One of the most popular pre-Valentine’s Day events for chocoholics and beer lovers is returning for its seventh year. Promoted as “foreplay before the big day,” Seattle’s The Pike Brewing Company will throw its annual Pike Chocofest event from 6-9 p.m. on Sunday, February 8 spread throughout The Pike Brewery, The Pike Pub, The Pike Atrium and The Pike Place Market Atrium & Kitchen.
“I’ve gone to scores of festivals around the world and to me this is the most fun because you meet the producer–you meet the person who makes the chocolate, beer, wine, spirits, baked goods–the person who is the most knowledgeable about the subject and you meet that person in the context of tasting in a fun environment,” says Pike Brewing co-owner Charles Finkel. “Everyone is having a good time and there’s plenty to eat and plenty to drink.”
The list of event participants goes on and on, but features dozens of restaurants, chocolatiers and confectioners, wineries, breweries, cideries, bakeries and many more. In the spirit of the event, many restaurants will contribute chocolate-themed items: RN74 is expected to serve chicken mole tacos and Copperleaf will have foie gras with chocolate graham crackers and pistachios. “If you just went for the restaurants–oh my god, the food is unbelievable!” says Finkel, who candidly admitted that just talking about the event was making him hungry.
New this year is the Chocolate Cask Beer Festival, in which about 20 breweries will present their own naturally carbonated cask beer that in some way incorporates chocolate into the recipe, and a competition will be held for the best brew. “I don’t think [a chocolate cast beer competition] been done anywhere in the world before,” Finkel says.
Tickets are on sale now for $50 (plus service fees) through Brown Paper Tickets. Here’s what that $50 ticket gets you: admission to the event, all the food you want, 10 drink tickets, live music, a commemorative Pike Chocofest 2015 tasting glass and a discount on validating parking for Russell Investment Garage.
Tickets are expected to sell out, and as of Friday morning it’s about halfway sold out. The admission price is also a benefit for the Puget Soundkeepers Alliance. Finkel says it’s a great organization and that “they support what all of us love, and that’s a clean Puget Sound.”
