---
title: "How to Pair Beer and Chocolate, a Guide to Chocolate Types and Recommended Beer Styles"
description: "As with wine, pairing beer and chocolate is about finding the perfect combination of flavors to complement and enhance the tasting experience."
url: https://www.thebeertimes.com/en/beer-and-chocolate-pairing/
date: 2023-04-09
modified: 2026-10-24
author: "Carlos Uhart M."
image: https://www.thebeertimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Cerveza-y-chocolate.jpeg
categories: ["Culture"]
tags: ["Chocolate", "Culture", "Opinion", "Pairing"]
type: post
lang: en
---

# How to Pair Beer and Chocolate, a Guide to Chocolate Types and Recommended Beer Styles

All it takes is a square of dark chocolate melting on your tongue as a sip of stout arrives to understand why chocolate gets along so well with beer, sometimes better than with wine.

![Beer and chocolate pairing with a bar of dark chocolate resting on a glass of amber beer](https://www.thebeertimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Cerveza-y-chocolate.jpeg)*Beer and chocolate pairing*

The rule that almost always works is to match the sweetness of the two, so the beer is never less sweet than the chocolate it goes with.

The affinity has a chemical explanation that anyone into [pairing food with beer](https://www.thebeertimes.com/en/beer-food-pairing-guide/) can taste. Roasting cocoa and roasting malt both trigger the [Maillard reaction](https://www.thebeertimes.com/en/what-is-the-difference-between-the-maillard-reaction-and-caramelization-everything-you-need-to-know/), which creates pyrazines with aromas of toast, nuts and cocoa.

In chocolate, those pyrazines are the group that weighs most in the aroma, with around 80 compounds identified, while in dark malts their formation shoots up once roasting reaches 180°C.

It is the same chemistry that gives coffee its aroma, which explains why a good porter can remind you of an espresso and a cocoa bar at the same time.

## Which Beer Goes with Each Type of Chocolate?

Before style, the first thing to look at is sweetness, as Rich Higgins, one of the few Master Cicerones in the world, put it in a 2025 interview with Tasting Table magazine.

> Actually the most important consideration is matching sweetness levels.

Why does a beer you love on its own taste thin and harsh next to a bonbon? When the chocolate is sweeter than the beer, the sugar wipes out the body of the malt and exposes a bitterness that suddenly seems twice as strong.

The opposite happens when the beer brings its own malt sweetness, because the bitterness of the cocoa then finds something to balance against. With that rule in mind, these are the safest matches, from white chocolate to high percentage dark.

| Type of chocolate | Beer styles | Beer intensity |
| --- | --- | --- |
| White | Belgian Tripel or Wheat Beer | Low to medium |
| Milk | Brown Ale, Amber Ale or mild Porter | Medium |
| With hazelnuts or almonds | Belgian Dubbel or Brown Ale | Medium |
| Dark, 50 to 70% | Porter, Schwarzbier or Belgian Dubbel | Medium to high |
| Dark, over 70% | Imperial Stout, Doppelbock or Quadrupel | High |
| With chili or spices | Smoked Porter or medium strength Stout | Medium to high |

## What Beer Goes with White Chocolate?

White chocolate contains no cocoa mass, only cocoa butter, sugar and milk, so it calls for a beer with sweetness of its own that won’t crush it. Higgins suggests a sweet Belgian tripel, such as La Fin du Monde or Tripel Karmeliet, whose honey notes fit the vanilla and milk of the chocolate.

A wheat beer with its citrus touch is the easiest alternative to find, especially if the chocolate comes with red fruit or orange zest. What you should avoid are very bitter IPAs, because against so much sugar the hops turn aggressive and end up masking the cocoa butter, which is exactly what makes this chocolate interesting.

## Which Beer Goes with Milk Chocolate?

Milk chocolate has caramel and dairy notes that call for beers with medium roasted malt, with toffee or nutty flavors. A brown ale, an amber ale or a mild porter does the job, as does a Belgian Dubbel when the chocolate comes with hazelnuts or almonds.

This is the only ground where an IPA makes sense, as long as it is fruity with moderate bitterness, because the sweetness of the milk softens the hops instead of clashing with them. If you have a chocolate with a pinch of salt on hand, try it with that same IPA, since salt dampens the perception of bitterness.

## Which Beer Pairs with Dark Chocolate?

Dark chocolate is where dark beers come in, arriving at the table with their own roasted, coffee and cocoa notes. For a chocolate with 50 to 70% cocoa a porter, a German schwarzbier or a Dubbel all work, while past 70% it pays to step up body and alcohol with an imperial stout, a doppelbock like [Paulaner Salvator](https://www.thebeertimes.com/paulaner-salvator-doppelbock-notas-de-cata-y-maridajes-recomendados/) or a Belgian quadrupel.

At the very top of the scale, a barrel aged stout like [Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout](https://www.thebeertimes.com/goose-island-bourbon-county-brand-stout-notas-de-cata-y-maridajes-recomendados/) can stand up even to 85% chocolate, with the vanilla and coconut from the bourbon playing the role of the sugar the cocoa lacks. It is, in our view, the most rounded pairing on the whole list.

Many guides present IPA with dark chocolate as a bold combination, when in practice it tends to be the one that turns out worst. [The bitterness of the hops](https://www.thebeertimes.com/en/what-is-bitter-flavor-origins-types-bitterness/) adds to that of the cocoa, astringency shoots up and the mouth is left so dry that you can’t taste the fruit in either one.

## What About Mint, Chili or Fruit Chocolates?

Mint chocolate works best with a light pale ale or a dry stout, which keep the mint in the foreground without adding sweetness. Chili needs more care, because alcohol intensifies the burn and a 10% imperial stout can turn a mild bonbon into a fire.

For chili a smoked porter or a medium strength stout usually works better than the imperial versions. Chocolates with red berries go well with a wheat beer or a kriek, while orange chocolate finds its match in a Scotch Ale or a Dubbel.

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## What Is Chocolate Beer?

Plenty of people look for chocolate beer thinking it contains chocolate, when the flavor almost always comes from chocolate malt, a barley grain roasted to a very dark brown that holds not a single gram of cocoa. Its name describes the aroma it leaves behind, just as with coffee malt or caramel malt.

Other beers do contain real cocoa, in the form of nibs added during conditioning or cocoa powder in the boil, like many pastry stouts.

With them, the pairing works like an echo, because the chocolate on the table repeats notes the beer already carries, so it pays to choose one with more cocoa to keep the whole thing from turning cloying.

## How to Host a Beer and Chocolate Tasting at Home

Start with the mildest chocolate and finish with the most intense, so your palate doesn’t get saturated too early. A sequence that works runs from white chocolate with a tripel or a wheat beer to porter with milk chocolate, closing with a high percentage dark alongside an imperial stout.

Serve the beer in small tulip glasses, between 10 and 13°C (50 and 55°F) for the dark ones, because too cold hides precisely the roasted notes you are looking for. The chocolate has to be at room temperature so the cocoa butter melts in your mouth, something that happens at around 34°C (93°F), almost body temperature.

Taste the beer on its own first and then let a piece of chocolate melt on your tongue before drinking again. Between one pair and the next, a sip of still water or a piece of white bread is enough to clean your palate, so each combination reaches your mouth without the memory of the one before.

The next time you open a stout, save a square of dark chocolate for the second sip, when the foam has already settled and the roast of the malt meets the roast of the cocoa.

## Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

### 1. Which beer goes best with dark chocolate?

Dark beers with malt sweetness, such as porter, schwarzbier or Belgian Dubbel for a chocolate with 50 to 70% cocoa. Above 70%, an imperial stout, a doppelbock or a quadrupel work better, since they have enough body and alcohol to balance the bitterness of the cocoa.

### 2. Is it bad to drink beer and eat chocolate?

There is no known dangerous interaction between beer and chocolate in moderate amounts. The US National Institutes of Health list alcoholic drinks and chocolate among the foods that often make reflux worse, so people with heartburn may feel more discomfort when combining them.

### 3. Does chocolate beer contain chocolate?

It rarely contains chocolate, because the flavor usually comes from chocolate malt, a barley roasted to a very dark brown that holds no cocoa. Some stouts do add nibs or cocoa powder during brewing, especially the so called pastry stouts.

### 4. Can you pair an IPA with chocolate?

With milk chocolate, or with a chocolate that has a pinch of salt, a fruity IPA with moderate bitterness can work well. With dark chocolate it usually goes wrong, because the bitterness of the hops adds to that of the cocoa and leaves the mouth dry and astringent.

### 5. At what temperature should beer be served when pairing it with chocolate?

Dark beers are served between 10 and 13°C (50 and 55°F), because when too cold they hide their roasted notes. The chocolate should be at room temperature so the cocoa butter melts in the mouth, at around 34°C (93°F).

## References

Gerrard, G. (2025). The Important Rule To Remember When Pairing Beer With Chocolate. Tasting Table, January 6, 2025. [tastingtable.com](https://www.tastingtable.com/1751103/how-to-pair-beer-with-chocolate/)

Asefi, N., Ebrahimzadegan, S., Maleki, R. and Seiiedlou-Heris, S. S. (2023). Effects of roasting on alkylpyrazin compounds and properties of cocoa powder. Journal of Food Science and Technology. [pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9873847](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9873847/)

Vandecan, S. M. G., Daems, N., Schouppe, N., Saison, D. and Delvaux, F. R. (2011). Formation of Flavor, Color, and Reducing Power During the Production Process of Dark Specialty Malts. Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists, 69(3), 150-157. [doi.org/10.1094/ASBCJ-2011-0626-01](https://doi.org/10.1094/ASBCJ-2011-0626-01)

Breslin, P. A. S. and Beauchamp, G. K. (1997). Salt enhances flavour by suppressing bitterness. Nature, 387, 563. [doi.org/10.1038/42388](https://doi.org/10.1038/42388)

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Eating, Diet, & Nutrition for GER & GERD in Adults. [niddk.nih.gov](https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/acid-reflux-ger-gerd-adults/eating-diet-nutrition)

## Recommended

- [How to Make Beer Crème Brûlée, Recipe and Step-by-Step Guide](https://www.thebeertimes.com/en/beer-creme-brulee-recipe-step-by-step/)
- [What Is the Difference Between Taste and Flavor in Beer?](https://www.thebeertimes.com/en/difference-between-taste-and-flavor-beer/)