Natalie Duplessy delivered a very special treat to Very Nice Brewing Company for Valentine’s Day. This year, the local brewery offered a Paired chocolate and beer seating.

Here are the comments from Duplessy, who hand crafted the matching chocolates for the special event.

Very Nice Lager (Rose Gold) - A spiced white chocolate ganache with notes of cinnamon and nutmeg inside a white chocolate shell. I believe it pairs very well. When I drink the Lager it makes me want autumn-like things like cinnamon, etc. Something about the bitterness of the Lager gives me the appetite for comfort food that you eat in the fall.

Greener’s Gruit (Magenta) - A dark chocolate ganache infused with fresh rosemary covered in dark chocolate. Process: Steep the cream for the ganache in rosemary. Drinking the Gruit makes me feel like I’m in a big grassy field. I wanted to pair the chocolate with that flavor profile to bring out the Gruit’s herbaceousness. The first thing I thought of was rosemary. Milk chocolate would’ve been too sweet and would’ve muted the bitter notes in the beer itself, rather than a dark chocolate which would highlight them

Monk’s Phunk (Gold) - A Monk’s Phunk infused salted caramel. Process: I made a Monk’s Phunk reduction and cooked down most of the liquid into a syrupy consistency and I used that syrup along with heavy cream and butter, and sugar to make my caramel. I feel like it’s a very caramelly beer itself. The first time I tasted it I thought of making caramel with it, so I took this opportunity to do so

Cherry Sizzlah (Red) - A bon-bon made with a Cherry Sizzlah-infused dark chocolate and a creamy caramel center. Process: The dark chocolate is infused with a Cherry Sizzlah reduction, cayenne pepper, and chili powder to compliment the poblano in the beer. I chose caramel to quell a little bit of the heat, so that the taste of the spices come through but it doesn’t make you go “OMG I just ate pepper chocolate.

Very Nice Brewing Company continues to provide new and innovative ideas to attract people into the tap room. Find out more about upcoming events on their website at https://www.verynicebrewing.com/events.