Valentine’s Day may not typically be thought of as the holiday of beer, but local brewery Second Self has me thinking otherwise. The beer company, co-founded by Jason Santamaria and Chris Doyle, has just released a limited edition, Valentine’s Day-inspired brew called Bleeding Heart for its second year in a row.

Bleeding Heart is an amber ale brewed with fresh Tanzanian cocoa nibs- selected by local chocolate shop Cacao– and Madagascar vanilla.  The beer was inspired by the recipe for red velvet cake, and because of the red malts and cocoa, the beer is a Valentine’s Day-approved pink color! Santamaria says Bleeding Heart “draws from a dessert but is not very sweet.”

Bleeding Heart is available now at many local locations, such as World of Beer Midtown, Midway, Leon’s Full Service, Brookhouse, Octane West, Argosy, Porter, L5P Corner Tavern, Taco Mac and more. According to Santamaria, it was Second Self’s fastest selling beer in 2015, so don’t wait to purchase a bottle.

Want to taste this brew on Valentine’s Day? Check out Bend & Brew, an exciting yoga and beer event taking place at 1 pm on Feb. 14! Second Self is opening up its tasting room to instructor Veronica Lewinger of Evolation Yoga. After the class, all guests are invited on a private brewery tour and a six, 6-ounce tasting of Second Self’s handcrafted brews- including Bleeding Heart! A portion of the proceeds will benefit Centering Youth, and tickets can be purchased here.

But Second Self’s holiday brew isn’t the only exciting news it has to share… Second Self Beer Company opened in the fall of 2014 and has been at capacity since March 2015. Because of this, the brewery has announced plans for its expansion! The expanded space will include new tanks to allow for increased production and a new tasting room that will accommodate up to 300 guests. Second Self is located at 1311 Logan Circle NW.

Co-Founders Jason + Chris