Bean to Barstool Podcast | Wood, Beer & Chocolate

January 25, 2023 | David Nilsen

What do trees taste like, and can you make beer and chocolate with them? In this episode of Bean to Barstool, David Nilsen talks with multiple experts to unlock how the flavor of wood impact beer and chocolate. Listen as Marika Josephson of Scratch Brewing, chocolate writer Shay Pal, Marika Josephson of Map Chocolate, and The Flavor of Wood: In Search of the Wild Taste of Trees from Smoke and Sap to Root and Bark author Artur Cesar-Erlach discuss how trees influence some of our favorite indulgences.
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What We’re Drinking | February 8th, 2019

February 8, 2019 | Anna Dacosta

Would you be willing to fall in love with a new beer? Maybe even reconnect with a beer you already tasted before? February is a short month, but enough time to show our craft beer community some love. This week was interesting since I tried new beers as well as a beer spa experience. I wanted to celebrate a birthday in a different way, and I definitely accomplished that. Cheers to trying new beer experiences, even if it means submerging yourself in a hot tub full of beer ingredients! PorchDrinkers have a cool lineup of diverse beers and we are all over the country sharing this week’s What We’re Drinking.

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Brewery Showcase | Scratch Brewing

July 10, 2017 | David Nilsen

Nestled in the woods of southern Illinois, among the dips and low hills of a surprisingly wild region of the state, sits one of the most innovative breweries operating in the American craft beer scene today. That innovation, however, comes by way of ancient tradition. Owners and brewmasters Marika Josephson and Aaron Kleidon aren’t pioneering cutting edge brewing technologies or using explosively flavorful new varieties of experimental hops. Rather, they’re reviving the use of ingredients and techniques that humans have used for centuries to make beer. Foraging among the underbrush of their wooded property for edible bark, nuts, fruits, flowers, roots and mushrooms, and growing yet more ingredients at their brewery garden, the folks at Scratch are bringing unexpected flavors to beer drinkers lucky enough to make it to their rustic property.

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Chicago Craft Beer Week Event Recap | Beer Under Glass

May 18, 2015 | Mike Wronski

Thursday night kicked off the beginning of Chicago Craft Beer Week—Chicago’s 10 day “week” dedicated to craft beer. Many events across the city welcomed the start of the annual celebration, but the premier event and most sought after ticket was for the Beer Under Glass, held every year at the Garfield Park Conservatory by the Illinois Craft Brewer’s Guild.

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