Thursday was our 2 year wedding anniversary! And it just so happened that the next Lolev beer pairing event was that day—yay, anniversary plans were basically made for us! This pairing was with Umber – a local woman-owned artisanal chocolate shop. Amani told us about this at the last Lolev event we attended so I had my eyes peeled for the event sign-up to go live!

I really love Lolev so much. Not only is the beer the best I’ve had in this city, but the ambiance is on point and the people there are so friendly and inclusive. The same bartender has been there every time we’ve gone – he’s the one who put me on to the Pgh Beer stamp book thingie – and his laugh so boisterously contagious. Plus, Amani is so upbeat and talkative, it brings even this near-recluse out of her shell.

When we were at the Self-Reliant Seitan pairing last month, Amani and I got into a conversation about Lolev’s match lager which they said wasn’t going to make a reappearance this year, so Amani had started a petition to show the brewers that there was a vested interest in this naturally-green beer perfect for that famously green March holiday. It was actually last March when I had it at our inaugural visit to Lolev. Anyway, Amani’s plan worked because a few weeks ago, Lolev announced on Insta that Iroh was making its much anticipated return! I was worried that it wouldn’t still be available if we waited for the Umber event, so Henry and I actually went to the Zelienople location the day it debuted.

And it was good that we did, because Amani said they actually didn’t have any left, except for one keg that she asked to be saved for the brunch event that she had planned to celebrate its return. I think she said it’s this weekend, actually, but she sneaked out two tiny samplers for us on the downlow – SHE IS THE BEST!! Henry doesn’t like matcha so he took a sip and then when she left the room he slid his glass over to me. Yessssss.

THE DEETS!

Would you look at these gorgeous chocolate drops of art?? Almost too pretty to eat. ALMOST. You better trust that I was choking on my saliva as soon as Veronica, the cocoa virtuoso behind the Umber brand, set down the box in front of me. I wanted to take Henry’s box too.

Veronica recommended taking a sip of the beer first, then a bite of the chocolate, separately. Then finishing the chocolate with another sip of beer at the same time. This was a good suggestion because it forced to slow down when my basic instinct was to essentially swallow each piece whole.

UGH EACH CHOCOLATE WAS SO GOOD. If I was forced to choose a favorite though, it would be the matcha. It was the perfect balance of matcha and white chocolate.

Oh! And we learned stuff that night too because when Veronica came over to sit and chat with us, she told us that white chocolate is actually only 2% less cocoa than milk chocolate?!? I truly do love white chocolate (I’m one of “those people”) and was never one to bitch if I got a white chocolate Jesus in my Easter basket as a kid, and sometimes I actually crave white chocolate over regular, but I always thought it wasn’t actually chocolate??!

I really love orange + chocolate.

This may have been my favorite pairing. It was my favorite beer of the night and the Mexican hot chocolate was subtly spicy and tasted JUST LIKE MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE in solid form.

I mean, would you look at the detail on these though??

Zeus was my favorite beer from the last pairing we went to and I was so stoked to try this Zeus-infused chocolate at the end. I could really taste it, too! Incredible. Amani said they are talking about doing the reverse now, where Umber chocolate is infused in a Lolev beer. Even if it’s a stout or porter, I will be down to try that. I feel like where Penn Brewery failed spectacularly with their Sarris Chocolate collab, Lolev will get it right.

I am such a simp for Lolev.

That’s how Henry always looks at me, btw.

What a fine way to spend an anniversary! And the best part is that Chooch is still home for spring break so one of his friends dropped him off at Lolev after they were done playing football at CMU, so he could be our DD! To thank him, we took up Umber’s offer of 10% off if we re-filled our boxes with chocolate at the end of the night (twist our arm) – Henry and I got one to share, and we gave the other to Chooch.

I can’t believe two years ago, we were in Korea. Bambi was alive. Chooch hadn’t yet committed to a college. It feels so long ago and like just yesterday, all at once.

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