Pair the warmth and romance of impressionism in “Imagine Monet” with chocolate-forward stouts at Peaks & Pints on Valentine’s Day. On this day for lovers, Tacoma Arts Live opens the unique immersive experience on the art of the French painter Claude Monet at the Tacoma Armory through April 17, 2024. “Imagine Monet” is the exhibition created by the French directors Annabelle Mauger and Julien Baron, the world’s first directors of a digital immersive exhibition. Imagine Monet starts with the famous painting Impression, Sunrise (1872) and closes with the renowned Water Lilies series (1914-1926). This experience features more than 200 well-known masterpieces by the French impressionist with 360° projections on walls and floor plunging visitors into a waking dream, thanks to state-of-the-art Image Totale© technology. Monet was a revolutionary artist who upset the social scene of his time. He is known for initiating Impressionism and as a pioneer of abstraction. Beyond his invaluable contributions to impressionist art, Monet has gone on to become one of the most famous artists of all time. Enjoy Peaks & Pints in-house flight of Valentine’s Day themed stouts — Peaks & Pints Beer Flight: Monet Valentine — before or after enjoying Tacoma Arts Live’s “Imagine Monet” at the Tacoma Armory. Bonus: If you do score an opening day ticket to “Imagine Monet”, each ticket receives a specialty box of locally made chocolates and live music from 5-7 p.m.

Peaks & Pints Beer Flight: Monet Valentine

Double Mountain Sweet Nothings

5.8% ABV, draft with bottles in our cooler

The phrase “Sweet Nothings” means romantic things that people who are in love say to each other. Example of use: Double Mountain Brewery & Cidery Lead Brewer Matt Coughlin whispered “you’re my favorite blonde” sweet nothings to his blonde coffee stout, Sweet Nothings. Sweet! Yes, “blonde”, as in the aromas and flavors of a stout but the color of a golden ale. Sweet Nothings is brewed with cocoa nibs from Ranger Chocolate in Portland and brewer selected beans from 10-Speed Coffee Roasters in Mosier, Oregon, play the role of roasted barley with aromas of coffee, vanilla, cocoa, and stone fruit.

Block 15 Love Potion #9

6.3% ABV, draft with cans in our cooler

We’re in love with Block 15 Brewing’s Love Potion #9. First, it’s a red and black raspberry rather than cherry stout, and melts like a chocolate truffle on the tongue. Second, it succeeds because the intense, silken dark chocolate that floods the mouth is immediately followed by the slightly tart berry. Third, the craft beer is, for its style, dry. Each sip is an infusion of intensity but never excess, allowing our senses to revisit the sensation of a liquid truffle repeatedly. Give us a few minutes and we’ll come up with a total of nine reasons why we could drink two pints of this potion.

Rogue Double Chocolate Stout

8.8% ABV, cans in our cooler

Rogue Ales‘ Double Chocolate Stout, which debuted for Valentine’s Day in 2001, is an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie and a chocolate truffle together in a bed that had been strewn with hops. Now imagine the imperial version. Rogue’s Double Chocolate smells like the inside of pain au chocolat thanks to ample bittersweet Dutch chocolate. Clocking in at 8.8 percent alcohol by volume, this 2010 World Beer Championships gold medal winner offers a lovely chocolate buzz.

Fast Fashion Stick + Poke

14.5% ABV, cans in our cooler

For their Valentine’s Day beer release, Fast Fashion teamed up with fellow pizza freak Root + Branch Brewing to release a thick, roasty imperial stout thanks to a 10-hour boil. It’s conditioned on Madagascar vanilla and Ecuadorian cocoa nibs for vanilla, chocolate, and coffee notes.

Oakshire Heart Shaped Box

15% ABV, cans in our cooler

Inspired by candy shared on Valentine’s Day, this 2024 version of Heart Shaped Box barrel-aged imperial stout begins as a massive imperial oatmeal stout. After fermentation, the stout is laid in freshly dumped Kentucky bourbon barrels from Heaven Hill Distilling. After resting for a year, Oakshire selects from the barrels a blend featuring notes of deep chocolate and strong bourbon. The beer receives a generous helping of vanilla beans, cocoa nibs, and coffee roasted by Farmer’s Union. Finally, a dose of raspberry puree helps emulate the hand-dipped confections.

LINK: Peaks & Pints beer and cider cooler inventory