If you really want to impress your sweetheart this Valentine’s day, skip the flowers and jewelry. Remind them that it’s the relationship that truly matters—specifically, the one between craft beer and food.
Craft beer’s versatility seems to be never-ending, as it’s popping up everywhere from specialty bakeries and creameries to butcher shops and barbecue joints. If you can find the pairing that wins over your special someone’s taste buds, their heart is sure to follow. So here’s a Valentine’s Day gift list for the craft beer foodie that includes condiments, confections and everything in between.
Don’t forget to stop by your local brewery and grab a growler of your Valentine’s favorite craft beer to go along with these beer-inspired goodies!
Mustards & Jellies
- Stone Brewing Co.’s whole-grain mustard, Sublimely Self Righteous Mustard, is made with (you guessed it) Stone’s Sublimely Self Righteous Ale.
- Firestone Walker Brewing Co. uses its award-winning Double Barrel Ale in its DBA Mustard.
- Pikes Brewing Co.’s XXXXX Stout Mustard is made with its award-winning stout, featuring flavors of chocolate, licorice and espresso.
- Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. adds honey and its world-famous Pale Ale to its Honey Mustard.
- Otter Creek Brewing Co’s Black IPA is used in its Black India Pale Ale Beer Jelly. The creators at Potlicker Kitchen recommend pairing it with smoked cheeses or using it as a glaze for meats.
BBQ & Hot Sauces
- Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale is used in Brannen Gourmet’s Original BBQ Sauce and Sweet Habanero BBQ Sauce.
- Victory Brewing Co.’s Storm King Stout is the stand-out ingredient in Homegrown Homesweet’s Punch Drunk Chocolate Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce.
- Stone Brewing Co.’s Arrogant Bastard Ale is the inspiration for the Burning Trinity of Hot Sauces: one bottle each of Arrogant Bastard Ale Jalapeno Heat Sauce, Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale Chipotle Sauce, and Double Bastard Ale Double Burn Habanero Sauce.
Cheeses, Meats & Pickles
- New Glarus Brewing Co.’s Raspberry Tart is used to soak Bellavitano’s parmesan/cheddar blend to create the New Glarus Raspberry Tart Cheese.
- Rogue Ales’ Chocolate Stout is poured over curd at the Rogue Creamery to produce the Chocolate Stout Cheddar.
- White cheese curds are soaked in Milwaukee Brewing Co.’s Milk Stout to create Milk Stout Beer Cheese.
- Devil’s Canyon Brewing Co.’s Scotch Ale is used in the gold medal-winning Hopscotch Cheddar by Fiscalini Cheese.
- Victory Brewing’s German-style Pilsner is added to the brine of Crisp & Co’s Pickles, along with fresh thyme, dill seed, coriander, mustard seed, black pepper, garlic and chile de arbol.
- Dogfish Head’s 60 Minute IPA is used to make Brooklyn Brine Hop Pickles.
- Gordon Biersch Brewing Co.’s Pilsner shows up in Saag’s Gordon Biersch Bratwurst, made with pork, natural spices and flavors in a natural pork casing.
Sweets
- Victory Brewing Co.’s Storm King Imperial Stout combines with chocolate, lavender and handmade waffle dough in Waffatopia’s Sweet & Stormy waffles.
- Redwood Curtain Brewing’s IPA is used in the salty and sweet IPA Peanut Brittle by Boujie Baking Co. Its IPA is also used in the IPA Spicy Pralined Almonds, along with maple syrup and cayenne.
- Rogue Ales’ Stout goes into Vosges Chocolate’s Smoke & Stout Caramel Bar, along with burnt sugar caramel, 70-percent-cacao dark chocolate and Alderwood-smoked salt.
- Rogue Ales’ Double Chocolate Stout is used in Sugar Knife’s The Big Poppa Brittle, along with macadamias, tart dried cherries and Guittard chocolate chips.
- Brooklyn Brewery’s Chocolate Stout is used in Liddabit Sweets’ Gingerbread Stout Caramels. Liddabit also uses Brooklyn’s Brown Ale and East India Pale Ale in Salty Martin’s Pretzels with Caramel.
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