Bean to Barstool

David Nilsen
  • 4.8 (17)
  • Food
  • Updated Biweekly

A podcast exploring the intersections of craft beer and craft chocolate.

  1. 1d ago

    Bite Sized: David Herrick of Foundry Chocolate on Their Annual Whisky Bar

    Welcome to Bean to Barstool Bite Sized, where we spend about 5 minutes on a specific topic in craft beer, craft chocolate, or artisan drinks. Today we're talking with David Herrick of Foundry Chocolate in New Zealand. David tells us the story behind their esteemed Whisky bars released annually. Enjoy! You can listen to the entire episode this clip is from here. You can learn more about Foundry Chocolate here. Check out David's book Pairing Beer & Chocolate: A Guide to Bringing the Flavors of Craft Beer and Craft Chocolate Together. Follow Bean to Barstool on social media! Instagram Facebook Pinterest Sign up for host David Nilsen's beer newsletter for regular beer musings, and the Bean to Barstool newsletter for pairings, collaborations, and maker profiles.

  2. Aug 11

    Media Relations for Craft Chocolate Makers: Maintaining Relationships and Communicating New Stories

    Once you've established a line of communication with a media member, how do you maintain that relationship and communicate new story ideas to them? That's what we're going to talk about in this new episode in Bean to Barstool's Media Relations for Craft Chocolate Makers series! In part 5 today, food and beverage journalist David Nilsen talks how to maintain communication with members of the media, how to communicate story ideas in an informal but helpful way, how stories come together on the freelance journalism side, and much more. David's been a full time food and beverage journalist for about a decade now and Melinda Guerra has been a freelance PR professional helping brands tell their stories and connect with media for even longer than that. In this series, they share what they’ve learned over their careers to help craft chocolate companies of any size identify their stories, communicate them to media members and outlets, gain new customers, and keep the ones you have curious. Media Relations for Craft Chocolate Makers series: Podcast Episodes Why You Need a Media Plan Identify Your Company's Stories How to Build and Manage a Media List All About Press Releases How to Maintain Media Relationships and Communicate New Stories How to Get Started, and Common Pitfalls Blog Posts Why You Need a Media Plan How to Identify Your Stories How to Build a Media List Adding Industry and Unexpected Outlets to your Media List How to Write and Send a Press Release How to Maintain Media Relationships and Communicate New Stories How to Get Started, and Common Pitfalls Check out David's book Pairing Beer & Chocolate: A Guide to Bringing the Flavors of Craft Beer and Craft Chocolate Together. Follow Bean to Barstool on social media! Instagram Facebook Pinterest Sign up for host David Nilsen's beer newsletter for regular beer musings, and the Bean to Barstool newsletter for pairings, collaborations, and maker profiles.

  3. Aug 4

    Allo & Rachel of Craft Connections Beverage Education Summit

    Craft beverage education is one of my passions, and I really believe that the more people learn about their favorite drinks, the more they’re able to enjoy them. Allo Gilinsky and Rachel Benkowski definitely agree. I first met this pair at last summer’s Crafted For Action conference in Atlanta, where they were co-presenting an education tasting. Since then, they’re announced the inaugural Craft Connections Beverage Education Summit taking place in early 2027, an event that will bring together craft beer professionals for conversations and presentations around how we can better provide useful, approachable education for both staff and consumers.  I recently sat down with Allo and Rachel to talk all about the philosophy and passion behind the Summit, why beverage education is so important, and how we can provide actionable tools for staff and consumers without overwhelming or talking over them.  You can learn more about the Summit, and find their social media links, on the event website.  You can listen to the previous episode with Master Cicerone Scott Fielder and Advanced Cicerone Chris Crowe mentioned in our conversation here. Check out David's book Pairing Beer & Chocolate: A Guide to Bringing the Flavors of Craft Beer and Craft Chocolate Together. Follow Bean to Barstool on social media! Instagram Facebook Pinterest Sign up for host David Nilsen's beer newsletter for regular beer musings, and the Bean to Barstool newsletter for pairings, collaborations, and maker profiles.

    Allo & Rachel of Craft Connections Beverage Education Summit

  4. Jul 28

    Media Relations for Craft Chocolate Makers: All About Press Releases

    Does writing a press release sound scary and overwhelming? Who do you send it to? What do you include? Which news is important enough to deserve one? Welcome to Bean to Barstool's Media Relations for Craft Chocolate Makers series! In part 4 today, journalist David Nilsen and public relations pro Melinda Guerra  talk all about press releases. What they are, when to send them, to whom to send them, what to include, and, just as importantly, the inverse of all those: when not to send them, what not to include, etc.  David's been a full time food and beverage journalist for about a decade nowand Melinda has been a freelance PR professional helping brands tell their stories and connect with media for even longer than that. In this series, they share what they’ve learned over their careers to help craft chocolate companies of any size identify their stories, communicate them to media members and outlets, gain new customers, and keep the ones you have curious. Media Relations for Craft Chocolate Makers series: Podcast Episodes Why You Need a Media Plan Identify Your Company's Stories How to Build and Manage a Media List All About Press Releases (you're listening to it!) How to Maintain Media Relationships and Communicate New Stories How to Get Started, and Common Pitfalls Blog Posts Why You Need a Media Plan How to Identify Your Stories How to Build a Media List Adding Industry and Unexpected Outlets to your Media List How to Write and Send a Press Release How to Maintain Media Relationships and Communicate New Stories How to Get Started, and Common Pitfalls Check out David's book Pairing Beer & Chocolate: A Guide to Bringing the Flavors of Craft Beer and Craft Chocolate Together. Follow Bean to Barstool on social media! Instagram Facebook Pinterest Sign up for host David Nilsen's beer newsletter for regular beer musings, and the Bean to Barstool newsletter for pairings, collaborations, and maker profiles.

  5. Jul 21

    A Bar Apart with Luke Owen Smith

    Luke Owen Smith in New Zealand has launched A Bar Apart, an organization with a corresponding emblem that certifies the quality and practices of New Zealand based craft chocolate makers. In today's episode, Luke shares what A Bar Apart is, what it means, and what he hopes it will accomplish. We’ve had Luke on the show before to talk about the craft chocolate and craft beer scenes in New Zealand, and he guest-hosted to interview Phoebe at Living Koko. We also recently had as a guest one of the chocolate makers who has signed on with A Bar Apart, David Herrick of Foundry Chocolate.  You can learn more about A Bar Apart on their website, where you can also find links to their social media accounts.  Check out David's book Pairing Beer & Chocolate: A Guide to Bringing the Flavors of Craft Beer and Craft Chocolate Together. Follow Bean to Barstool on social media! Instagram Facebook Pinterest Sign up for host David Nilsen's beer newsletter for regular beer musings, and the Bean to Barstool newsletter for pairings, collaborations, and maker profiles.

  6. Jul 14

    Media Relations for Craft Chocolate Makers: Building a Media List

    Welcome to Bean to Barstool's Media Relations for Craft Chocolate Makers series! I’ve been a full time food and beverage journalist for about a decade now, and my wife and business partner, Melinda Guerra, has been a freelance PR professional helping brands tell their stories and connect with media for even longer than that, and in this series, we’ll be sharing what we’ve learned over our careers to help craft chocolate companies of any size identify their stories, communicate them to media members and outlets, gain new customers, and keep the ones you have curious. In part 3 today, David and Melinda talk about building a media list. They talk about understanding different types of media, making a list of media you might want to reach out to, the information you need for prospective contacts, how to find contact info, how to initiate communication, and more.  Media Relations for Craft Chocolate Makers series: Podcast Episodes Why You Need a Media Plan Identify Your Company's Stories How to Build and Manage a Media List (you're listening to it!) All About Press Releases How to Maintain Media Relationships and Communicate New Stories How to Get Started, and Common Pitfalls Blog Posts Why You Need a Media Plan How to Identify Your Stories How to Build a Media List Adding Industry and Unexpected Outlets to your Media List How to Write and Send a Press Release How to Maintain Media Relationships and Communicate New Stories How to Get Started, and Common Pitfalls Check out David's book Pairing Beer & Chocolate: A Guide to Bringing the Flavors of Craft Beer and Craft Chocolate Together. Follow Bean to Barstool on social media! Instagram Facebook Pinterest Sign up for host David Nilsen's beer newsletter for regular beer musings, and the Bean to Barstool newsletter for pairings, collaborations, and maker profiles.

  7. Jul 7

    Bite Sized: David Herrick of Foundry Chocolate on Whisky Chocolate R&D

    Welcome to Bean to Barstool Bite Sized, where we spend about 5 minutes on a specific topic in craft beer, craft chocolate, or artisan drinks. Today we're talking with David Herrick of Foundry Chocolate in New Zealand. David takes us behind the scenes of the R&D process for developing their esteemed Whisky bars released annually. Enjoy! You can listen to the entire episode this clip is from here. You can learn more about Foundry Chocolate here. Check out David's book Pairing Beer & Chocolate: A Guide to Bringing the Flavors of Craft Beer and Craft Chocolate Together. Follow Bean to Barstool on social media! Instagram Facebook Pinterest Sign up for host David Nilsen's beer newsletter for regular beer musings, and the Bean to Barstool newsletter for pairings, collaborations, and maker profiles.

  8. Jun 30

    Media Relations for Craft Chocolate Makers: Identifying Your Company's Stories

    Welcome to Bean to Barstool's Media Relations for Craft Chocolate Makers series! I’ve been a full time food and beverage journalist for about a decade now, and my wife and business partner, Melinda Guerra, has been a freelance PR professional helping brands tell their stories and connect with media for even longer than that, and in this series, we’ll be sharing what we’ve learned over our careers to help craft chocolate companies of any size identify their stories, communicate them to media members and outlets, gain new customers, and keep the ones you have curious. In part 2 today, David and Melinda talk about identifying stories, understanding what constitutes a story, and what the different types of media coverage are. Media Relations for Craft Chocolate Makers series: Podcast Episodes Why You Need a Media Plan Identify Your Company's Stories (you're listening to it!) How to Build and Manage a Media List All About Press Releases How to Maintain Media Relationships and Communicate New Stories How to Get Started, and Common Pitfalls Blog Posts Why You Need a Media Plan How to Identify Your Stories How to Build a Media List Adding Industry and Unexpected Outlets to your Media List How to Write and Send a Press Release How to Maintain Media Relationships and Communicate New Stories How to Get Started, and Common Pitfalls Check out David's book Pairing Beer & Chocolate: A Guide to Bringing the Flavors of Craft Beer and Craft Chocolate Together. Follow Bean to Barstool on social media! Instagram Facebook Pinterest Sign up for host David Nilsen's beer newsletter for regular beer musings, and the Bean to Barstool newsletter for pairings, collaborations, and maker profiles.

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4.8
out of 5
17 Ratings

About

A podcast exploring the intersections of craft beer and craft chocolate.

Information

  • Creator
    David Nilsen
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    203
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Bean to Barstool
  • Show Website
    Bean to Barstool

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