Belgian Witbier and Bavarian Hefeweizen are both standard strength wheat ales with expressive fermentation flavors, and while they hail from different national traditions, pairing guidance for both with chocolate is pretty similar. Let’s look at how these two similar styles of beer perfect for summer can be paired with craft chocolate.

Rabid Brewing’s annual Feast of the Goat Queen celebrates all things weird and wondrous. Described as a Ren Faire for Fae Folk, it features burlesque, wrestling, fire dancing, and more. It also marks the release of Crown of Horns Chocolate Cream Ale brewed with Malah Na Bulong Philippine cacao.

Mission Chocolate’s Two Rivers dark chocolate bar is a bean to bar chocolate made by Brazilian craft chocolate maker Arcelia Gallardo. It tells the story of the Meeting of the Waters, the birth of the Amazon River, and the meeting of cultures at Mission Chocolate.

At Fu Wan Chocolate in Taiwan, Warren Hsu is using beer yeast and other ingredients to infuse he bean to bar chocolate bars with unique flavors.

Beer is brewed with malted barley (usually), but what is malt, and what are the malt enzymes that make brewing possible? This short article explains the basics of brewing enzymes and what they do in the brewing process.

Cleveland Chocolate Company founder Rebecca Hess works with excellent cacao from Uncommon Cacao in her bean to bar chocolate bars, and she roasted cacao nibs for Noble Beast Brewing for their pastry stouts and chocolate beers.

Hannah Ferguson is Dwelling on Positive Energy at D.O.P.E. Cider House & Winery in Youngstown, Ohio. The first Black female cidery owner in the state is blazing new trails, but hopes her story will be commonplace in years to come.

When we think of German Lagers, we tend to think of easy-drinking beers like German Pilsner or Munich Helles. Bocks are a stronger family of German Lagers that showcase considerable flavor complexity while still being highly drinkable. Here are the basics of Bock.

Arcelia Gallardo of Mission Chocolate in Brazil was instrumental in launching the Brazilian bean to bar chocolate movement, but first she had to help Brazilian cacao farmers improve their crop. Now she celebrates Brazilian ingredients in her excellent chocolate bars.

Wolf’s Ridge Brewing in Columbus, Ohio, uses single origin cacao from Ethereal Confections to brew a range of creative chocolate beers.

Omnom Chocolate, a bean to bar chocolate maker in Reykjavik, Iceland, uses beer ingredients in their best-selling Black n Burnt Barley bar.

Melinda Guerra is the co-founder and co-editor of Final Gravity Zine, a print beer publication telling intimate stories from the world of craft beer. Melinda comes from a Mexican-American family from Chicago, and here shares some of her story and why she’s excited about Final Gravity!

The Final Gravity beer zine will tell personal, immersive stories from the world of beer, and we can use your help with paying our talented writers and artists. Here are the details on how you can become a supporter today!

Austin Jevne of Humble Forager Brewery will always remember the night he visited an Amish maple sugar shack in Wisconsin to source maple syrup for Sugar Shack Diaries, a decadent Imperial Stout brewed with Ecuadorian cacao, Mostra coffee, Mexican vanilla, and maple syrup.

The climates and terrains of Cusco, Peru, and Montreal, Quebec, are about as different from each other as can be, but a bean to bar chocolate company has brought these two places together in poignant and delicious ways. The love story between Maxime Simard and Elfi Maldonado of Qantu Chocolat is like something from a heartwarming romantic comedy. The two fell in love with each other and then with bean to bar chocolate. Qantu Chocolat was born, and brings together the flavors of each partner’s homeland.

Andy Conrad is the fifth generation to tap his family’s maple trees near the small town of Minerva in eastern Ohio. He and wife Amanda own Sandy Springs Brewing Company, a charming brewery in downtown Minerva with its own on-site Airbnbs, and each spring they brew Happy Sappy Imperial Amber Ale with maple sap from his family’s grove, maple syrup, cinnamon, and clove. The connection to these Conrad family trees runs deep.

The Bean to Barstool Guide to Bocks zine looks at the history of Bocks, then highlights each major Bock style, looking at flavor profile, history, ingredients and processes, and commercial examples. Pairing guidance is given for cheese, chocolate, desserts, and main dishes. The highlight of the zine is an exclusive 8-page interview with Mari and Will Kemper of Chuckanut Brewery,one of the best lager breweries in the country. This interview has not been (and will not be) published anywhere besides this zine, so this is the only place to hear one of the best lager brewers in the country break down what makes a great Bock.

Atlanta beer writer Ale Sharpton and New Belgium Brewing have partnered on Piano Keys, an elegant Imperial Stout brewed with ethically-sourced cacao nibs and vanilla. The beer has given Ale and New Belgium the opportunity to host events and start conversations that have invited new fans into the world of craft beer, and—most importantly—helped those newcomers see a place for themselves in craft beer.

Join beer writer and Advanced Cicerone David Nilsen for a guided tasting of beer-infused chocolate bars! These craft chocolate bars are made with beer ingredients like Chinook hops or Riverbend Malt, or with beer itself. This fun and educational event brings together craft beer and bean to bar chocolate!

Tyler Cagwin makes bean to bar chocolate at Nostalgia Chocolates in Syracuse, New York, and he provides cacao for area craft breweries as well.