Text 817, 76 rader
Skriven 2013-04-26 08:53:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: tastes 462
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Contrast some bottled products from the critically acclaimed
Mayflower Brewery just a few clicks up the road. These are
substantially flavorsome beers, well hopped ane characterful.
Not everyone will like them, and a little goes a long way.

Spring hop ale - extremely floral and living up to its name.
As bitter I think as the Coddington IPA, perhaps more so, and
I would approach this company's IPAs (of which there are
several types - they like to experiment here) with caution.
Some evergreeny aspect as well, but on the whole pleasant and
well balanced. Some people perhaps influenced by the name
liken this to Samuel Adams's Alpine Spring, but I say that the
Mayflower would take the Sam down with a sledgehammer. Would
probably buy again.

Porter - substantially hoppier than your normal porter; still,
rather nice chocolatiness and luxurious texture. Although I am
not quite so fulsome in my praise, I have to note that this is
one of the few brews that Beer Advocate gives 100 points to.

Dynamic Health black cherry juice concentrate - a dark brown
syrup with a cooked aroma, pleasantly sweet and tart;
reconstitution yields a product reminiscent of prune juice
only rather sour rather than on the sweet side. Not pleasant,
but apparently some people like it. I found it acceptable as a
source of fruitiness and a little depth in sauces.

McClure's orange blossom honey (this being from a company that
gives a Littleton NH address) - perfectly standard characterless
honey with only a vague hint of orange or any other flower. This
was as much like corn syrup as honey. Do not buy. 

Taimas Banana Chips Enterprises, Nuuu-Uta American Samoa -
these chips were unlike others I'd had, with a strong floral
aroma: I am not sure whether this is a characteristic of the
Samoan bananas used as an ingredient or whether it is an
introduced flavor. The chips were reasonably thin but still
robust enough to mostly endure a trip halfway around the
world; slightly greasy; nicely crunchy. 

Geula 18-minute matzo - to me one matzo is like another,
unless it's stale. This, bought for 10c on an after-Passover
sale, was pretty fresh and pretty standard. What makes it
18-minute? Apparently, to be Kosher for Passover, matzo
has to go from flour to finished product within that period,
to prevent the possibility of contamination, so all Passover
matzo has to be 18-minute, only this company advertises the
fact to appeal to the OCDish and hyperreligious.

==

Battle of the Braunschweigers (leftover from the last trip
to Williamsport, home of good plain all-Amerigerman food).

Hatfield. I hadn't had any liverwurst in a while and fell
upon this pound chub ravenously, doing it serious damage in
a short time but taking three meals to finish it off. The
reason was that despite its being a pleasantly spiced
version, its mouthfeel was rather obnoxiously greasy, which
was well concealed by putting it into a sandwich (how the
last 5 or 6 ounces met their fate). Pasty texture but with
a distinct spiral grain, sort of odd; a few pieces of gristle
distributed within. I'd give it a B-, but only because I
really like liverwurst.

Jones. I couldn't find a brand called McCoy, not for want of
trying, so settled for the national brand frontrunner. The
flavor profile is of course similar, liver and onions with a
whiff of other spices; good balance of sweet and salty.
Interestingly, this too had little nubbly bits of connective
tissue, which I don't mind but others might find offputting.
Somewhat leaner than the other, it gets a B+ rating.

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