In this episode of Bean to Barstool Bite Sized, host David Nilsen spends five minutes with Erica Gilmour of Hummingbird Chocolate. Hummingbird is in Lanark County, Ontario, the maple sugar capital of a region known for its maple. Fittingly, they make a bar that celebrates this sweet regional distinctive, and as the maple run is currently in full swing, we felt it was a good time to share Erica’s thoughts on working with this evocative ingredient.

In this episode of Bean to Barstool Bite Sized, host David Nilsen spends five minutes with Sara Ratza of Ratza Chocolate in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Sara spends a few minutes talking about the botanicals in her Aphrodite and Self Love bars and how they can potentially benefit our bodies. Listen in as Sara discusses chocolate for our love lives, loving ourselves, and loving cacao.

In this episode of Bean to Barstool Bite Sized, beer writer David Nilsen talks with Scott Watson, the founder and chocolate maker at Loon Chocolate in New Hampshire. Prior to becoming a chocolate maker, Scott was a brewer at Nutfield Brewing in the late 90s. Here Scott talks about the similarities between the two careers, and how the sensory romance of both tugs at the same corners of his heart and mind.

AJ Wentworth, the founder and chocolate maker for Utah’s The Chocolate Conspiracy, loves craft beer almost as much as he loves craft chocolate, and he’s partnered with several Salt Lake City craft breweries on a series of beer-infused craft chocolate bars, including a bar with Uinta Brewing’s Baba Black Lager. In today’s episode, AJ and beer writer David Nilsen discuss his partnerships with neighboring breweries, his process for infusing beer flavors into his bars, the burgeoning Salt Lake City beer and chocolate scenes, and his background in raw cuisine.

In this episode of Bean to Barstool Bite Sized, we talk with Sam Ratto, co-founder of Videri Chocolate Factory in Raleigh, NC. Videri recently celebrated 11 years in business, and they have regularly collaborated with craft breweries during that time, providing nibs and other cacao products to breweries such as New Belgium, Fonta Flora, and Crank Arm. Here we talk about how Sam got involved with craft beer, and the products Videri offers to brewers.

In this episode of Bean to Barstool Bite Sized we talk with Harshit Gupta, co-founder of Madhu Chocolate in Austin, Texas. Harshit and husband Elliott Curelop use inclusions that celebrate Harshit's Indian heritage, with bars like Masala Chai and Rose Pistachio. In this quick conversation, Harshit talks about the meaning of the name Madhu and what it means to him to celebrate these flavors.

Omnom Chocolate in Reykjavik, Iceland is known not only for its delicious and creative bean to bar chocolate, but for the colorful packaging and marketing that presents the spirit of Omnom to consumers. Listen in as founder Kjartan Gíslason talks about the spirit behind Omnom and his collaborations with Icelandic craft breweries.

There are countless similarities between the worlds of craft beer and bean to bar chocolate, and few people know that as well as Scott Watson. Scott was a professional craft brewer in the 1990s when craft beer was just beginning to gain national attention. After leaving the craft beer world, he eventually discovered bean to bar chocolate and founded Loon Chocolate.

In today’s episode Scott shares his memories of brewing craft beer, what makes him love chocolate making, and numerous ways in which these two artisan industries remind him of each other.