THERE ISN'T A BEVERAGE IN EXISTENCE... that doesn't pair well with chocolate, or so common wisdom says. Water? Of course you need a glass of cool H20, the better to wash down the sticky cocoa caramel you just ate. Milk? We hardly want to take the time to address this one: Milk and dessert are as tight as a pair of clasped hands. Wine? So many wine tastings focus on the deepness of a dark red, like a Cabernet, and the deepness of a dark, nut-laden square. Beer? Well... Let's hold the phone for a minute here. Beer has many rich components, from hopsy depths to complex lemony notes, but its role as a courtier to chocolate has never much been played up, perhaps because, in large part, wine always stole that particular spotlight, the spotlight that focuses on adult beverages and light sweets. But beer has come into its own as an ingredient in entrees and appetizers in recent years, which means a cameo in some nice chocolate would not be too far behind. And so it hasn't been: Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company and Stafford's Famous Chocolates are once again teaming up on fine chocolates that incorporate the Buellton-based brewmaker's accolade-garnering Davy Brown Ale.
YEP, BEER AND CHOCOLATE... just might go together as tightly as a tightly clasped hand, if previous sales of the chocolates, which are not always available, are a testament. They tend to sell out in lickety-split fashion, and if you want more, or even your first box, you'll have to wait for the next holiday. They sold out in an hour on Valentine's Day and now are back, in truffle and salted caramel form, for Mother's Day. You can find them in the Figueroa Mountain taprooms from May 8 through 10, or you can order in advance through May 7. Either way, consider this the most unusual foodie gift your mom has ever received. That is, if you don't eat them first. One box for you, one for your mother? That works. Because how often does the beer-in-a-chocolate combo come along? Not too often, though with beer's burgeoning profile, we have to believe it will soon have a starring role among sweets, too.
