Bean to Barstool Podcast | A Malty Bend in the River

What is malt, how is it made, and what does it do for beer… and chocolate? In this episode of Bean to Barstool, David Nilsen talks with Brian Simpson of Riverbend Malt House in Asheville, North Carolina, who malts barley and other grains for craft brewers and distillers. We also talk with French Broad Chocolates co-founder Jael Skeffington, who uses Riverbend malt in her best-selling chocolate bar, and Kyle Spears & Dan Lauro, the brewers at Carillon Brewing Company in Dayton, Ohio, who use Riverbend Malt in their historical 19th century ales.

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Bean to Barstool Podcast | Sips + Sweets with French Broad Chocolates & Burial Beer

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.

In today’s episode of Bean to Barstool, David talks with creative folks from French Broad Chocolates and Burial Beer, as well as Hi-Wire Brewing, Green Man Brewery, and Pisgah Brewing about the beers and treats we’ll be enjoying at these two excellent events. Listen in and then purchase your tickets to join us!

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Bean to Barstool Podcast | Cleveland Chocolate with Noble Beast Brewing

In this episode of Bean to Barstool David Nilsen talks with Rebecca Hess, the founder and chocolate maker at Cleveland Chocolate Company in Cleveland, Ohio. Rebecca was a classically trained fine dining chef who fell in love with bean to bar chocolate and changed her career to make chocolate her life. Cleveland Chocolate produces classic single origin bars that let their cacao shine through, as well as a thoughtfully curated rotation of imaginative inclusion bars.

In this episode David and Rebecca discuss her transition from chef to chocolate maker, her favorite cacao origins and collaborating with Noble Beast Brewing in Cleveland on their elegant chocolate beers. We’ll also hear from Shaun Yasaki, founder of Noble Beast Brewing, about working with Cleveland Chocolate’s single origin cacao. Read More

Bean to Barstool Podcast | Sleepy Hollow & a Hallow’s Eve Beer

We’re doing something a little different for today’s episode of Bean to Barstool. Bean to Barstool is all about stories, and in this pre-Halloween episode David Nilsen retells 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 the haunting tale of Sleepy Hollow.

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Bean to Barstool Podcast | Witches & Alewives with Dr. Christina Wade

In recent years, associations have been made between depictions of Medieval alewives and our modern day image of witches, from pointy hats to cauldrons, and black cats to broom sticks. The story gets passed around by barstool historians claiming modern iconography of witches comes from these Medieval alewives, and as often happens, these stories have morphed into accepted popular history. But is there any truth to these stories about witches and alewives? Was there ever a connection between female brewers and witchcraft, and how did this story get started?

In this episode of Bean to Barstool, David Nilsen talks with Dr. Christina Wade, a beer writer and historian who helps us unpack the complicated mythology and iconography surrounding witches and brewing, and separate romance from reality when it comes to this spellbinding chapter of beer history.
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Bean to Barstool Podcast | Favorite Beers of GABF Week

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, Our Mutual Friend, Cerveceria Colorado and Wah Gwaan Brewing.

In this episode, David shares his favorite beers and experiences of Great American Beer Festival week.

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Bean to Barstool Podcast | The Glorious Horrors of Scarlet Lane Brewing

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 books in general, and uses Scarlet Lane to celebrate all things macabre. Josh Hull is a brewer at Scarlet Lane who is also a screenwriter and filmmaker. His new horror comedy Glorious is available for streaming now on Shudder.

The three of us discuss our love for horror and how that theme gets celebrated in fun ways at Scarlet Lane, how Eilise comes up with the ideas for her beers, and Josh’s process for writing the grimy but delightful cosmic horror movie Glorious.

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Bean to Barstool Podcast | Painting Flavor with Artist Katie Clark Gabbard

Katie Clark Gabbard is a professional artist working in Dayton, Ohio, creating vividly colorful paintings in unexpected formats, using the very shape and texture of each piece to challenge perceptions within the sometimes staid fine art world. In this episode of Bean to Barstool, we hang out with Katie as she uses her paints, brushes and canvases to interpret and express what her senses of taste and smell experience when presented with beers and chocolates without knowing anything about them.

David Nilsen brought along several chocolates and beers to Katie’s studio, and gave each to her to taste, one at a time. She would then spend ten to fifteen minutes painting a small canvas, expressing in colors and shapes the flavors she experienced and the images they conjured. Only after she finished each would David reveal what she had just tasted. The results were fascinating.

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Bean to Barstool Podcast | Emily Stone of Uncommon Cacao

In this episode David Nilsen talks 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 Cacao supplies cacao for hundreds of bean to bar chocolate makers and, indirectly through their bean to bar partners, quite a few craft breweries as well. Emily is passionate about the people and stories behind these cacao origins, and here we talk about those origins, what led Emily to start Uncommon, and the importance of full, two-way transparency in the cacao supply chain.

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Bean to Barstool Podcast | Branch & Bone Against a Violet Sky

In this episode of the Bean to Barstool podcast, host David Nilsen talk with Hans Westerink of Violet Sky Chocolate in South Bend, Indiana, who creates fantastic single origin and inclusion chocolate bars and frequently collaborates with craft brewers. We also talk with Brett Smith of Branch & Bone Artisan Ales in Dayton, Ohio, who produces a wide variety of excellent and unique beers, including many using cacao from Violet Sky. Both discuss their own inspirations and the unlikely scenario that brought them together.

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Bean to Barstool Podcast | Omnom Chocolate’s Relationship to Iceland Beer

Kjartan Gíslason is the co-founder of Omnom Chocolate in Reykjavik, Iceland. Omnom is known not only for their delicious and creative bean to bar chocolate, but for the colorful packaging and marketing that presents the spirit of Omnom to consumers. In today’s episode, David Nilsen talks with Kjartan about that spirit behind Omnom, as well as their collaborations with Reykjavik craft breweries such as Borg Brugghus and KEX Brewing on both chocolates and beers, and the use of flavors distinct to Icelandic culture in their bars.

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Bean to Barstool Podcast | Taste with Colour with Chocolate Judge Hazel Lee

In this episode, David Nilsen talks with Hazel Lee, an international chocolate judge and the creator of Taste with Colour: The Chocolate Tasting Flavor Map. They 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 of tasting chocolate for both newcomers and experienced tasters.

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Bean to Barstool Podcast | Nostalgia Chocolate’s Love Affair with Hops

In this episode of Bean to Barstool, we talk with Tyler Cagwin of Nostalgia Chocolate in Syracuse, New York, about his perspective on tasting chocolate, his experience working with brewers and hop growers, and his process for crafting his unique Hops Aged chocolate bar made with New York-grown Chinook hops. We also talk to Chad Meigs at The Bineyard hop farm, who supplied the hops for this bar, and Jordan Pollock and Ivan Dedek at Meier’s Creek Brewing, who recently used Tyler’s cacao from Nostalgia Chocolate in a new Porter.

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Bean to Barstool Podcast | Rabid Brewing Crown of Horns Chocolate Cream Ale

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 with Rabid Brewing.

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Bean to Barstool Podcast | Cultural Beer Language with Dr. J.

Every aroma or flavor we identify in beer or chocolate or some other food or drink is something we learned at some point, and that personal vocabulary is based upon where we grew up, our cultural background and a host of other influences. As craft beer works to be more inclusive, the language we use to describe beer needs to be examined and opened up to new influences. In this episode David Nilsen talks with Dr. J. Nikol Jackson-Beckham of Crafted for All about where cultural biases are found in beer language and how we can learn to use descriptive sensory language to welcome newcomers and learn from others.

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Bean to Barstool Podcast | Indianapolis Beer with Amy Beers

In this episode of Bean to Barstool, David Nilsen talks 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 conversation we discuss her book, the invisible history of Indianapolis beer prior to Prohibition, and the vibrant modern beer scene in central Indiana.

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Bean to Barstool Podcast | Trust Your Dopeness: Hannah Ferguson of D.O.P.E. Cider House & Winery

In this episode of Bean to Barstool, David Nilsen talks with Hannah Ferguson, a brewer of beer, a maker of cider and wine and the founder of D.O.P.E. Cider House & Winery, which will open soon in Youngstown, Ohio. Hannah Ferguson was the first Black female professional brewer in the state of Ohio and only the second Black female cidery owner in the entire country. Her enthusiasm and positivity have helped her push through the challenges involved in following her dreams. I know you’ll find her story inspiring and encouraging.

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Bean to Barstool Podcast | Ebony & Ivory: Ale Sharpton on Piano Keys Stout

In this episode of Bean to Barstool, David Nilsen talks with the 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 few years back, he partnered with New Belgium Brewing and Xocolatl Small Batch Chocolate on a signature beer called Piano Keys that would open conversations and show newcomers what beer could be. Here David and Ale discuss the process for developing this chocolate vanilla Imperial Stout, Ale’s passion for flavor, and the road ahead for Piano Keys Stout.

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Bean to Barstool Podcast | Everybody Is Welcome: Em Sauter of Pints & Panels

In this episode of Bean to Barstool, David Nilsen talks with Em Sauter, a fellow Advanced Cicerone and the creator of Pints & Panels, a cartoon that celebrates beer and provides educational resources for folks curious to learn more about our favorite drink. Em is the author of two books, the most recent of which, Hooray for Craft Beer, was just published in April. With whimsical cartoons and easy-to-understand explanations, the book is a fun and positive way to look at beer from a new angle and learn about it in a non-intimidating way. Listen as Em Sauter talks talk about the book, her creative process, and why positivity is so important in the craft beer world.

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Bean to Barstool Podcast | A Wine Sommelier Tastes Beer & Chocolate: Lauren Gay of Tender Mercy

In this episode of Bean to Barstool, Advanced Cicerone David Nilsen talks 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 great wine. You can hear her enthusiasm as she discusses her journey as a Somm, what she loves about the tasting experience and how she extends that experience to her guests. Along the way, David has Lauren taste two excellent beers and three bean to bar chocolates to get a unique perspective on the flavors of each from a seasoned wine expert.

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