A weekly look at the draft selection at beer-friendly bars across the country.

We all have our vices: Some live for libations while others pine for sweets. In St. Louis these two groups can merge in one ecstatic, sugar-fueled pit of sin at Bailey's Chocolate Bar. A lengthy menu of treats includes dramatic desserts, award-winning cocktails and sometimes the two in one beautiful bite (Irish Cream cheesecake, anyone?).

Beer is another of Chocolate Bar's specialties, as it boasts one of STL's most highly-regarded draft lists. A few selections seem obvious (such as Young's Double Chocolate Stout and Arcadia Cocoa Loco) but the bar also boasts a namesake brew, Bailey's Chocolate Bar Chocolate Ale. Of course, a great beer bar can't just stock stouts, and general manager Gene Bailey says they strive for "good enough variety where everyone can find something they like." Many of the current taps come from one brewery: "We're big fans of the New Belgium [Fat Tire] people," Gene admits. Beyond pure pints, Bailey's happily mingles sugar & suds: The Stout Beer Shake, blending chocolate stout and cinnamon ice cream, is a favorite.

Check out Bailey's Chocolate Bar's complete draft list after the jump, tell us if you've got a favorite chocolate beer and get your indulgence on in person next time you're in St. Louis.

Is a sweet tooth strong enough to withstand the rising prices of basic food necessities, such as milk, eggs, and bread? Apparently so - according to an article from the Associated Press, retail sales in candy have gone up by three percent in the past year. Despite the fact that people are cutting back on driving long distances and buying certain grocery items, they are still willing to pay a premium for candy. Do we have an unhealthy addiction to candy?

Why am I spending more money on candy when I am economizing on just about everything else?
It's psychological. Consumer Analysts at the Nielsen Co. explain that the candy business is "recession-proof." Besides having the feel-good factor, candy is easily accessible and cheap. Since people are reducing their shopping trips further from home to save gas, they are ending up at drug stores where there's lots of candy. Chocolate bars are probably one of the cheapest foods that seems to fulfill your appetite and simultaneously put a smile on your face. In fact, during the Great Depression, nickel chocolate bars practically served as meals.

Is there a solution?
While it's not a problem for the candy business, an increase in candy consumption cannot be a good thing for our health. Are there ways to encourage people to follow a more nutritious diet during economic recessions? What are your thoughts?

Last night, a friend offered me a taste of a Newman's Own Organic Sweet Dark Chocolate Espresso Bar. I've typically been quite happy with Newman's Own products and always feel good about buying them since Paul Newman and the Newman's Own Foundation donate all profits and royalties after taxes for educational and charitable purposes.

I've had many different chocolate bars that contain espresso. Before the Newman's, my most recent chocolate espresso bar experience was a Vere Chocolate Espresso Anise bar which was unbelievably good. I point this out so you know I'm not just an espresso hater.

Typically, espresso chocolate bars have a deep chocolate flavor with a small, lingering coffee flavor. In some cases, they have a slight crunch where there are pieces of coffee beans in the bar.

In Newman's case, however, the espresso flavor was so overpowering that it completely hid the flavor of the chocolate. I felt like I was having a full shot of espresso with one small chocolate square. Something was way off about the flavor proportions. I like to taste my chocolate.

Sometimes just the name of a recipe can make your ears (and taste buds) perk up a little bit. Earl Grey Brownies! Sounds like a nice twist to a classic recipe.

The Earl Grey flavor isn't in the actual brownies, it's in the ganache that is spread over the brownies (it includes two Earl Grey tea bags or 1 1/2 tablespoons of Earl Grey tea leaves). The recipe is from Blanche Ip, and with it she won the annual contest held at the Chocolate Bar at the Langham Hotel in Boston. Full recipe after the jump.

This is going to come in a little too late for Valentine's Day, but is still good news for all you chocolate lovers out there. Based on the trends consumers have been following over the past year, Hershey's apparently plans to expand their chocolate bar line with the introduction of three new products.

The first is an organic chocolate bar, which really comes as little surprise since consumers can't seem to get enough organic into their shopping carts these days. Second will be a "whole-bean chocolate" which, according to the President and CEO of Hershey Co., will have increased fiber and 40% less sugar than their regular chocolate bars. Finally, they will be introducing an antioxidant milk chocolate which will boast the same health benefits of dark chocolate, but with the creamy rich taste of milk chocolate instead.

They also plan to continue their focus on portion-control products, offering consumers smaller, healthier sizes of their various snack foods. As they say, everything in moderation.

New York City's Chocolate Bar is often described (or perhaps is self-described) as a "candy store for grownups." Despite their fun, inventive packaging and love of retro combinations, they always put out high-quality, well constructed products that kids of any age - especially adult ones - will enjoy. Their cookbook, Chocolate Bar: Recipes and Entertaining Ideas for Living the Sweet Life , maintains this same standard and is packed with adult recipes for the kid in you. Assuming that that kid likes chocolate, of course.

With a name like "chocolate bar" it shouldn't come as a surprise to find that every recipe uses chocolate in some way. The recipes are divided into "classic," "retro," and "swanky" chapters. Classic includes Deep Dark Brownies and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. "Retro Reconfigured" has worked bolder flavors into Egg Creams and Chocolate Icebox Cake, while "Swank Stuff" deals with White Chocolate Lemon Creme Mousse and Shiny Chocolate Orange Tartelets. The thing that sets it apart from other chocolate cookbooks is that there are a ton of ideas for parties, celebrations and other ways to "create a chocolate-centered lifestyle," from spur of the moment cocktail parties to long-planned holiday gatherings. Finally, the book concludes with a discussion of the history of chocolate and the tools needed to work with it.

The first aerated chocolate that I tasted was a Nestle's Aero bar. Never having seen aerated chocolate before, I was intrigued by the prospect of bubble filled chocolate and eager to find out what it tasted like. It was light, crumbly and quite unlike any other chocolates that I had had. I wasn't hugely impressed at the time, but many years and many chocolate bars later, I realize that I was probably expecting a more impressive sensation from the bar.

Aerated chocolate is chocolate that has lots of small air bubbles suspended in it, giving it a somewhat honeycombed appearance and a light texture. The thin walls separating the bubbles snap easily, so the chocolate crumbles into your mouth before melting from the heat. In the past, this type of chocolate has not been very popular in the US and it is generally only found in stores that stock Aeros imported from Australia, Canada or the UK, but that may change because Bubble Chocolate is an American company that is hoping to capture the hearts, and tongues, with their version of the candy.

One of the reasons that Archie Comics have been popular for more that half a century is that the characters had a simple, recognizable look that readers - past and present - know and love. It was created by Dan DeCarlo, known for his pin-up drawings as well as for his cartooning, in the 1950s. Unfortunately, their poorly-drawn new look could very well kill the long running series. Whether you read the comic now or read it at some time in the past, it is clearly the end of an era and worth a moment of silence.

To get your fix of the pinup look, you'll have to look elsewhere - like at chocolate bars. MarieBelle has an entire line of pin-up girl chocolate bars. There are 12 designs to choose from and each is available in milk (35% cacao) or dark (60% cacao) chocolate. The smooth chocolate is stamped with the MarieBelle logo underneath the wrapper.

Update: Apparently, the characters (via Betty's "blog") don't like the makeover either. Hopefully they'll stick with the old designs.

Cocolove, the Boulder, Colorado-based chocolate company, is known for their distinct flavors and quality chocolate, as well as for their distinctive packaging, which resembles a love letter. They use all-natural ingredients and their head chocolatier spent years abroad learning about chocolate and chocolate-making techniques before starting the company about ten years ago. Since then, they have gradually expanded their sales and are now available in many markets, including Whole Foods and some higher-end grocers, although the chocolate is quite reasonably priced for what it is. This year, they have a limited edition holiday bar, Fruits and Nuts in Dark Chocolate, inspired by the French mendiant. It has a blend of currants, tart cherries, orange zest and ginger, as well as pecans, walnuts and hazelnuts, all in 55% dark chocolate. They are only available at Whole Foods while supplies last, so this might be a good time to pick some up as stocking stuffers.

This Tuesday, as the sun sets and parents sit in an annoyingly sluggish commute because everyone leaves work at the same time that night, children across the country will don costumes and 93% of them will head out to trick-or-treat. We already know that their primary goal is to collect as much candy as possible, but what kind of candy will they end up getting? The most often handed-out candy is of the bite-sized (or snack/fun/treat sized) chocolate variety, mostly miniature versions of popular candy bars. For those that are lucky enough to live in generous neighborhoods, 26% of candy-givers pass out full-sized candies, not the minis. A rare few will get king-sized bars, the most coveted of all Halloween candy. Half of all kids say that chocolates are their favorite candies to receive, followed by non-chocolate (24%) and gum (10%).

Let's not forget the parents, though. They are the other group of big Halloween candy eaters. The parents get the leftover candies that were not passed out by the end of the night, and 90% of parents "admit to sneaking goodies from their kids' Halloween trick-or-treat bags." Like the children, the adults go for the chocolates and nearly 70% of them reach for the mini candy bars, too.

So kids, let this be a lesson to you to hide or count your candy to keep track of it. And parents, buy yourself and extra bag when you're at the store so you don't have to take it from your kids.

Hershey's is really trying to expand their premium chocolate brands as consumer demand for different types of chocolate grows. The company already owns the high-end Scharffen Berger chocolate company, as well as Joseph Schmidt Confections, which is known for their truffles, but to bridge the gap between mass market Hershey bars and their high end lines, Hershey's is introducing Cacao Reserve this fall. Cacao Reserve is a line of all natural chocolates and cocoas that are designed to appeal to all levels of chocolate consumers, with an emphasis on those who want to learn about the "subtleties and intensities of chocolate" by tasting many slightly different varieties. In short, the company is taking their chocolate to the next level with some of the products:

• Premium Milk Chocolate (35 percent cacao) - premium European-style milk chocolate with a smooth texture.
• Premium Milk Chocolate with Hazelnuts (35 percent cacao) - carefully chopped hazelnuts for great taste and texture.
• Extra Dark Chocolate (65 percent cacao) - slowly-roasted beans and a higher cacao content bring out the rich, indulgent flavor of this selection.
• Extra Dark Chocolate with Nibs (65 percent cacao) - includes "the heart of the cacao bean" for crunch and a flavor that is truly unique.

When a company changes the packaging on a product, it is usually because they are hoping to increase sales by having a more-eyecatching design, whether that means that they add color, simplify the layout or increase the size of the font they use. In the case of the Snicker's Almond, the new bar was labeled as "Now More Satisfying!" Bob tried one a while back, but couldn't find a difference. Cybele from the Candyblog was able to get a hold of both the new and old bars to see if she could determine what the difference really was.

As it turns out, the difference is that the new bar has peanuts as a main ingredient and a bit more caramel/less nougat than the previous version. Cybele says that it tastes more like the regular peanut-laden Snickers bar than anything else. It also has five more calories per ounce than the old almond bar.

It's up to your own personal tastes to say whether this makes it more satisfying than before, but going on looks alone, the old Snickers Almond, which used to promise the "maximum amount of almonds," looks more substantial.

What happens when you get a world-renowned pastry chef and chocolatier to do a taste test with mass-produced chocolate bars? New York Magazine got François Payard to participate in a blind tasting of 14 nationally available chocolates. And while this test isn't completely recent, having taken place over a year ago, it's still interesting to see how your own personal preferences stack up to those of a pro.

The candy bars tasted were Dove Milk Chocolate, Hershey's Milk Chocolate, Caramello, Ferro Rocher, Nestle Crunch, York Peppermint Patties, Junior Mints, Snickers, Baci, Cadbury Dairy Milk, M&Ms (a rather obvious entry, easily identified), Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Toblerone and Kit Kats.

While a few garnered a "terrible" rating, like Hershey's and Ferro Rocher, Payard liked Dove, Caramello, Nestle Crunch and Snicker's. I still like Junior Mints and York Peppermint Patties, whether they have an "artificial" quality or not. Payard's favorite was the Baci, which he deemed to be "the most delicious" of all the chocolates he tasted. How did your favorite do?

[Thanks Anna!]

It's called the Women's Wonder Bar and it is supposed to cure PMS. It is flavored slightly with rose and contains soy and "chaste tree berry." On the wrapper, it says "Take sweet revenge on PMS, menopause & everyday cravings with this delicious Swiss chocolate." The chocolate bar, which is from a line of products called Health by Chocolate, takes the marketing approach that overtly says you should eat a lot of chocolate. For example, their FAQ says "Q: What happens if I go on a health by chocolate binge and eat more than one bar? A: You'll be in a very good mood."

Other products include an Instant Bliss Beauty Bar, which contains oils that are supposed to be good for the skin, the Instant Bliss Beauty Drink (essentially the same as the bar, but liquid), and the Beautiful Bones Bar, which is orange chocolate with calcium and vitamin D.

The calcium bar aside, since I have seen many other similar products, I have little doubt that these bars will not "work" in that they won't cure PMS or make your skin perfect. They were all designed with the supervision of an holistic doctor and, if things like soy were enough to prevent PMS, then there would be a lot of women who don't get cramps, etc. I'm not the only doubter, either.

I do think that many people get a moos boost from eating chocolate, though, and as long as it makes you feel good, it's hard to argue with indulging in a piece or two. Just know that you're eating it because it's chocolate, and not for any other reason.

In the world of food advertising, it sometimes seems like the ads go from bad to worse, though there will be the occasional good one thrown in to keep the audience - that would be us - on our toes. I heard about this billboard at AdJab and when I first saw it, I had to do a double take: it is a giant, fake Cadbury bar being ripped apart by fake people. The giant-sized candy may be fake, but it looks absolutely delicious and the enthusiasm of the little, artificial people is quite funny. The ad is definitely more compelling than a simply picture of the chocolate bar would be. The billboard is in Canada, but if I have to look at billboards while I'm driving, I don't think that I'd mind seeing one of these once in a while.