chocolate! beer! chocolate beer!

I introduced my best friend/sister from another mister Nicole to beer. She was strictly an amaretto sour, fruity wine, girly drink type of girl, claiming she didn't like beer...and then I bought her a pint of Guinness. I was a little nervous about it, because Guinness usually isn't a starter beer, it's something non-Irish types usually need to work up to...but I figured that Nicole was a serious chick, she could handle it. I mean, come on, this is someone who interned at a morgue and makes her own chainmail.

I warned her - "It's a little bitter and kind of heavy."

She nodded and drank the whole thing before passing judgment with one of her megawatt smiles. "It's good,"she said. "Different...but good."

Since that time, Nicole and I have tested all sorts of beer. She prefers dark beers and especially likes beers with flavors in them, such as spices, fruits, and of course, chocolate.

Young's Double Chocolate Stout has filled the need for a chocolaty beer...until now. Around Christmastime, Nicole found the chocolate flavored beer - Tommyknocker Cocoa Porter from a brewery in Idaho Springs, Colorado. Brewed with cocoa powder and honey, this dark beer has malty/milky flavors reminiscent of a mug of bittersweet hot cocoa. It's a perfect beer for those looking for something a little different and a lot chocolaty.