In this episode, chocolate pairing expert Estelle Tracy walks us through making various loose leaf teas and pairing them with craft chocolate. Along the way, she explains what tea is and the basics of different common types of good tea.

Teas tasted and paired in this episode: Highland white tea, Jade oolong, Matcha, Hojicha, Genmaicha, and Honey black.

You can learn more about Estelle at her 37 Chocolates website.

Estelle has been on Bean to Barstool a few times before! You can listen to us talk about pairing with craft chocolate with beer and wine here, and you can listen to our 100th episode in which we discuss pairing particularly challenging bars with beer and wine here.

Check out David's book Pairing Beer & Chocolate: A Guide to Bringing the Flavors of Craft Beer and Craft Chocolate Together.

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Third Eye Brewing Company, with locations in Sharonville and Hamilton on the north side of Cincinnati, have won numerous awards at the Great American Beer Festival, World Beer Cup, and many other beer competitions. Led by brewmaster Kelly Montgomery, they've medaled in styles as diverse as Scotch Ale, Pumpkin Beer, and Milk Stout, but they've had particular success with chocolate beers. Their Double Astral Chocolate Imperial Milk Stout won gold as the best chocolate beer in the country at GABF in 2023.

In May 2025, I led an event with Kelly at Third Eye's Hamilton location called Chocolate, Beer, & Chocolate Beer. We led attendees through a tasting of Double Astral and Dark Aura (a chocolate peanut butter Imperial Stout), and a pairing of two of Third Eye's non-chocolate beers (details below) with two craft chocolates, before a tour of the brewery and the barrel cellar.

In this episode, Kelly and I talk about brewing with cacao, working with Maverick Chocolate and Violet Sky Chocolate, collaborating with River North Brewery in Denver, writing beer recipes with cacao or barrel-aging in mind, and pairing with craft chocolate. Listen in as one of the best brewers of adjunct stouts in the country shares his expertise!

You can learn more about Third Eye Brewing on their website, or follow them on Instagram.

Beers discussed in this episode include:
Double Astral—10.8% Imperial Stout brewed with Madagascar Bourbon vanilla, Violet Sky Haitian cacao nibs, an lactose.
Dark Aura—10.4% Imperial Stout brewed with Maverick Haitian cacao nibs and peanut butter.
Celestial Death—10.2% Black Barleywine brewed with TCHO Ghana cacao nibs, in collaboration with River North Brewery.

Pairings from the Chocolate, Beer, & Chocolate Beer event:
First Pairing:
Beer: Funky Fresh v.9—4% fruited sour with passionfruit, prickly pear, and pineapple.
Chocolate: Theo & Philo 65% Philippine Dark Chocolate with Green Mango and Salt.

Second Pairing:
Beer: Jelly Brain v.1—7.2% Milkshake IPA with pineapple and toasted coconut.
Chocolate: Definite 75% Dominican Republic Finca Elvesia Dark Chocolate with Dominican Rum.

Check out David's book Pairing Beer & Chocolate: A Guide to Bringing the Flavors of Craft Beer and Craft Chocolate Together.

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Welcome to Bean to Barstool Bite Sized, where we spend about 5 minutes with some of our favorite people from craft beer and craft chocolate. Today we hear from Dorothy Neary, one of the founders and chocolate makers at NearyNogs Chocolate in Northern Ireland. In this clip, Dorothy talks about the influence of Irish music on much of her chocolate making and shares the stories behind a few specific examples. Enjoy!

You can learn more about NearyNogs Chocolate here.

You can listen to my entire interview with Dorothy 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!
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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.