The new flavour pairings ‘pulling’ in the punters
We’re proud of our reputation for having our finger on the pulse when it comes to food and drink trends – and our latest collaboration features two ingredients close to many people’s hearts.
This month, we’ve been ‘tapping’ into the craft beer craze and have teamed up with our talented neighbours at Beak Brewery to create some delicious chocolates infused with their delicious craft beer.
Home comforts
As many of you will know, Henley Bridge HQ operates from the stunning Sussex town of Lewes. As well as being renowned for its rugged, coastal cliffs, it’s also a historic brewing town, with the oldest brewery - Harveys - dating back to 1790.
Beak Brewery is a more recent addition to the town, founded by food and drink writer Daniel Tapper. This quirky brewery is best known for its cool IPAs, and also includes an award-winning taproom and street food canteen.
Beak Brewery Parade IPA and Imperial Stout
The rise of craft beer in the UK
•As of 2020, the UK boasted 3,018 operating breweries, marking a 7.5% increase since 2019 (Source: Society of Independent Brewers - SIBA)
•Brewhouse and Kitchen reported that sales of craft beer increased by 48% in the last 12 months, outpacing any other beer category (Source: Brewhouse and Kitchen Study)
•A study of beer-loving Londoners revealed that over 65% now prefer craft beers to mainstream beers, with the figure standing at 49% for London as a whole. This indicates a substantial shift in consumer tastes towards craft beers. (Source: Brewhouse and Kitchen Study)
•The craft beer sector has become an important force driving growth in the hospitality sector, with many pubs and bars focusing on offering a wide range of craft beers to attract customers (Source: Matt Preisinger, Marketing head of Brewhouse and Kitchen)
•The SIBA Craft Beer Report highlighted that 40% of independent craft breweries now have a taproom, up 10% on 2022, indicating a trend towards breweries selling directly to consumers and enhancing the craft beer experience (Source: SIBA Craft Beer Report)
•Craft beer spend in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2018 and 2019, by age group, showed that younger consumers, particularly those aged 25-34, are the leading demographic in craft beer consumption (Source: Craft Beer Spend in the United Kingdom (UK) 2018-2019, by Age Group)
Beak Brewery inspired chocolate selection
Perfect pairing
To celebrate the meteoric rise in popularity of craft beer, as well as the wonderful tradition of independent craft breweries on our doorstep, our Head of Innovation and Training Samantha Rain set about creating a set of chocolates paired with Beak Brewery beers.
“Pairing each chosen beer with the most complementary chocolate was the most important task,” she explains. “We have so many chocolates to choose in our range at Henley Bridge with lots of different flavour profiles, and I needed to make sure that the chocolate was the carrier rather than the dominate flavour.
“I had the enviable task of tasting the beers alongside different chocolates – and it was incredible how each pairing brought out a different sensation in the mouth.
“The chocolates I ended up choosing were some great quality Belgian chocolates, which provided an incredible flavour whilst still allowing the beers to be the star of the show.”
Samantha selected the following beers and chose the perfect chocolate to pair them with:
Parade (6%) IPA – Packed with fruity bubblegum flavours of mango, orange, pineapple and ripe flat peaches, Parade is such a wonderfully fun IPA. Whilst we have some incredibly fruity chocolates in our range, I specifically didn’t want the chocolate to dominate and therefore settled on the Belcolade 34% milk chocolate. This really allowed the Parade to keep those strong flavour profiles whilst being aided by the sweet creamy milk chocolate.
Rello Cherry Pie Sour 8% Sour Beer - Bursting with flavours of cherry, a dark chocolate was the obvious choice for this stunning beer. Getting the cacao content right was the biggest challenge and I eventually settled with the Belcolade 55% as it gave a better harmony of sweetness, cherry flavour and bitter chocolate to extenuate the beer’s flavour.
Red Leviathan Ale (6.8% sour ale) – This sour ale is a little more complex than the other beers as it has different depths of flavours including almond, black cherry, lemon zest and pinot noir. Whilst tasting and trialling, I found Belcoloade 30% white chocolate to be the best carrier as it really allowed the sour ale to shine with the sweetness of the chocolate.
Beacons (11%) Imperial Stout - This rich and fruity stout has notes of bourbon and fruit pudding, and paired beautifully with Belcolade 55% dark chocolate. It was dark enough to complement the stout but had the sweetness to further enhance the stout, creating a balance of flavours.
Download Samantha’s Father’s Day beer chocolate box recipes.
