Sometimes Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse for a date night out. You and your significant other might go to a nice restaurant, grab drinks at your favorite brewery, or try out a new activity.
Other times, a date night at home is just what the doctor ordered.
If you’re planning to stay in this year, but you haven’t made it much further than “make dinner and hang out,” we have a couple of suggestions that will make this Thursday a night to remember. Each including craft beer and Rusty Nickel brew suggestions, of course.
STOP BY OUR TASTING ROOM FOR GUIDANCE
We’re closed for a special, sold out, Valentine’s Day event on the 14th, but we’re happy to help you with any of your craft beer questions before that! Stop by the tasting room and ask our brewtenders for advice on the best brews to take home for any occasion. They’ll be happy to give you recommendations while they fill a couple of crowlers for you! We also sell bottles of NYS wine & spirits!
Cook Dinner Together
It’s always nice when someone takes the time to cook you a delicious dinner, but the process of cooking can be just as fun. Plus, working through the directions of a recipe with your partner is a great bonding experience.
While you’re cooking, take your time! Start before you’re hungry so you can savor the experience, crack open a beer, and enjoy each other’s company.
For dinner, why not try making these pulled pork “man buns” using Ms Brown’s Porter or skirt steak tacos using Not Your Grandpa’s Cream Ale. How about beer in your dessert! Grab a crowler of our Cafe Mocha Latte Stout and make these soft stout cookies!
Swap a Special Beer
Let’s be honest. Everyone has gotten a box of chocolates on Valentine’s Day. Getting a box of chocolate stout, on the other hand, is a completely different story. This year, why not a Valentine’s Day beer swap!
The fun part about a beer swap is seeing how well you know your partner. Would they prefer a sour, or a scotch ale? Do they like citrusy hops or do they lean towards toffee notes?
Cheating is no fun!! Head to the brewery separately to get a couple of crowlers that you think your partner will like. Then, when you exchange them, explain why you chose the ones that you did. Your partner might like hearing they are as sweet as a French Toast Porter or as spicy as Vanilla Chai Tea Stout.
DIY Beer Pairing
Going out to a beer pairing is fun, but did you know that you can do one yourself? 
Matching up beer with food isn’t difficult, but it does take some thought.
You wouldn’t want to pair an IPA with a cranberry and goat cheese salad because the salad has light, sweet flavors that would be overpowered by the big flavors in a hoppy IPA
What IPAs do pair nicely with are foods with bold, spicy flavors. An Ebenezer IPA pairs well with a curry or hot chicken wings. The cranberry goat cheese salad would taste delicious with a Girls, Girls, Girls Belgian Tripel or the Polar Vortex Belgian Dubbel.
If you aren’t sure of what foods and beers you should match up, read our last blog and stop by the tasting room; crowlers of craft beer perfectly paired with locally made GetLinked sausages are available for purchase to-go.
Build Your Own Flights
If you’re like us, choosing just one beer is not easy. So avoid making that decision by putting together your own flights! All you need are a few different beers, and someone to share them with.
Let us send you home with a couple of crowlers – or bring your own growlers to be 
refilled. We recommend four to six beers per flight, but you can do as many as you’d like. When you’re ready to drink your flight, arrange the beers so you start with the lightest flavor and continue to gradually get more flavorful. This doesn’t necessarily mean you should go from light color to dark color, because some light-colored beers, like IPAs, have big flavors that should be enjoyed last to save your palette.
If you’re feeling a little shaky about the order to drink your beers, ask your brewtender! Rusty Nickel Brewtenders are all Certified Beer Servers under the Cicerone program. They’ve studied beer and will be happy to give you a recommendation!
Happy FeBREWary, be sure to tag us on social media to show us how you celebrated Valentine’s Day with Rusty Nickel beers!
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