A Flowery Song

Background: Made from a blend of local Massachusetts apples including McIntosh.

Nose: Floral apples and earthy wet leaves.

Taste: Clean appley taste, light acidity and a hint of sweetness.

Overall: I like it.

Background: From Founders in Grand Rapids, this beer is brewed with two types of coffee, two types of chocolate, and some flaked oats. Sounds like breakfast to me!

Nose: Smooth coffee is the first thing to hit; a bit fruity and chocolaty with floral high notes.

Taste: Thick and chewy, slightly sweet and slightly spicy, with lots of roasted and toasted malt flavours along with dark chocolate and coffee. Hints of molasses and tobacco.

Overall: Excellent. Truly excellent. Not much to add to that, really. Go forth and buy some.

Background: Another big beer, this one hailing from Pennsylvania and clocking in at 9.1% ABV.

Nose: Very repressed at first, just a bit of alcohol and leafy hops. Opens up to reveal some dark fruit and cocoa.

Taste: Aggressive bitterness throughout. Solid malt backbone, but other than muddled dark fruit and grassy hops there’s not a lot of flavours coming through.

Overall: Very disappointing. Thoroughly mediocre, with few redeeming qualities.

Background: In the fall, a young man’s fancy turns toward high-gravity ales, and Arbor Brewing is more than happy to oblige with this seasonal 9% ABV monster.

Nose: Sharp alcohols and esters, with an underlying malty sweetness. Slightly vinuous, with lots of dried fruit.

Taste: Fairly attenuated, with the body a little lighter than I expected. Complex nutty malt background overlaid by dried figs and molasses, solventy alcohol, medium hop bite, and lots of fruity esters. Very dry finish with lingering hints of bramble.

Overall: A nicely warming beer, perfect for cold autumn nights in Michigan. Could do with a slightly chewier mouthfeel and I prefer that alcohol not be quite this evident.

Background: Yes, it’s another cider from the folks that brought you Newton’s Folly. According to the website, this is made from a blend of Granny Smith and European cider apples.

Nose: Slightly appley.

Taste: Lightly effervescent, fairly dry with a nice malic tartness and decent apple flavour.

Overall: Light and refreshing, but there’s not much to it.

Background: Fruit-flavoured jelly snacks manufactured by Tsang Lin Industries in Taichung, Taiwan. Each little cup contains, in addition to naturally flavoured seaweed-thickened gel, one or two chunks of what’s probably coconut.

There’s a small amount of liquid hiding out inside these buggers, so be gentle when opening. The gel’s texture is slightly firmer than normal gelatin snacks, and the chunk of whatever provides a nice contrast.

Pineapple: Faint pineapple flavour. A bit blandly sugary, to be honest.

Grape: Tastes purple, as is fitting for a purple gel.

Strawberry: Decent. Stronger flavour than the pineapple, slightly more natural than the grape.

Green Apple: My favourite. I’ve always loved pretty much anything “green apple”, and this provides that. I’d like it to be a bit tarter, but it’s okay as-is.

Overall: Hey, it’s fruit gels, not haute cuisine. There’s no great depth of flavour, but were you really expecting that?

Background: This lightly sparkling beverage is produced in Sausolito, California by “blending premium imported junmai sake with exotic, all-natural Asian flavors.” Wait, no, I tell a lie. California’s the address on their web site, but the bottle says Cold Spring, Minnesota. When I saw this product on the shelves of my local trendy food store, I was immediately intrigued, then immediately put off by the price (something like $14/4 pack, and the bottles are only 6.3 fluid ounces). Fortunately for me, it appears that they didn’t sell well and the last few packs were broken out into single bottles at $4 apiece.

Nose: Green tea. Hints of lemongrass and melon.

Taste: Gah, that’s sweet. A bit of grassy green bitterness from the tea, more lemongrass. The very slightest sake influence of yeast and pear struggles to get out from under the overwhelming honeyed sweetness.

Overall: Decidedly not worth the price. There are cheaper options if you absolutely must get drunk on something sickly sweet, and the flavour isn’t anything to write home about.