Skip the heart-shaped box of chocolates and indulge in some of San Diego’s best chocolate-flavored beers from local breweries this year.
2AM Bike Ride
Fall Brewing | 5% ABV
Give your usual Guinness a rain check and try a stout from San Diego’s favorite punk rock brewery. 2AM Bike Ride—a vanilla bean stout and nitro pour in collaboration with one of San Diego’s top coffee roasters—may be love at first sight. This light mouthfeel brew features a special edition Guatemalan roast from Dark Horse Coffee (which you can order online from Fall Brewing), infused with chocolate malt, roasted barley, flaked oats, and British malts. This caffeinated nitro brew offers a welcome kick, perfect for jumpstarting a lackluster date on the town.
Little Secret Milk Stout
Eppig Brewing | 4.1% ABV
Surprise your soulmate with this little secret from Point Loma’s Eppig Brewing. This dark chocolate stout is enriched with the rich aromas of maple syrup, espresso, and bakers chocolate, ideal for pairing with the dessert of your choice. The added lactose and maple syrup give it a creamy texture and sweet aftertaste that can enhance any Valentine’s Day plans.
Stone Xocoveza
Stone Brewing | 8.1% ABV | 50 IBUs
Inspired by the rich flavors of Mexican hot chocolate, Stone Brewing’s Xocoveza imperial stout is a hearty reimagining of your abuela’s favorite drink. This special batch collaboration between Tijuana’s notorious Cerveceria Insurgente brewery and award-winning San Diego homebrewer Chris Banker has become a fan-favorite among Stone’s seasonal beers. With a mix of chocolate, vanilla, coffee, cinamon, nutmeg, and pasilla peppers, this blend is well worth seeking during cuffing season. Crafty DIY mixologists should also check out Stone’s beer-nog recipe using Xocoveza for a twist on an old favorite.
Victory at Sea
Ballast Point | 10% ABV | 60 IBUs
If you’re not having success in the dating game, at least you can have Victory at Sea. This high ABV porter from local brewing empire Ballast Point packs a punch with flavors from the coffee beans of North Park’s Caffe Calabria, along with hints of caramel, vanilla and malt. At select breweries and Ballast Point locations, beer aficionados can try their barrel-aged, 12 percent ABV variant flavored with the smoky casks of High West Bourbon or their Chai Victory at Sea featuring masala chai along with cinnamon, cloves, black tea, and cardamom for a spiced alternative to this classic stout.
Velvet Phenix Marshmallow Mocha Stout
North Park Beer Co. | 5.8% ABV
Valentine’s Day plans fell through? Rise like a phoenix from the ashes and visit North Park Beer Co. for a stout that will definitely make you fly. One of the smoothest stouts around, the Velvet Phenix Marshmallow Mocha Stout is a mix of Chicago’s Dark Matter coffee beans, cacao nibs, and vanilla. This mocha stout has a silky smooth mouthfeel just like velvet.
Obsidian Cliff
Pure Project | 13.2% ABV
Often overshadowed by the brewery’s excellent hazy’s, IPAs, and kombuchas, Pure Project’s Obsidian Cliff is certainly worth a sip. This high ABV stout is brewed with cacao, vanilla wafer, marshmallow, and graham cracker flavors and aged for 13 months in Old Fitzgerald bourbon barrels where it develops a smoky accent. Inspired by the great outdoors of Yellowstone National Park, The Obsidian Cliff stout is a potable s’mores sandwich best enjoyed in the company of your loved one around a campfire.
Peanut Butter Milk Stout
Belching Beaver | 5.3% ABV | 30 IBUs
Belching Beaver’s Peanut Butter Milk Stout is likely already high on your list of sweet brews but you can’t celebrate Valentine’s Day without mentioning it. While peanut butter flavors dominate the brew, hints of dark chocolate, rolled oats, and lactose greet you with each additional sip. Those with a sweet tooth top this stout with a scoop of ice cream for an alcoholic root beer float that won’t disappoint. Belching Beaver’s iconic brew is the perfect desert beer nightcap for a beer-lovers’ Valentine’s Day.
