive pairing on the surface but one that makes sense when looked at closely. Still, it would either fail spectacularly or be hauntingly sublime.

IPAs in general are among the more difficult pairing beers, and any beer that labels itself as a hybrid of a Belgian Trippel and an IPA is going to be even more problematic. The challenge is the resinous, piney, bitter nature of the hops - it really does want a fatty chocolate that itself is spicy.

The chocolate is extremely aromatic and Mexican oregano is known for its resinous qualities. The combination was outstanding, with the oregano notes mellowed by the almond and caramel flavors in the milk. Definitely a case where 1+1 equals 3 (but in this case I might make it equal 4).

#5 - Firestone Walker Sucaba with Raaka Bourbon

First off, if you ever see Sucaba available anywhere, try it. It is outstanding and unlike almost anything else you will ever drink. Not very much is made - it's a "proprietor's reserve" limited edition. You will be rewarded admirably if you seek it out.

This was the highest alcohol content brew of the day - ABV 12.5% - and, like the Wandering Star/Pacari pairing was one I intuited would work because ... the Sucaba is aged in bourbon barrels and the Raaka is made from nibs that have been stored in used bourbon barrels to absorb the aroma.

So - they share basic fermentation flavors, basic roast flavors, and the overlay of the bourbon flavors, which have ferment flavors, roast flavors, plus oaky and vanilla flavors from the barrel. See where I am going with this one? While the flavor pairing is a marriage made in barrel-aged heaven (I scored it tied for second with the Zingari/Pacari pairing in my mind), what's most interesting and unusual is the way the deep earthy base note from the chocolate tamed some of the residual sweetness of the barleywine, adding layers of depth and complexity that brought out some of the fruitiness in the chocolate and lowered the "center of gravity" of the tasting experience in the mouth.

Concluding Thoughts

The point is to have fun and to experiment, and understand that not every pairing has to work. In fact, pairings that don't work can be more instructive than pairings that do.

Tasting is a conscious process, where you go slowly and pay attention to what your senses tell you about what you are smelling, drinking, and eating. What's important, and what takes practice, is to build up sense memories that you can call on. People who are really good at this can imagine what pairings will be like in their mind. I won't pretend that I am really good at this - I have a lot to learn, still - but I "knew" in advance that the lemongrass pairing would work and I had a very good sense for how the bourbon pairing could work. I could also "taste in my mind" how the oregano could go with a hoppy IPA.

All it takes is practice - and a sense of humor. It's okay to take the chocolate and the beer seriously - but don't take yourself too seriously.In the end, it's just beer, and it's just chocolate.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the festival organizers and Jimmy Carbone for inviting me to present. Also to Chris Cuzme of Wandering Star, Jordan at Union Beer Distributors, and Brookly Brewery for helping me with my beer selections. Conrad Miller of Chocolate Earth provided much of the chocolate, and all of the chocolates served during the pairing are available through Chocolate Earth (DUMBO - Front St). Thanks also to Louis Varela of Ki Xocolatl for providing their chocolate. Louis returned from Merida, Mexico the day before the session and brought the chocolate with him, requiring some extra special last-minute coordination with Conrad. I would also like to thank Mary Izett and the staff from Jimmy's who provided invaluable assistance during setup, greeting guests, and pouring the beers. Their hard work and professionalism made my job a whole lot easier.

You can listen to the episode of Beer Sessions Radio that aired the Tuesday before the festival, where I talk about beer and chocolate with Garrett Oliver, John Holl, Mark Zapp, and Jimmy Carbone, on-line . It (and all Beer Sessions Radio episodes) are also available for download as podcasts on iTunes.

Hello Chocolate Life,

I haven't participated in any forums before or done any blogging.

No time like the present I suppose.

Last week I managed to visit 2 chocolate shpos in Melbourne. One in Smith Street Collingwood and one in Collins St in the city.

On visiting a new chocolate shop I like to try the hot chocolate and the dark chocolate truffles. If these are above reasonable quality then it is worthwhile trying other products. If not then don't look back!

The hot chocoates were both very nice. The city one much more creamy and to my palate then the other. Unfortuantely I was in a hurry so was not able to try any of the truffles.

Given the quality of the hot chocolates the truffles will be worth a visit!

One of Melbourne's increasingly endearing qualities is the rising number and high standard of chocolate in the city.

Jas

Le Marais Chocolat Makes Organic Chocolate Truffles with a Purpose

Santa Monica, CA (February 27, 2012) Leslie Berliant has been cooking, baking and candy making since she was a little girl. She even had a catering company at the tender age of 16 and recently spent a year cooking everything from scratch and blogging about it. Her latest adventure in chocolate, however, began two years ago out of her personal passions for cooking, Fair Trade chocolate, dreaming up unique flavor combinations, and a desire to help after the earthquake in Haiti. Among other fundraising efforts for the foundation program she co-founded to help in the aftermath of the Haiti Earthquake in 2010 - BLU MOON Foundations Haiti Orphanage Adoption Program (HOAP) - she began selling truffles to friends and family at the holidays as a way to raise funds. Those truffle sales, contributed to clean water installations, critical food and supplies, school uniforms for 50 kids and an orphanage renovation.

This last holiday season, friends, and friends of friends, started buying truffles in larger numbers, 60 here, 100 there, and over and over again, people who didnt need to be nice about it told me these are better than (fill in a favorite high-end chocolate here). You should really do this as a business, Leslie explains, so I listened and took the leap! I chose the name, Le Marais Chocolat , because the truffles are hand-crafted and made in small batches, so each one is unique and rustic, but also high end and delicious, kind of like my beloved Le Marais neighborhood in Paris - its artsy and funky with aristocratic roots. Leslie says that since starting the company in January of this year, her friend have been incredibly supportive and encouraging. And on her first sales call, she sold 50 boxes to a local specialty food and wine retailer.

Now she is turning to the wider community to help raise funds on Kickstarter for Le Marais Chocolats Fair Trade Certification. Ive been a big advocate, one might even say proselytizer, of Fair Trade and especially Fair Trade chocolate since learning about the rampant use of child slave labor in the cocoa trade. We already use all Fair Trade Certified organic chocolate and many other Fair Trade and organic ingredients, but its important that we show our commitment by becoming a Fair Trade member and using the Fair Trade logo on our packaging.

The funds raised on Kickstarter will also help Le Marais Chocolat truffles make their way into some local farmers market where Leslie hopes to not only introduce people to her locally made truffles, but also be an advocate for Fair Trade.

I want to share my love of chocolate with the people that cultivate it, the communities where its grown and the people that savor it, Leslie explains. I also want to raise money for micro-organizations that dont have access to big donors but are making a difference in peoples lives. I created Le Marais Chocolat for chocolate connoisseurs like me that care about incredible taste, organic ingredients, fair trade practices, the environment and giving back--all in one little truffle!

Based in Santa Monica, California, Le Marais Chocolat creates small batch, hand-dipped chocolate truffles using organic Fair Trade Certified chocolate, organic cream and other locally sourced, organic ingredients to create delicious, rustic, handcrafted truffles. Unique flavors like Black Walnut, Rosemary Orange, Lemon Thyme and the signature Le Petit Prince truffle made with the fruit of the baobab tree, combine fresh herbs, flowers, fruits and other ingredients. All the chocolate used is organic and Fair Trade Certified and a portion of every sale is donated to charity. www.lemaraischocolat.com

Kickstarter - http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lemaraischocolat/le-marais-chocolat-gets-its-fair-trade-certificati

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LeMaraisChocolat

For more information please contact Leslie Berliant at 310.403.1221, info@lemaraischocolat.com

Published by Max Felchlin AG, Schwyz, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary. (2008)

The Composition

Every Detail Counts

The couverture is now ready. The confectioner uses it as raw material for individual chocolates, for solid chocolate and for other in-house specialities. The couverture contains more cocoa butter than chocolateand this enhances its flow flow properties to facilitate pouring or when used as a coating in further processing. Whether in the form of button-sized discs or heavyweight bars, this soberly-wrapped raw product easily contains 600 different natural aromas: individual components that cannot be fully perceived, imagined or identified either on the nose or the palate. This analysis and counting of the individual substances is performed in the laboratory using a gas chromatograph: depending on their mass and structure, individual molecules pass through a tube at different speeds and can thus be identified and counted on the basis of their separation.

However, pleasure is not a mathematical equation and the senses are not a computer program. Like wine tasting, they rely on other factors, such as the character and physical and emotional well-being of the taster, on the weather, the temperature and time of day. The senses are concerned with chocolate as a whole but each sense approaches it from a different angle.

First of all, we look at chocolat with our eyes. Whether a bar of solid chocolate or an individual chocolate, an Easter bunny or mousse-its very colour attracts our attention. And this attention has to be deeply rooted in our souls. There is a tendency to associate very dark foods, such as coffee, chocolate, truffles, caviar and porcini mushrooms, as well as plum cake, with arousal and luxury, wrote Magaret Visser, Canadian professor, in her book The Rituals of Dinner. In our innermost beings, we believe that this special dark matter has be meaningful and originated from ancient times.

A bar of Grand Cru chocolate has a silky-matt gloss, whereas straightforward industrial chocolate looks like a plastic sample. The next two senses determine further differences: when a piec of chocolate that has been rolled backward and worward by a longitudinal conch for hours is broken of, it makes a soft snap, a tone in a minor key, almost like a soft sigh. The snap of chocolate that has been manufactured rationally and less elaborately is higher and sharper. The reason for this different music is the cocoa varity and the quality of the beans.

Our sense of touch tells us more. Rubing a few fragments of chocolate between our index finger and thum warms the chocolate, thus releasing the volatile aromas. Biting into the chocolate tells us about its consistency, whether it has hard or soft structure; again, the sound it makes as we bite into it is important, but the feel of it on the tongue (called mouthfeel) is also crucial.

We now allow the chocolate to melt on the tongue. One of the secrets of pleasure of chocolate is its mellow sensation: chocolate melts at 33C, which is just 3C lower than thetemperature of teh human body, the temperature that is the closest to the soul. The cocoa butter starts to melt away and the fat is broken down, the aromas unfold and develop and, because the melting point of chocolate is just a few degrees below that of body temperature (which is why chocolate initially feels cool on the tongue), chocolate can also have an intimate, comforting effect. Whilst the chocolate melts on the tongue, the taste papillae pick up all of many flavours and trigger a signal to the brain, where the taste memory is challenged. How can these flavours be graded, where classified? Chocolate we know, but what about everything else? This all has to be registered individually.

The tongue first detects the basic tastes: sweet, sour, bitter and also salty, or least mineral. By holding our breath for a momentthen breathing out gradually through the nose, we can detect the volatile aromas and basic flavours, as well as further nuances: spicy, strong and distinct (vanilla, cinnamon, cloves and other opulent, Christmassy components), refreshing and fruity (cassis, apricot and wild berries), floral (orange blossom and rose), vegetal ( brushwood and truffles), nutty (almond and macadamia), as well as roast aromas (coffee, tea or caramel) and other independent aromas (tobacco, butter, honey or beeswax). All these flavours, substances, essences and a few more nuances that can be identified with the human sensory organs and a little practice are also found in wines. Listing flavour nuances from the world of botany and other areas of life may be problematic when trying to understand complex flavor landscapes; it is often difficult to put impressions into words. However, a landscape consists of details and identifying these details, one after the other, underpins its incredible richness whether chocolate, wine or a truffle that has just been unearthed and cut open.

THE COMPOSITION OF THE COCOA BEAN

The cocoa bean contains more than 50 percent cocoa butter. Protein and starch account for a good 10 percent of the weight of the bean, with many other substances making up the balance, including the essences, which act as a stimulant and which also give us foodfor thought. On the one hand, the variety of the aromas stimulates the senses and, on the other hand, these substances also have a beneficial effect on our physical and emotional well-being. The cocoa bean contains caffeine, theobromine, serotonin and phenethylamine all substances that act as anti-depressants, anti-stress agents and that are thus relaxing. Theobromine and caffeine are alkaloids that stimulate the central nervous system and also act as diureticts.

Content of the cocoa bean: Caffeine 0.2%, sugar 1.0%, Theobromine 1.2%, minerals, salts 2.6%, water 5.0%, Polyphenoles 6.0%, Cellulose 9.0%, organic acids 9.5%, Protein 11.5%, cocoa butter 54.0%

BASIC CHOCOLATE RECIPIES

The flavour of the cocoa is determined by its origin, bean variety and processing. Chocolate is made from either single-variety or from blends of different beans. Sugar is also added. Mixing in milk powder produces milk chocolate. White chocolate does not contain any cocoa solids, only cocoa butter.

DARK CHOCOLATE: 70 % cacao and 30% sugar

MILK CHOCOLATE: 35% cacao, 40% sugar and 25% milk powder

WHITE CHOCOLATE: 35% cacao butter, 40% sugar and 25% milk powder

next time The Pleasure From Chocolate to an Agent of Delight

This is a white chocolate cake made with ground almonds instead of flour. It has a wonderful moist gooey texture and is decorated with milk chocolate icing and dark chocolate shavings. Serves 12. Buy online at www.hotchocolates.biz

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On February 27, 2012, at 6:00 a.m. PST, MDP Signature Chocolates launched its Kickstarter Project ( http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1844679095/from-firehouse-chef-to-master-chocolatier ) to raise capital to open a small chocolate factory and retail space in Seattle, Washington. The goal is to have people pledge $50,000 in 30 days. Kickstarter is the worlds largest funding platform for creative projects.

In 2004, Chef Michael D. Poole established MDP Signature Chocolates and began producing handcrafted, French chocolates under this label.These chocolates were provided exclusively to catering clients. With an increase in client demand, Michael began boxing the chocolates for retail sale on the Internet at http://mdpchocolates.com .

Since 2004, MDP Signature Chocolates has won silver and gold awards at both the Seattle and San Francisco International Chocolate Salons. The judges at the Seattle Chocolate Salon proclaimed, the lemon meringue truffle from MDP was like a bite of lemon meringue pie enrobed in white chocolate.

In addition to establishing a chocolate business, Chef Michael has served 32 years as a firefighter and lieutenant on the Seattle fire department.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Michele L. Simms-Burton, Ph.D.

Director of Marketing and Public Relations

571.527.7629

michelelsimms@yahoo.com

http://mdpchocolates.com

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=331906960178308&set=a.161110650591274.27279.160235940678745&type=1&theater

I was curious what is your favorite chocolate and drink pair? I personally have been enjoying dark chocolates with a nice porter (mostly pecan porters) but I feel like trying something new. Any suggestions? I typicallypreferbeer pairings but I am open to nice wines as well.

This cake is very quick and easy to make which I love. I am not very good at complicated recipes with too many stages, the fewer the better is my philosophy. As the cake cooks it will fill your kitchen with the most beautiful aroma of chocolate, spice and orange, the perfect natural room fragrance!

For the cake
100g butter 100g hot chocolates dark chocolate buttons 75g dark muscovado sugar 100ml golden syrup pt milk Grated zest 1 orange 175g plain flour 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 2 round teasp ground ginger 1 round teasp ground cinnamon 1 large egg
For the topping
100g butter 75g hot chocolates dark chocolate buttons Juice 1 orange 50g icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 3. Grease and line a 7in square baking tin with greaseproof paper. Melt the butter, chocolate, sugar, syrup, milk and zest together in a pan over a gentle heat. Sift flour, bicarb and spices into a large mixing bowl. Once melted add the chocolate mixture to the dry ingredients and beat well. Add the egg and beat again. Pour mixture into the tin. Tap the pan on the work surface to allow excess air bubbles to rise to the top. Bake in the oven for exactly 30 mins, test cake with a skewer in the centre, if it does not come out clean leave for another five mins and keeping testing until skewer is clean. Leave to cool in tin for 10 mins then empty out on to a wire tray to cool completely. Place cake on serving dish.
For the topping, melt the butter, chocolate, icing sugar and orange juice in a small pan over a gentle heat stirring all the time. Pour over the cake and eat when cold, if you can wait! Sharon

I came accross this article tonight and found the future of cocoa to be quite concerning. We all really need to be proactive in this fight for the future of Cocoa.

Take a read......what are your thoughts?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-future-of-chocolate