If I was slightly more awesome than I am, I'd always post about things right after they happen. Sadly, that's not the case. You can only be as awesome as you already are. That's my excuse for not posting about this awesome chocobeer party I had like a month ago, like, a month ago.

Anyway, according to yours truly as quoted in the Chicago Sun-Times (also, of course, several weeks ago), all you need to have a chocolate and beer pairing are the chocolate, the beer, "a small bouquet of flowers, and napkins." A bizarre quote indeed. And also according to me in the article, these 4 items will entertain a group of 2 or 20.

That said, I pulled together most of the above items (minus the bouquet of flowers) to host a chocobeer party at the office of my friends/clients at Street Attack in Boston. And we had around 20 people or so, so I guess I was right. There were 6 different kinds of chocolate and 7 different kinds of beer. I paired each chocolate with a different beer - some pairings were based on past tastings, others were being tested out for the very first time. I stuck with Belgium for all, and featured Cote d'Or chocolate and several Belgian beers (and one Belgian-style that's made in the US):

Ommegang + Cote d'Or Milk: Ommegang is the Belgian-style beer that's made in the US. I've talked about this pairing a lot before. It's not new, but it's so good that I incorporate it to my chocobeer tastings as often as possible. The combination is just incredibly complementary. The sweetness of the beer connects with the warmth and caramel flavor of the chocolate. Ommegang makes an excellent beer pairing with sweet milk chocolates in general.

Westmalle Tripel + Cote d'Or Lait Intense: This was something of a non-pairing. The beer and chocolate didn't really clash, but didn't complement each other in any way either. It's almost like they were ignoring each other. I wouldn't recommend this pairing at all. Totally boring. Separately though, they're each quite delicious. The problem when you put them together is that the Trippel is too light and tart to meet the chocolate halfway. One taster mentioned that the Trippel has some floral qualities that would pair well with an Earl Grey-infused dark chocolate. Interesting idea. I haven't tried it.

Westmalle Dubbel + Cote d'Or 54%: The Dubbel, with a lower alcohol content than the Tripel, has a heavier mouthfeel and sweeter flavor. It's flavor is deep and soft. It was an awesome pairing with the 54%. The two mellowed each other out. The pairing was smooth and pleasing.

Rochefort 6 + Cote d'Or 70%: Another Trappist ale with a similar alcohol content to the Dubbel (around 7.5 ABV), the Rochefort 6's flavor profile did not mesh with the dark chocolate we tried it with. The beer was spicy and tasted a bit like root beer. The pairing was bizarre and random. One taster pointed out that it would be a fabulous pairing with white chocolate. I could definitely see that. It'd be like a rootbeer float. But here's the thing, a few tasters really liked this pairing. They felt that the beer mellowed out the bitterness of the chocolate - I was totally shocked, but it just goes to show that everyone's tastebuds are different.

Lindemans Raspberry Lambic + Cote d'Or 86%: I've talked about this awesome pairing so many times that I'm completely sick of writing about it. See an indepth description of what this pairing is like in this previous post. A big hit at the party, that's for sure!

Delirium Tremens + Cote d'Or Orange: I chose this pairing because the Delirium has an orange, piney taste to it that I hoped the orange bar would connect with and potentially mellow out a bit. Overall it was an excellent pairing. The beer, which has quite a bite to it, softened when it was combined with the chocolate. The orange came through both the beer and the chocolate beautifully. Deliriously delicious!

Overall, the Ommegang and Dubbel pairings are my top picks. And I continue to be convinced that mixing good chocolate and tasty alcohol is one sweet way to make friends. Check out a few more photos on flickr.

ps. I created the super cool stylized pic at the top of this post on befunky.