Beer expert Don Russell a.k.a. Joe Sixpack tackles chocolate, beer and lovemaking in his Daily News column today:

Nodding Head’s version, however, uses the real thing. Brewer Gordon Grubb dunked more than 25 pounds of famous French-made Valrhona chocolate into a seven-barrel batch to produce a bitter, roasty dark beer.

“This is entirely unscientific,” Grubb reported, “but based on my own observation, this stout will go over well with your girlfriend, and you are guaranteed to get laid.”

He’s not wrong. That would work better on me than a prix fixe dinner and a box of chocolates.

Joe Sixpack: Chocolate beer [philly.com]

Victory Baltic Thunder debuts tomorrow at the Drafting Room in Exton and Joe Sixpack has the details and beer geeks have the shakes.

So, what is Baltic porter?

The story goes that the British introduced Russia’s Catherine the Great to their strong (or stout) porter. They fortified their dark ale with even more alcohol to survive shipment to freezing St. Petersburg, and imperial stout was born. Not all the beer made it to Russia.

Port cities in Finland, Sweden, Lithuania, Poland and elsewhere took a swallow and then added their own twist. Showing their German roots, Baltic brewers reproduced the inky porter with lager yeast that ferments at cooler temperatures.

Joe Sixpack Victory Baltic Thunder arrives [Philadelphia Daily News]
Other bars with Baltic Thunder [Joe Sixpack]

The Daily News’ Joe Sixpack is teaching a class, Philly Beer 101 at the Trolley Car Diner in Mt. Airy on February 26th from 7 to 9 PM.

The city hasn’t seen so many breweries since before Prohibition – how do you decide what to drink? This thirst-quenching course takes you through the confusing choices with a focus on the best values in the local beer scene. We’ll discuss the people behind the breweries, the styles they make, great beer bars and pairing your favorites with great food. Sampling dishes will be prepared by Dwight Forrest, the award-winning chef from the Trolley Car Diner.

The course is $24 plus $15 for food and beer.

Philly Beer 101 [Mt. Airy Learning Tree]
Joe Sixpack [Official Site]

Daily News beer writer Joe Sixpack now has his own blog at joesixpack.net/blog. Check it out, he has the dirt on the new digs for Yards.

Beer Radar [JoeSixpack.net]

Joe Sixpack is on a roll today with his list of resolutions, not for himself but for us! And they’re good resolutions, like complain about crappy beer lists, visit a brewpub, stop drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon and attend the Philadelphia Craft Beer Fest this March.

A sixpack of resolutions for you [Philadelphia Daily News]
Philadelphia Craft Beer Fest [Official Site]

Munich’s Oktoberfest may be set to kick off tomorrow, but that isn’t stopping Joe Sixpack for looking for some non-Oktoberfest styles of Fall beers.

• Flying Fish Oktoberfish
• Weyerbacher AutumnFest
• Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale
• Redhook Late Harvest Autumn Ale
• Southern Tier Harvest Ale
• Magic Hat Jinx

These fall beers put an American twist on German flavor [Daily News]
Joe Sixpack [Official Site]

It’s been ten years of Joe Sixpack columns in the People’s paper and today Joe takes a moment to look back as well as forward.

many hop-py returns [Official Site]