AboutDavid Nilsen, Author at PorchDrinking.com – Page 5 of 11
David Nilsen
PorchDrinking’s Year in Ohio Beer 2022
December 16, 2022 | David Nilsen
Ohio is much more than the butt of TikTok jokes. We’re perenially hovering around the top five craft beer-producing states by volume, and bring in a healthy haul of medals at every World Beer Cup, Great American Beer Festival, and Festival of Barrel-Aged Beer. With numerous mid-sized big cities, Ohio has countless beercation destinations for the beer savvy traveler. Here are my picks for the noteworthy beers, breweries, and stories of 2022 in Ohio beer.
Bean to Barstool Podcast | Videri Chocolate’s Partnerships with Craft Breweries
December 15, 2022 | David Nilsen
In this episode David Nilsen talks with Sam Ratto, the founder of Videri Chocolate in Raleigh, North Carolina. Videri is celebrating its 11th anniversary on December 15. Videri makes a full line of single origin and inclusion bars, as well as bonbons and other confections, and they also provide cacao in various forms for numerous breweries in the craft beer hotbed of North Carolina.
Here we hear Sam talk about his ongoing delight in chocolate and his partnerships with a number of craft breweries. We also hear from Sean Lilly Wilson of Fullsteam Brewery and Lauren Woods Limbach of New Belgium Brewing.
Seventh Son Reborn | One Brewery’s Unusual Strategy for Expansion
December 14, 2022 | David Nilsen
Seventh Son Brewing opened in the historic Italian Village neighborhood of Columbus, OH, in April 2013. Their beer was good and their taproom was friendly and inviting—obvious prerequisites for success—and they set about doing what many other breweries around the country had done before them and have done since: offering classic American craft styles in a communal, social atmosphere.
Bean to Barstool Podcast | Curating Chocolate Playlists with Cocoa Runners
December 8, 2022 | David Nilsen
“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 David Nilsen talks 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, and the playlist curation experience he gained there informs his work at Cocoa Runners, where he sees himself curating chocolate playlists of sorts for folks who may want some guidance when it comes to picking out their next great chocolate discovery.
Bean to Barstool Podcast | A Malty Bend in the River
November 17, 2022 | David Nilsen
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.
Bean to Barstool Podcast | Sips + Sweets with French Broad Chocolates & Burial Beer
November 9, 2022 | David Nilsen
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!
Bean to Barstool Podcast | Cleveland Chocolate with Noble Beast Brewing
November 3, 2022 | David Nilsen
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
October 27, 2022 | David Nilsen
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.
Bean to Barstool Podcast | Witches & Alewives with Dr. Christina Wade
October 20, 2022 | David Nilsen
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.
Read More
Bean to Barstool Podcast | Favorite Beers of GABF Week
October 13, 2022 | David Nilsen
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.
Ohio Breweries Find Repeat Success at GABF
October 13, 2022 | David Nilsen
Ohio craft breweries once again performed well on the national stage, bringing home eight medals from the 2022 Great American Beer Festival. Notably, every Ohio winner had previously been recognized at GABF or the World Beer Cup.
Denver Rare Beer Tasting Impresses After Three Year Absence
October 12, 2022 | David Nilsen
The Denver Rare Beer Tasting returned to Denver’s McNichols Civic Center this past week after a three year absence, and a palpable excitement filled the air as beer lovers tasted some of the rarest beers in the country. Denver Rare Beer Tasting is an invitational beer festival benefitting Pints for Prostates, an organization that raises awareness about prostate cancer and promotes early detection. While benefiting a good cause, attendees are able to taste amazing beers they’ll likely never taste again, as well as talk with esteemed brewers and brewery founders like Sam Calagione, Adam Avery, and Shyla Sheppard.
Great American Beer Festival Pouring Guide | Chocolate Beers
September 28, 2022 | David Nilsen
Some of the most sought-after beers at the Great American Beer Festival have been dessert-inspired Stouts with coffee, chocolate, vanilla, lactose, or other ingredients that appeal to drinkers’ sweet tooth, and the 2022 GABF pour list promises to be no exception. There are several dozen excellent chocolate beers at GABF this year waiting for you to try them.
Beers brewed chocolate—or, more commonly, cacao, the ingredient from which chocolate is made—aren’t just candy or dessert substitutes though. At its root, chocolate is an agricultural ingredient, and thoughtfully-brewed Pastry Stouts can highlight the possibilities of this tropical crop. Check out our guide to the most exciting chocolate beers at this year’s Great American Festival.
Read More
Great American Beer Festival Pouring Guide | Ohio Breweries
September 22, 2022 | David Nilsen
Ohio craft beer is booming, with over 400 craft breweries pumping out enough great beer to rank the state fifth in the country in craft beer production. The Great American Beer Festival is the perfect opportunity to taste some of the best beers from the Buckeye State. Here’s our guide to the Ohio breweries at GABF and the beers you don’t want to miss.
Bean to Barstool Podcast | The Glorious Horrors of Scarlet Lane Brewing
September 21, 2022 | David Nilsen
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.
Bean to Barstool Podcast | Painting Flavor with Artist Katie Clark Gabbard
September 16, 2022 | David Nilsen
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.
The Return of Great Lakes Blackout Stout
September 9, 2022 | David Nilsen
On the evening of August 14, 2003, an electrical blackout caused by a simple software bug plunged over 50 million people in the eastern United States and Ontario into darkness. While some places had power back within a couple hours, many were left without electricity for two days. Much of the media attention focused on covering the disaster in New York City, but other regional cities were similarly affected, including Cleveland in the northeast corner of Ohio. Cleveland’s Great Lakes Brewing Company immortalized the event by releasing a dark-as-night Imperial Stout they called Blackout Stout later that year. After a three year hiatus, Blackout Stout is now back for 2022.
Bean to Barstool Podcast | Emily Stone of Uncommon Cacao
September 7, 2022 | David Nilsen
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.
Little Fish Dayton Station Opens Its Doors
September 5, 2022 | David Nilsen
It’s been nearly two years since Little Fish Brewing of Athens, Ohio, announced they would open a new taproom in Dayton, but the wait is finally over for beer fans in the Gem City. Little Fish Dayton Station in the Webster Station neighborhood just east of downtown is now open, and will host a Grand Opening party on Saturday, September 17.
Bean to Barstool Podcast | Branch & Bone Against a Violet Sky
September 2, 2022 | David Nilsen
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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