Valentine's Day certainly arrives at the right time of the year: When better but the dark nights of February to seduce your sweetie with a sumptuous symphony of the senses? And what better way to woo the object of your affections than with the delectable duo of chocolate -- and beer?

That's right. Chocolate. And beer. This is the Valentine's Day to get racy. Be daring! Toss aside those erstwhile notions of red wine or champagne and truffles and tempt your honey's taste buds with a combination that is sure to create fireworks.

"Simply stated, wine generally gets overwhelmed by chocolate -- you can't taste the wine due to the richness of the chocolate," said Ray Daniels, Director of Craft Beer Marketing for the Brewers Association. "Beer has the chops to stand up to the rich flavors involved. It is also about complementary flavors: earthy, roasted, even chocolaty and bitter flavors in beer that are echoed in the chocolate."

Separately, both beer and chocolate have their fans. But, in Daniels' books, together, the two can create a stunning synergy found only in the most compelling of culinary combinations.

"It's not just one plus one equals two," said "Cocoa Pete" Slosberg at a beer and chocolate dinner last year. "It's one plus one equals three."

Craft beer fans might recognize Slosberg as the man who created Pete's Wicked Ale 20 years ago. As he traveled the world promoting his beer, Slosberg became sweet on European chocolate. After he sold his brewery, Slosberg began creating his own specialty chocolates, and became a champion for pairing his two passions.

But the concept isn't a new one. Portland, Ore.-based beer expert Fred Eckhardt has been conducting beer and chocolate tastings around Valentine's Day for nearly two decades.

"In 1988, people were talking about a great new idea: wine and chocolate," Eckhardt says. "Experience told me that it was a waste of time. But what about beer and chocolate? It would be fun to play with chocolate and craft beer combinations, write about it -- and be able to take some chocolate expenses off my taxes."

The results surprised even Eckhardt, and despite its less-than-romantic beginning, Eckhardt's sold-out presentations have become a great "date" event in Portland, with couples headily huddling over their chocolate and beer pairings.

Unfortunately, Eckhardt, 79 and still going strong, can't travel everywhere to spread his gastronomical gospel. Besides, you and your sweetie might not want him joining your little tête-à-tête -- even if he does look a little like Cupid.

Fortunately, Daniels has created some pairing pointers. He identifies three general categories of beers that usually play well with a range of chocolates.

The first group includes dark beers, such as porters and stouts. These beers are made from malted barley that has been roasted to a dark, deep color. Just like dark-roasted beans enhance certain flavors in coffee, the darkened barley boosts the roast-y, toasty -- and even coffee -- flavors that go well with nearly any chocolate. In fact, many beer fans will enjoy a dark, rich stout or porter instead of coffee for dessert.

Weizens (German-style wheat beer) and strong Belgian-style ales often offer fruity and spicy flavors -- banana and clove notes from the weizens and apple, apricot and peach punctuated with cinnamon or nutmeg in the Belgian-style ales. How can you go wrong with those classic dessert flavors accentuating your chocolate?

Another group of beers to try with chocolate includes malty golden beers such as Kölsch, helles and golden ales, American wheat ales or a pale bock beer. These sweeter, lighter colored beers tend to go well with dishes such as chocolate-chip cookies where the chocolate is not so highly concentrated, Daniels said.

I also would add sparkly fruit lambics, from Belgium, on my list of divine interventions with chocolate. The tart-sweet combination in a framboise (raspberry) or kriek (cherry) lambic can be a perfect foil for a rich, dark, silky slip of chocolate. Plus they are so pretty served in Champagne flutes.

But if it all gets a tad too confusing, try Eckhardt's expert advice for a foolproof beer-and-chocolate sensation:

"M&M's go with any beer."

Lisa Morrison's Liquid Solutions column was one of the original recipients of the Beer Journalism Awards. Send questions, comments and really tasty beverage samples to lisa@ibsys.com.