Cocoa Hop Favorites

Beer and chocolate, can there be a more perfect combination?  Thanks to Dagoba and Equal Exchange Chocolate for donating their products to the Cocoa Hop, a large variety of chocolate was able to be sampled along six beers last Saturday. Through the Cocoa Hop, Brewpublic was able to raise some money for KZME radio helping to bring them just that much closer to broadcasting on their FM dial.

Here is a list of pairing favorites from the event.

Trade Route Ginger Pale Ale w/ Equal Exchange Organic Orange Chocolate – The Asian influenced ginger ale mixed with the citrus notes of dark chocolate made for a wonderful mix of flavors that felt like you were eating a great Thai meal.

Oakshire Overcast Espresso Stout w/ Equal Exchange Organic Mint Chocolate – The blending of espresso with a subtle mint flavor was enough to keep us up all night on caffeine.

Lazy Boy Mistletoe Bliss w/ Dagoba Organic Seeds – It must be the salt in the chocolate and the spice in the beer because we could not eat without drinking and drink without eating. Again, this combo made for a meal.

Cascade Porter w/ Equal Exchange Organic Espresso Bean – This chocolate definitely enhanced the flavor of this beer to make it full bodied and rich in flavor.

New Old Lompoc Condor Pale Ale  w/ Dagoba Organic Seeds or Lavender Blueberry Chocolate – Dagoba’s Seed chocolate paired well with just about every beer. Again, that lightly nutty, salt flavor kept people coming back for more. The Lavender Blueberry chocolate also paired well and with writing this I hope Lompoc will release their Barrel Age Blueberry Conder Ale sooner then later!

New Old Lompoc Bourbon Barrel Fermented Dark Side Porter w/ Equal Exchange Organic Milk Chocolate with a Hint of  Hazelnut – The silky taste of this chocolate helped mellow the strong bourbon flavor of this beer and almost help mask its strength. This combo was dangerously delicious!