Bean to Barstool

In this episode of Bean to Barstool Bite Sized, host David Nilsen spends five minutes with Scott Watson, the founder and chocolate maker at Loon Chocolate in New Hampshire. Prior to becoming a chocolate maker, Scott was a brewer at Nutfield Brewing in the late 90s. Here Scott talks about the similarities between the two careers, and how the sensory romance of both tugs at the same corners of his h...

AJ Wentworth, the founder and chocolate maker for Utah’s The Chocolate Conspiracy , loves craft beer almost as much as he loves craft chocolate, and he’s partnered with several Salt Lake City craft breweries on a series of beer-infused craft chocolate bars, including a bar with Uinta Brewing’s Baba Black Lager. In today’s episode, AJ and beer writer David Nilsen discuss his partnerships with neigh...

In this episode of Bean to Barstool Bite Sized, we talk with Sanna Forslund, a chocolate educator from Sweden. Sanna is passionate about the tasting experience and sharing it with others, and speaks often of traveling through chocolate, a way of letting the wind wander during the tasting experience and allowing our chemical senses to take us to other places and evoke distinctive memories. Here San...

Join me for a look back at my favorite beers & chocolates of 2022. In the episode, you’ll also hear favorites from some of my friends in beer & chocolate: Ruvani de Silva is a beer journalist living in Austin, Texas.  You can find her at her website and on Twitter & Instagram . Shay Pal runs the choccoffeewine Instagram account . You can find her at her website and listen to a quick co...

In this episode of Bean to Barstool Bite Sized, we talk with Sam Ratto, co-founder of Videri Chocolate Factory in Raleigh, NC. Videri recently celebrated 11 years in business, and they have regularly collaborated with craft breweries during that time, providing nibs and other cacao products to breweries such as New Belgium, Fonta Flora, and Crank Arm. Here we talk about how Sam got involved with c...

“I passionately believe that if we want to save the planet and be healthy we have to go back to savoring and not scoffing.” In this episode we talk with Spencer Hyman, co-founder of Cocoa Runners. Cocoa Runners is a website that sells many of the world’s finest craft chocolate bars, including bars from over 150 makers from over 40 countries. Prior to Cocoa Runners, Spencer was the COO of last.fm,...

In this episode of Bean to Barstool Bite Sized we talk with Harshit Gupta, co-founder of Madhu Chocolate in Austin, Texas. Harshit and husband Elliott Curelop use inclusions that celebrate Harshit's Indian heritage, with bars like Masala Chai and Rose Pistachio. In this quick conversation, Harshit talks about the meaning of the name Madhu and what it means to him to celebrate these flavors. Y...

In this episode of Bean to Barstool Bite Sized we talk with Tyler Cagwin, co-founder and chocolate maker at Nostalgia Chocolate in Syracuse, New York. Tyler loves craft beer almost as much as he loves craft chocolate, and has a particular affinity for IPAs, so he decided to infuse a chocolate bar with the character of Chinook hops from The Bineyard hop farm. Here Tyler talks about the process for...

On November 16 & 17, Bean to Barstool host and Advanced Cicerone David Nilsen in collaboration with French Broad Chocolates and Burial Beer in Asheville, NC, will be hosting two nights of events celebrating the relationship between beer and chocolate. Decadence on Display will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 16, at Burial 's Forestry Camp location offering a deep dive into...

In this episode of Bean to Barstool Bite Sized we talk with Kyle Spears, the head brewer for Carillon Brewing Company in Dayton, Ohio. Carillon is housed on the grounds of Carillon Historical Park, and is the only brewery in the country on the grounds of a historical museum. Their beer is brewed entirely using techniques and replica equipment from 1850. Kyle is a trained historian, and here he tal...

We're doing something a little different for today's episode. Bean to Barstool is all about stories, and today we're retelling a classic American ghost story,  The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The story provides the inspiration for New Holland Brewing Ichabod Pumpkin Ale, so grab your favorite pumpkin beer and join us for this haunting tale. The music for this episode was performed on c...

Bean to Barstool host and Advanced Cicerone David Nilsen has written and published a guide to pairing craft beer and craft chocolate, and it's for sale now on the Bean to Barstool website. This 70-page, full-color zine provides all the information you need to begin pairing craft beer and craft chocolate. The zine provides basic information on how beer and chocolate are made and how to taste t...

Bean to Barstool host David Nilsen just got back from covering the Great American Beer Festival in Denver for PorchDrinking, as well as the Denver Rare Beer Tasting. While he was in Denver, he attended PorchDrinking's 10th anniversary festival, hosted a beer and chocolate pairing at Lady Justice Brewing, and stopped in at many of Denver's best breweries, including Jagged Mountain Brewery...

“Horror is emblematic of everything we’re doing and feeling, but it gives us the safe space to discuss it.” Spooky season is upon us, and today we’re talking with two brewers for whom spooky season lasts the entire year. Eilise Lane is the founder and head brewer at Scarlet Lane Brewing Company in Indiana. As you’ll hear in the interview, Eilise is obsessed with horror movies and literature, and b...

In this episode of Bean to Barstool Bite Sized we talk with Dr. J. Nikol Jackson-Beckham, the principle behind Crafted for All, a consultancy that helps craft beverage companies and organizations be more inclusive, equitable, and just, as well as the founder and executive director of Craft by EDU, a nonprofit whose mission is to champion those same goals in craft beer through education and profess...

“Uncommon cacao is telling the story of the power of connection.” In this episode we talk with Emily Stone, the founder and CEO of Uncommon Cacao, a group of Transparent Trade cacao operations with offices in the U.S. and Europe and operations at numerous cacao origins. Uncommon supplies cacao for hundreds of bean to bar chocolate makers and, indirectly through their bean to bar partners, quite a...

Marika Josephson and Aaron Kleidon, co-founders and brewers at Scratch Brewing in southern Illinois, love trees, and have brewed countless beers with nearly every part of the different species of trees surrounding the brewery. On my first visit to the property on a beautiful spring day in 2017, I tasted their Pine Needle IPA, whose lightly resinous character of drooping needles dovetailed beautifu...

Corina Gimenez is the founder and chocolate maker of Xoco by Corina, a bean to bar chocolate company in Norway. Corina is from Venezuela, and she uses Venezuelan cacao in dialogue with Norwegian culinary ingredients in her range of unique bars. Her 3 Bean Stout bar is made in collaboration with Lervig Beer. Their 3 Bean Stout is an Imperial Stout brewed with cacao beans, vanilla beans, and tonka b...

“My approach to tasting is to try to make it as approachable and accessible to as many people as possible.” In this episode we talk with Hazel Lee, an international chocolate judge and the creator of Taste with Colour: The Chocolate Tasting Flavor Map . We talk about how Hazel got into chocolate, what led to the development of her flavor map, and how it’s used to deepen and inform the experience o...

Shay Pal is a chocolate, spirits, and coffee enthusiast from Chicago and runs the @choccoffeewine Instagram account. In this Bean to Barstool Bite Sized conversation, we discuss Crow & Moss Vanilla Smoke, a 69% dark chocolate made with hickory smoked cacao, and Shay makes spirits pairings for this unusual bar. Check out David's book Pairing Beer & Chocolate: A Guide to Bringing the Fl...

“It was one of the best days we’ve ever seen.” On July 23, the weird and wonderful humans at Rabid Brewing in Homewood, Illinois, welcomed the fae folk of the surrounding wild country to Feast of the Goat Queen, a day of celebration for all things magical, natural, and mystical. The Feast also featured the release of Crown of Horns, a chocolate cream ale Bean to Barstool brewed in collaboration wi...

Brett Smith is the co-founder and head brewer of Branch & Bone Artisan Ales in Dayton, Ohio. He uses cacao from Violet Sky Chocolate for his elegant and complex chocolate beers, and in this quick conversation he explains how he got introduced to Violet Sky and a couple of the first beers he brewed with their cacao—Modern Business Hymns and Campfire Candle. Check out David's book Pairing B...

Indianapolis, Indiana, has a thriving craft beer scene and a rich history of brewing. Amy Beers covers both in our latest episode. In this episode we talk with Amy Beers, the author of the new book Indianapolis Beer Stories: History to Modern Craft in Circle City Brewing . Amy is a Certified Cicerone and she leads walking beer tours around Indy through her company Drinking with Beers. In this conv...

“People get the vision. It’s a beer that’s helping to make a difference.” In this episode we talk with the Reverend Ale Sharpton , a beer expert, writer, photographer, and consultant living in Atlanta, Georgia. Ale is one of the most respected voices in the craft beer scene, and he’s a passionate advocate for folks of all backgrounds, races, and identities to get to enjoy this beautiful drink.  A...

“There is so much emotion and memory and feeling wrapped up in the tasting process.” In this episode we’ll talk with Lauren Gay, a certified Sommelier and the wine director and general manager at Sueño and Tender Mercy in Dayton, Ohio. Lauren is passionate about hospitality and just really great wine, and you can hear her enthusiasm as she discusses her journey as a Somm, what she loves about the...