Friday, February 06, 2009
Beer for Lovers
Are you looking for a unique Valentine’s Day gift for that special someone? If your Valentine is a beer lover, I’ve got an idea.
Sexual Chocolate is a limited-edition imperial stout made right in Winston-Salem by Foothills Brewing on Fourth Street.
The brewery has been making this monster, with 9.75 percent alcohol, for three years. This is only the second year that it has bottled the beer.
Foothills will begin selling this on tap Feb. 6. It will be available on tap for several weeks.
But if you want it bottled, you have one chance only.
A sale of 600 hand-numbered bottles will take place when Foothills opens at 11 a.m. Saturday Feb. 7.
Last year, the brewery sold 500 bottles in 49 minutes, so line up early if you want one of these.
A 22-ounce bottle costs $15. A 10-ounce glass in the brewery and restaurant costs $5.
Jamie Bartholomaus, Foothills brewer, makes the Sexual Chocolate with cold-infused cocoa nibs.
Sarah Bartholomaus, Jamie’s wife and Foothills’ manager, said, “What you get through the nibs is really dark fruit flavor, you get dark strap molasses, you get roasted, toasty flavors. But it’s very balanced, so the almost 10 percent alcohol level is disguised, which can be kind of dangerous.”
Last year, http://www.ratebeer.com, ranked this stout 28th in the world.
“We were overwhelmed last year. We had people come from Maryland, Pennsylvania,” Sarah said.
One of the 2008 bottles had an upside-down label. It sold on Ebay for $200. Even a regular bottle sold for $125, Sarah said.
Might there be an upside-down label among the 600 bottles of the 2009 Sexual Chocolate?
“I don’t know,” Sarah said. “There might be.”
