Beer for Valentine's Day?

Valentine's Day conjures up images of chocolate, roses and Champagne. That's all good, but some beers perform spectacularly, especially with fine dining. These beers are designed with elegance and celebration in mind. They're not bitter. In fact, they don't even taste like beer—at least not the stuff you remember from college parties and tailgate sessions.

Make your Valentine's Day unique with a fine beer. Most of the beers below are rich with fresh fruit flavors and aromas, and one is a very credible answer to Champagne.

Many drinkers think that lambic is fruit beer, but this is a misconception. Lambic is a spontaneously fermented wheat beer that is only made in Brussels, Belgium, and the surrounding area, known as Pajottenland. Lambic is fermented by airborne microorganisms. It rests for two years in oak barrels, emerging dry, sour and funky. Lambic is often sold unflavored. Raspberries are added to make framboise, cherries to make kriek. There are also cassis (black currant), pomme (apple), pêche (peach) and sometimes other flavors.

Some breweries produce sweetened fruit lambics that are luscious on the palate and taste of fresh fruit. The best known beers of this style are brewed by Brouwerij Lindemans in Vlezenbeek. Lindemans started brewing commercially in 1811.

Lindemans Framboise, Kriek, Pomme, Pêche and Cassis are sold in 750ml and 12oz bottles. All contain 4 percent alcohol by volume and are best served in flutes.

Framboise is an elegant, pinkish-red beverage that goes well with chocolates, fresh raspberries, ice cream, oysters and caviar. It has a heady raspberry aroma and tastes clean, with flavors of raspberry and an underlying acidity.

Kriek has a nose of freshly harvested cherries, tastes smooth and fruity and finishes dry. Serve as an aperitif, or with carbonnade, mussels or cheese.

Pomme is light-bodied with fresh apple flavors and a subtle green-apple tartness. It pairs well with rich cream sauces, spicy foods, soups and cheeses.

Pêche is gold-colored, with a huge peach aroma. It's crisp, with a good balance of fruitiness and acidity. Serve with peach melba, peaches in brandy, pear tarts, sorbet, salad or Belgian waffles.

Cassis is a deep, reddish-purple, with abundant aromas of fruit. It's soft without being flabby. Serve with venison or pork, scones, cheesecake and fresh fruit.

Samuel Smith's Old Brewery was founded in 1758 in Tadcaster, Yorkshire, in the north of England. The company produces a fine line of traditional English ales, and has brewed organic fruit beers since the 1990s at the Melbourn Bros. Brewery, founded in 1825 in Stamford, Lincolnshire, about 100 miles south of Tadcaster.

The Melbourn Bros. Brewery stands much as it did in the early days of the industrial revolution, with copper vessels and an antique grist mill. Closed in the 1970s, it was carefully restored by Samuel Smith in the 1990s.

Samuel Smith organic fruit beers are shipped to Tadcaster for blending, conditioning and packaging. They are similar to fruit lambics. All are sold in 550ml bottles, and contain 5.1 percent alcohol by volume. Samuel Smith fruit beers are certified organic by the UK Soil Association.

Samuel Smith Organic Raspberry Ale has a succulent fruit character with natural acidity from the fruit, and finishes dry. It's good with roast turkey, chicken brochettes, fondue, spinach salad and fruit salad.

Samuel Smith Organic Cherry Ale has abundant cherry character with noticeable acidity, supported by rich malt and yeasty complexity. Try it with crackers and soft cheese before dinner, or with ham, beef barley soup, glazed ham or chicken pot pie.

Samuel Smith Organic Strawberry Ale has a soft, subtle flavor, balancing sweet malt and aromatic strawberry. Serve with roast lamb, salad, scones or strawberries and cream.

Brouwerij Bosteels brews DeuS Brut Des Flandres in Buggenhout, Belgium. The brewery is in Flanders, the Flemish-speaking part of the country, about 50 miles northwest of Brussels. The brewery was established by Evarist Bosteels in 1791, and has been in the hands of the Bosteels family ever since.

DeuS straddles the boundary between beer and sparkling wine. The beer is brewed in Belgium and transported to France, where it ferments in the bottle as does Champagne, followed by removal of the yeast, resulting in a sparkling, clear beer. DeuS should be thoroughly chilled before serving, preferably in chilled flutes. The beer is recommended as an aperitif, or after dinner with desert. DeuS has tiny bubbles like Champagne, with a meringue-like head. It has an aroma of fresh apples, spices, fruit, malt and hops. On the palate there is a grape-like sweetness and apple fruitiness, followed by a dry finish. Alcohol is 11.5 percent by volume.

Beer: You Can't Always Get What You Want: There are many reasons why you might not be able to buy the beer you want, and most of them are due to laws and regulations.