Sour ales are a fantastic platform for fruit flavors. The acidity of the base beers dovetails with the brightness of the fruit and can help sell the flavors of the fruit more authentically. There are challenges to pairing these beers though, and most of them are related to variability of the beers themselves: there are so many different ways to make a fruited sour ale. In this bonus episode, David Nilsen walks through the different types of fruited sour ale and explains which types of craft chocolate and seek out and which to avoid when pairing with them.

IPAs are the most popular family of beer styles in craft beer today, they aren't the first beers most people think of for pairing with craft chocolate. While IPAs can pair beautifully with craft chocolate, it’s not an effortless pairing. IPAs present challenges that can lead to chocolate pairings with harsh, bitter, astringent, and/or clashing flavor qualities. In this bonus episode, we’ll look at some common styles of IPA, discuss their sensory attributes, and discuss chocolates to seek out and chocolates to avoid when planning pairings with each.

World Tarot Day is the perfect time to learn more about what beer and Tarot have in common. Beer writer Courtney Iseman's zine Beer Tarot: Pulling Cards, Pouring Beer, and Discovering Self is a fantastic way to learn more about both, whether you're a beer fan who's curious about Tarot or vice versa. Listen to this quick interview Courtney to learn 3 things Tarot folks might be surprised to learn about craft beer, and 3 things beer lovers might be surprised to learn about the world of Tarot.

Beer is fermented (usually) by one of two closely related species of yeast. In this quick bonus episode, we look at what how beer fermentation works, the differences between ale and lager, and how yeast and fermentation impact beer flavor. Enjoy this quick primer on beer fermentation!

Hops are the primary seasoning in beer, but what actually Are hops, and how are these used? In this quick bonus episode, we look at what hops are, how they're used, when they're added during the brewing process, and how they impact beer flavor.

What what is malt, how is it made, how is it used in brewing, and what flavors and characteristics does it provide for beer? In this bonus episode, we talk all about the basics of malt.

In this bonus episode of Bean to Barstool we talk with Manoa Chocolate founder Dylan Butterbaugh in Kailua, Hawaii, about Manoa’s relationship with rum, whiskey, wine, and beer. Manoa makes popular bars made with both rum and whiskey made locally, and they run a wine bar that offers both casual pairing guidance and structured pairings. They’re even working with a local brewery to make a beer made with cacao and then chocolate made with those nibs.

Fall beer styles like pumpkin ales, Märzen, Festbier, and even fresh hop and wet hop beers can pair great with craft chocolate, and today we’re going to talk about some of my favorites and recommendations to check out. Listen to this bonus episode to learn which bean to bar chocolate bars will work best with each seasonal style.

What types of craft chocolate should you pair with Belgian Witbier and Bavarian Hefeweizen, two both standard strength wheat ales with expressive fermentation flavors? Listen is an Advanced Cicerone David Nilsen, author of Pairing Beer & Chocolate, describes these styles and recommends craft chocolate bars to pair with them.

In this episode of Bean to Barstool Bite Sized we hear from Annabelle Popa, an artist and graphic designer who has created many of the eye catching labels for Rabid Brewing in the south suburbs of Chicago. When you enter Rabid’s taproom, you’re greeted by an enormous 9'x16' mural hanging over the bar that depicts a fanciful scene telling a mythological version of beer’s origin story. Annabelle painted that mural, and here she talks about the creation process for that and the creative give and take of designing beer labels.

Bean to Barstool host David Nilsen, author of Pairing Beer & Chocolate, talks about how to pair craft chocolate with Doppelbock, a strong German lager style often released in mid-winter by U.S. craft breweries. The malt flavors of Doppelbocks work beautifully with a variety of dark chocolate styles, but there are things to keep in mind when you’re reaching for a bar to pair with these strong beers. Listen to this super quick episode as Advanced Cicerone David Nilsen explains how pair Doppelbock with chocolate.

Asheville, North Carolina, is one of the best cities for craft beer in the country, with dozens of excellent breweries, including two of the country’s largest craft breweries in Sierra Nevada and New Belgium. They’re also home to one of the best bean to bar chocolate companies in the country as well. In this quick bonus episode, you can hear some of the best chocolate beers in the city.

New Belgium Brewing is one of the largest craft breweries in the country, but they do plenty of small batch experimentation, and they have a particular specialty in beers made with cacao nibs and husks. We’ve talked about a few of those beers previously, and in this quick bonus episode, we look at a few of their recent beers that use ethically sourced cacao from Nuance Chocolate in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Bean to bar chocolate maker Sara Ratza of Ratza Chocolate loves craft beer almost as much as chocolate, and she recently provided Bolivian cacao to Brighter Days Brewing for Hooray for Hazel, a bourbon barrel-aged Imperial Stout that also included lactose and hazelnuts. Check out my quick interview with Sara here!

In this quick interview with beer educator and Advanced Cicerone Natalya Watson, I talked with Nat about how we develop a better tasting vocabulary and ability to describe beer, and she highlighted the importance of practice and curiosity.

Need the perfect theme for your at-home beer tasting party with friends? There are dozens and dozens of beer styles out there, so let a beer expert make some suggestions for how to weed through the confusion and pick the perfect theme for your beer tasting.

Weldwerks Brewing in Greeley, Colorado, recently partnered with Denver bean to bar chocolate maker Cultura Chocolate on a variant of their legendary Medianoche Imperial Stout that’s all about the chocolate. Listen to learn all about this fantastic and delicious chocolate beer.

Springdale Beer recently partnered with Taza Chocolate for a special variant of their Brig Mocha Stout brewed with Öko Caribe cacao from the Dominican Republic and Red Barn coffee. Listen to this quick bonus episode to learn more about the beer!

Have you ever tasted smoked chocolate? Bean to bar chocolate makers are finding creative ways to infuse cacao with a diverse array of smoke flavors, and we taste several of them in this episode.