Podcasts
Bean to Barstool Podcast | The Beer Lover’s Guide to Cider by Beth Demmon
September 28, 2023 | David Nilsen
Beer writer Beth Demmon has written a book called The Beer Lover’s Guide to Cider: American Ciders for Craft Beer Fans to Explore, published on September 12 by Mango Publishing. The book explores the potentially overwhelming variety of the modern cider scene through the lens of beer, relating cider varieties to major flavor groupings from craft beer. The format Beth chose for her guide allows readers to approach cider on their own terms, using familiar flavor references.
The PorchCast Ep. 108 | Primitive Beer + Cohesion + GABF Preview
September 21, 2023 | Tristan Chan
Happy kickoff to GABF! Last night, we recorded a very special PorchCast with our friends, Brandon & Lisa Boldt, co-founders of Primitive Beer in Longmont, as well as Eric and … Read More
The PorchCast Ep. 107 | Jill Preston – Left Hand Brewing’s 30th Anniversary
September 15, 2023 | Tristan Chan
In episode 107 of The PorchCast, Tristan and Korey were joined by Jill Preston, Director of Marketing for Left Hand Brewing at Left Hand’s newest location in Denver’s River North Art District right next to Mission Ballroom to recap what a monstrous past two years it’s been for the pioneer Colorado brewery.
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Bean to Barstool Podcast | Pairing Fall Beer Styles with Craft Chocolate
September 13, 2023 | David Nilsen
The arrival of fall means the arrival of fall seasonal beer styles. Fortunately for us, fall beer styles like pumpkin beer and Oktoberfest can pair great with craft chocolate, and today we’re going to talk about some of my favorites and recommendations to check out. Pumpkin ales, Märzen, Festbier, and even fresh hop and wet hop beers can be paired with craft chocolate. Listen in to learn which bean to bar chocolate bars will work best with each seasonal style to get the most out of pairing fall beer and chocolate.
Bean to Barstool Podcast | Oliver Holecek at Primo Chocolate
August 23, 2023 | David Nilsen
Most people associate mushrooms with savory foods, but that’s because many of us are unaware of both the wide flavor diversity of different types of mushrooms and the range of ways in which they can be incorporated into foods and beverages. Just a couple episodes back we talked with pastry chef and mixologist Michael George, who made an award-winning cocktail that incorporated black truffle mushrooms, and today we’re going to hear from a chocolate maker who offers a variety of craft chocolate bars using mushrooms, or what he calls, our little helpers.
Bean to Barstool Podcast | Cacao Pulp in Brewing with Leila Carvajal Erker & Sam Mosle
August 9, 2023 | David Nilsen
While brewers have long used cacao nibs for brewing chocolate beers, the pulp of the cacao fruit has been an unexplored resource due to its high perishability and cultural obscurity. Leila Carvajal Erker of Cocoa Supply wants to see that change. Her company is importing pasteurized cacao pulp from cacao farms in Ecuador and working with brewers to figure out how best it can be used in the brewing process.
Bean to Barstool Podcast | Blackest in the Forest: Bartender & Pastry Chef Michael George
July 26, 2023 | David Nilsen
Michael George is a bartender and pastry chef in Salt Lake City. They split their time between a couple different bars—you can find them on various nights at Water Witch, a James Beard-nominated bar, and Acme Bar Co. They bring a passion for flavor and story, their own vibrant personality, and the sensibility of their background in the kitchen to their drinks, in which they seek to both honor tradition and break through artificial barriers of what a drink can be. As a Black, queer, non-binary person, the barriers Michael is working to break down go far beyond just the strictures of what can go into a cocktail to encompass who gets to make that cocktail in the first place.
Bean to Barstool Podcast | Coffee & Cacao
July 12, 2023 | David Nilsen
In this episode of Bean to Barstool host David Nilsen talks with two gentleman who work with both coffee and cacao. Kyle Bellinger of Osito Coffee partners with Jose Jadir Losada in Colombia to import both coffee and cacao to North America and Europe. Through the lens of the Colombian supply chain, he has a keen understanding of the problems and opportunities facing both coffee and cacao farmers. Hans Westerink runs Violet Sky Chocolate and Cloud Walking Coffee in South Bend, Indiana, and has spent years working with both of these enigmatic beans to deepen his understanding of how to roast and process both to make amazing bean to bar chocolate and a perfect cup of coffee. Sitting at the consumer end of the supply chain, he recognizes the problems facing these industries from a public education standpoint.
Bean to Barstool Podcast | How to Taste with Author Mandy Naglich
June 28, 2023 | David Nilsen
Mandy Naglich has written a book that explores how our senses interact with food and beverage, and how understanding our senses can help us better enjoy our favorite indulgences. How to Taste: A Guide to Discovering Flavor and Savoring Life (Citadel) combines science and whimsy to teach us more about our sensory world and bring our favorite flavors to life. David Nilsen talked recently with Mandy about some of the amazing things she experienced and learned while writing the book, how they both approach the tasting process, and why tasting with other people can be so impactful.
The PorchCast Ep. 106 | Rich Fierro – Atrevida Beer Company
June 26, 2023 | Tristan Chan
In episode 105 of The PorchCast, Tristan and Bryant spoke with Rich Fierro, co-founder of Atrevida Beer Company about the origin story of he and his wife/head brewer, Jessica Fierro launched Atrevida.
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Bean to Barstool Podcast | Leila Carvajal of Cocoa Supply
June 14, 2023 | David Nilsen
Leila Carvajal’s family has worked with cacao for generations, stretching back to the 19th century, but every generation has reinterpreted their relationship with this fruit tree that gives us chocolate. Growing up in Ecuador, Leila remembers visiting the cacao farms that provided beans for Cocoa Supply, her family’s company. Leila eventually became a chemical engineer and now lives in the U.S., and has guided Cocoa Supply into its current position as a leading provider of cacao for bean to bar makers and, notably, craft breweries.
Listen in as Leila introduces us to Cocoa Supply. We talk about their business and sourcing practices, the farms they work with, and the products they offer. First though, she tells us the story of her family’s company, a story that begins on a small cacao farm in the 1800s.
The PorchCast Ep. 105 | Ren Navarro – Beer Diversity
June 7, 2023 | Tristan Chan
In episode 105 of The PorchCast, Tristan caught up with Ren Navarro, founder of Beer Diversity to discuss her frustrations stemming from this year’s Craft Brewers Conference in Nashville.
During this discussion, we examined the positive steps taken by the Brewers Association toward boosting diversity and inclusion in craft beer, while also exploring the shortcomings that stemmed from hosting the conference in a state that has repeatedly passed anti-inclusive laws.
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Bean to Barstool Podcast | Beer Basics
June 1, 2023 | David Nilsen
A lot of Bean to Barstool listeners come to this podcast from the craft chocolate world, and given how complicated and overwhelming beer can be, we want to make sure you all get to enjoy the beer-related parts of this podcast to the fullest. Today we’re going to look at beer basics—the ingredients and processes of brewing and some frequently asked questions about beer, which will hopefully make the beer conversations we have on this show make more sense and be even more enjoyable. Grab a beer and listen in!
Bean to Barstool Podcast | Arron Liu of Chocobien
May 17, 2023 | David Nilsen
In this episode of Bean to Barstool, David Nilsen talks with Arron Liu of Chocobien in Hong Kong. Chocobien is a bean-to-bar chocolate company that produces many truly unique bars that employ flavors and ingredients from other artisan food and beverage segments, including beer, whiskey, coffee, sake, tea and more. Chocobien’s Beer Fermented bar uses malt, hops, and beer yeast in innovative ways to subtly evoke the flavors of beer from Hong Kong’s Black Kite Brewing. Arron talks about the ideas behind these bars, the partnerships and processes that went into their development, and the satisfaction this curious and creative maker finds in achieving the flavors he could only hold in his imagination at the start of each experiment.
Bean to Barstool Podcast | Sarah Bharath on Cacao Fermentation (Ep. 59)
May 3, 2023 | David Nilsen
Many people don’t realize chocolate is a fermented food. Before we can make chocolate from cacao, that cacao has to undergo a fermentation process. This process is usually spontaneous, meaning the microbiotic cultures that carry out cacao fermentation are not manually added to the fermentation substrate but instead occur naturally. That doesn’t mean it’s a hands off process. A great deal of knowledge and expertise both traditional and technical is required to yield the best results. The entire process has much in common with spontaneous fermentation used in brewing Lambics and many Wild Ales.
Bean to Barstool Podcast | Estelle Tracy on Pairing Wine and Chocolate
April 20, 2023 | David Nilsen
Pairing beer and chocolate is one of the major topics of Bean to Barstool. Chocolate can pair beautifully with a wide variety of grown-up beverages, however, and most people probably think of wine for this role first. Estelle Tracy leads wine and chocolate pairing events professionally. She comes to this not as a stuffy expert but as a curious observer who has learned along the way, following her senses to new areas of knowledge and expertise without losing the joy of discovery.
The PorchCast Ep 104 | Sam Tierney & Brad Miles: Firestone Walker Innovation Team
April 18, 2023 | Tristan Chan
In episode 104 of The PorchCast, our team had the chance to sit down with Sam Tierney, Propogator Brewery Manager, and Brad Miles, Innovations Manager for Firestone Walker Brewing. This dynamic duo heads up research and development for Firestone Walker and the two been essential in the creation of iconic brands like Mind Haze, Hopnosis, and the recently released Double Hopnosis West Coast Imperial IPA featuring Cryo Hops just to name a few.
We had the opportunity to catch up with Miles and Tierney to find out a bit more about how R&D works at Firestone Walker, how their small-batch collaborations come about, and what other exciting products they’ve been working on as well as so much more.
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Bean to Barstool Podcast | Honey Beer & Honey Chocolate
April 12, 2023 | David Nilsen
Honey beer styles are more popular than ever, but they aren’t new. There were several beverages in antiquity that were fermented from honey, many of which have survived today. Mead is fermented entirely from honey, while Braggot is basically a hybrid of beer and mead. In recent history, Belgian brewers have proven adept at brewing Biere de Miel, less a style than a group of beers that incorporate honey. And from there, modern craft brewers have started putting honey into more and more styles.
Bean to Barstool Podcast | Hi-Wire Brewing’s 10W-40 Chocolate Imperial Stouts
April 5, 2023 | David Nilsen
In this episode, host David Nilsen talk with brewers at Hi-Wire Brewing in Asheville, North Carolina, about 10W-40, a family of Imperial Stouts brewed with French Broad Chocolates cacao, Dynamite coffee, and Ugandan vanilla. He talks with Peter Batinski, head brewer at Hi-Wire’s South Slope location in Asheville, where he trials many of Hi-Wire’s beers and leads innovation; and Hank Marshall, head brewer at the Big Top, Hi-Wire’s production brewery near Biltmore Village in Asheville. Peter and Hank talk about developing new variants of 10W-40, the process of brewing the base beer, the dozens of 10W-40 variants, and the related beers that have sprung off from the 10-dub family.
Bean to Barstool Podcast | Wolves, Sons & Ethereal Confections
March 29, 2023 | David Nilsen
In this episode we talk with Chris Davison of Wolf’s Ridge Brewing and Colin Vent of Seventh Son Brewing, both in Columbus, Ohio, who use quality cacao in a variety of their beers. Both brewers source their cacao from Ethereal Confections with Ethereal Confections in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, and we’ll also talk with Marisa Allen and Michael Ervin of Ethereal, who also provide cacao to a variety of other breweries.
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