Beer & Chocolate Pairing in Thessaloniki: Our Easter Corporate Gift Story
March was a quiet month for our social media and blog, but a very busy month for the back office! 🤫📦
Now that April is here, we’re ready to tell you everything about the corporate gift and the beer & chocolate pairing experience we developed for a client. As you might expect, it highlights local beer and local craftspeople right here in Thessaloniki.
Let’s dive in!
Just for the record, Greece is an Orthodox country; therefore, our Easter is coming up this Sunday, April 12th. In the beginning of March, we were contacted by a client asking for Easter gift options. We could have just grabbed a few chocolates and some local beers and said: Καλό Πάσχα! (Happy Easter!).
But we are BrewVentures Beer Experience, and we were patiently waiting for an opportunity to bring a chocolate and beer pairing to life.
I’ve been maturing the idea of a beer and chocolate pairing since the end of last year. Back in November, I first visited Ohlala Chocolat here in Thessaloniki. I saw Sophia’s amazing work and knew we should do something together. However, beer and chocolate don’t always resonate as an obvious pair. Even Sophia, an experienced chocolatier who combines flavors like chocolate and chili, was intrigued. She was initially skeptical about my proposal.
I knew I wasn’t creating anything "out of this world"—beer and chocolate are a famous duo in Belgium, for instance. We just needed to adapt it to our local reality.
My first plan was to design the experience for Valentine’s Day. However, we couldn't find the right place to host the event, so I put the idea back in the drawer. When I was finally asked about an "Easter Gift," I knew it was time!
When we talk about pairing, we are talking about a combination of elements that together deliver a superior experience than either element alone. Pairing is a science, and there are plenty of "how-to" references. Specifically for beer, many famous writers have shared their expertise. I’ll leave a small list for you here:
The Brewmaster’s Table by Garrett Oliver – Often considered the "bible" of beer and food pairing. Garret Oliver is the founder of Brooklyn Brewery.
Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher – Another classic. Randy Mosher is one of the pioneers of describing the sensorial profile of beers. Great for understanding the sensory science behind why we taste what we taste.
Beer and Food (or Beer and Food Matching) by Mark Dredge – Mark is a respectable beer writer. This is the go-to guide for anyone wanting to understand how beer interacts with different flavors, from breakfast to chocolate.
Briefly, we use distinct concepts to build a "pair." First, we find elements with similar intensity—we don’t want one overpowering the other. Second, we look for a common flavor. This is the concept of similarity. If you find a shared "flavor DNA," you’re halfway to success. But you can also explore the opposite: contrast. Contrasts are great for bringing balance, and pairing is all about balance!
The main reason chocolate and beer isn't seen as an obvious combination is beer’s fault. No, wait. It’s YOUR fault! You, the one who thinks beer is always blond, malty, and bitter like the ones from the supermarket. I am always saying: there are around 150 distinct beer styles! Beer has incredible potential for high-end pairing and gastronomic use.
That’s precisely one of our goals: moving past the "blonde and bitter" stereotype.
Of course, we can’t rebuild the perception of beer overnight. Therefore, we decided to keep it simple. Using the similarity concept, we immediately envisioned a scenario around dark chocolate flavors. From the beginning, I also had the perfect beer in mind.
Produced right here in Thessaloniki, Άλη Stout was our best option. I studied deeply the ‘Irish Stout’ style from the BJCP myself, you can have a glance here. Not as dry as a famous Guinness, this stout has an elegant aroma of dark chocolate and a more clear coffee-like flavor in the mouth. The finish is dry but balanced by dark chocolate and caramel notes.
On a nice evening, I took a bottle of Άλη Stout and visited Sophia at Ohlala Chocolat. We tested several bonbons: peanut, coconut, almond... but the hazelnut emerged as the winner. The bonbon itself is delicious! It has a tempered surface that delivers a "cracking" bite, but inside, a soft, velvety filling coats your tongue. The hazelnut brings a nutty balance that cuts the sweetness and keeps you ready for the next bite.
What about both together? We advise people to take a bite of the chocolate, and before swallowing, take a small sip of the beer. This allows the ingredients to interact and spark all your tasting buds. First, the chocolate flavors please your senses; then, as the dry finish of the beer appears, the hazelnut oils soften that dryness for a prolonged, indulgent sensation!
Here I am, salivating again! 🤤
It’s important to mention that there are no dogmas here. Just because we succeeded with a hazelnut bonbon and a Stout doesn't mean this duo always works. Every beer and every chocolate has a unique profile. That’s why we always say: “Try, try, and try again!”
Testing distinct beers and chocolates was basically our R&D process. Tough work, right? Haha! Don’t be jealous—you can do this at home with your favorites too.
But, if you don’t want to waste time searching for the best combinations, contact us! We’d love to build a delicious, custom experience for your team or your next event. 🤝✨
Thanks for reading! Cheers! 🍻
