Valentines Day Beer? Here is a brewer's guide for curing a heartbreak.

Alas, Valentine's Day is near.  Some love it.  Some loathe it.  Whatever your opinion, everyone admits that chocolate is good; and there's lots of it on Valentine's.

Although wine tends to be the socially accepted festive drink of this unofficial holiday, why not do things a little differently this time?  After all, variety is the spice of life.  Therefore, do yourself--and of course, your significant other--a favor, and drink a STOUT this time around.

However, as mentioned previously, Valentine's is not favored by everyone.  In that case, if you're heartbroken and you feel that your life is not worth living, you have ever MORE of a reason to drink yourself silly with a stout.  It's good for you, and it will make you feel better.  The doctor says so.

Here's why:

Reason #1.  The chocolate.  If you don't like chocolate, you don't like life.

Reason #2.  The coffee.  If you don't like coffee, you probably eat puppies.

Chocolate and roasty, coffee goodness.  Enough said.

RECOMMENDED STOUTS:

1 -Samuel Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout.  This beer is addictive, and is therefore well worth the price.  Who can refuse the name? 

2 -Brooklyn Dark Chocolate Stout.  Very, very roasty with large hints of coffee and dark chocolate.  Its namepulls no punches. If you are newly single and heartbroken, cry no more. This great offering has got you covered. 

3 -Founder's Breakfast Stout.  Widely considered to be not only one of the best stouts, but one of the best beers in the world, Breakfast Stout is rich with Kona and Sumatra coffee and genuine cacao. Try this one and you will end up like a baby who drank his breakfast too fast.

4 -Young's Double Chocolate Stout.  A world-class favorite, although naysayers scorn the overly sweet and Nestle-esque quality of the chocolate . Try this in a bottle and then the canned version and see if you taste any difference.

5 -Left Hand Milk Stout.  Smooth, creamy, and complex, it's hard to resist the subtlety on the palette provided by the lactose in this one. You may actually fool yourself into thinking there is in fact a trace of milk in your beer. 

In a holiday steeped in often pointless traditions and gimmicks (because we all know that giant teddy bears = true love), Valentine's has been done to death.  You owe it to your partner to add a darker, tastier, dreamier, more complex and ultimately more fulfilling side to your relationship:  Go with a stout.

-Marc & Dan