Magic Hat Howl Black Lager

I went through a bit of a dark beer phase this past year. For several months, I was tasting dark, stout beers almost exclusively. I have since moved on into more of a bitter, pale ale phase, but that certainly did not stop me from thoroughly enjoying Magic Hat's black lager.

Howl is a very tasty beer with a relatively complex flavor. Magic Hat is a bit mysterious about the ingredients that they use in the brew (the bottle makes no direct mention of any special ingredients), but the taste has a lot of nutty undertones. The beer has a strong, dark flavor, while still retaining the slight sourness of lighter lagers. One of the most interesting things about this beer is that it has a fairly profound taste of pretzels (more specifically the hard outer crust of a pretzel) in the aftertaste. I absolutely love pretzels, so this was a really interesting element of this beer for me. Overall, this is a great beer with a lot of strong, complimentary flavors, and I definitely recommend it to those drinkers who enjoy stronger, darker beers.

However, I have a difficult time giving this as a good "all around" recommendation. The only thing keeping me from highly recommending it is that I feel like anyone who does not like darker beers is really going to be put off by this one. The flavor is strong and offensive to the taste buds, which I really like, but I can see how fans of lighter beers or those who are new to the beer scene would really not like the taste of this one. That being said, I think that it's a wonderful beer. Keep an eye out for it.

Verdict: Recommended

Purchased: Gift from a friend [received in a sample pack]

Size: 12 fl. oz. [355 mL]

Price: Approximately $9.00 [six pack] 

Argo Tea: Mojitea

Argo Tea’s Mojitea is a very interesting beverage. The ingredients list only consists of five simple and all-natural ingredients, and yet there is a lot going on here with the flavor, thus reflecting the slogan at the bottom of the bottle: "tea + ingredients with purpose." This is essentially just a simple mint tea with lime juice and cane sugar, but the resulting flavor is surprisingly complex. The mint and lime tastes are both strong and prominent, and yet neither one overpowers the other. Instead, they combine to create a new, singular flavor that has the aromatic bitterness of mint, the sourness of lime, and the mellow aftertaste of lighter teas. Overall, the flavor is a bit hard to describe on its own merit, but if you are familiar with the mint-lime combination of most mojito flavored things, you can probably imagine this one fairly well.

I also really, really like Argo Tea's container. The bottle is made of light but sturdy glass, and is tapered in the middle to feel great in the hand. The label is printed on a sheet of plastic around the bottle, allowing it to be completely ripped off, and the bottle sports an orifice wide enough for ice cubes. The lid is also made of a relatively sturdy plastic that is designed to screw on either perfectly or not at all. It's clear that Argo Tea has designed their bottle with direct consumer reuse in mind, which is something that I always respect in a company. I know I'll be using mine for homemade juices in the future. And on top of all that, the drink is still relatively inexpensive. I can't yet speak for the other flavors, but so far I can safely say that Argo Tea products are definitely recommended.

Verdict: Highly Recommended

Purchased: Whole Foods [Greenville, SC]

Size: 13.5 fl. oz. [400mL]

Price: $2.99 

MiO Energy

Kraft recently sent me a promotional sample pack of their new MiO Energy flavor line. As many of you likely remember, I reviewed MiO when it was first being introduced about nine months ago, and I really liked it. But to be honest, I was a little bit nervous going into MiO Energy. I've never been a fan of the taste of most energy boosting beverages, and I have been disappointed in the past by companies attempting to branch out into the energy drink market. However, I am happy to report that MiO Energy maintains the ease of use and great taste of the original, and I think that both the black cherry and green thunder varieties are great additions to the MiO brand.

It should be said, however, that the secret to MiO maintaining the elements that made the original product so good is the fact that MiO Energy isn't really all that different from the original. In fact, it is essentially just two new flavors of MiO with caffeine added into the mix. But this is by no means a bad thing. The size of each bottle has been scaled down to approximately 12 (8 oz.) servings per bottle, and each serving contains about 60mg of caffeine; about the same as a typical cup of coffee. I have always been somewhat impervious to the effects of caffeine, especially in smaller quantities, so I can't really attest to the "energy-giving" capabilities of MiO Energy, but the 60mg of caffeine should be enough to give most drinkers a quick pick-me-up. Both flavors do contain trace amounts of other energy enhancers such as taurine and guarana extract, but not enough to really affect the flavor in any way (so no worries there). Both flavors are still sweetened with sucralose and acesulfame potassium, but the typical "diet" taste is subdued and is not nearly as intrusive as it is in so many other artificially sweetened beverages.

Both flavors are quite tasty, although I am partial to the black cherry. The black cherry is pretty straightforward, and has a sweet, cherry taste without being overbearing or cough syrupy. The green thunder, on the other hand, has a more generic, acidic energy drink taste. Normally, I would consider this to be a bad thing, but this time I don't. Although it does have that energy drink taste (some refer to it simply as "citrus punch"), it is not nearly as acidic as the usual energy drink, and has a much less abrasive and more mild flavor. I actually like the taste a good bit, and any doubts I initially had about the flavor were based purely on precedent.

Overall, MiO Energy is a very worthy addition to the already impressive line of MiO products. My only real complaint is that the "squirt nozzle" on the MiO bottles is still a bit hard to control, and I often find myself accidentally adding a bit more flavoring than I necessarily meant to add. Other than that, I find very little about MiO Energy to dislike. This is definitely one to try out. Especially the black cherry.

Verdict: Recommended

Samples provided by Kraft Foods, Inc.

Be sure to check out MiO on facebook and Twitter. And be sure to check out "Thunder" Dave Steinman's hilarious (but probably NSFW) promo video for MiO Energy.

Calpico: Mango

I must admit, I was a little bit nervous when I picked this beverage up off of the shelf. I opted to try the the mango flavored version of the drink, but the original markets itself as a non-carbonated milk/yogurt beverage. I really had no idea what to expect going into this one, but the taste is one that would have likely contradicted my expectations anyway, if I had had any.

Calpico is a little bit hard to describe, as there's really not much out there that tastes like it. It's sort of one of those "have to try for yourself to see" beverages. The base of the drink tasted milky, but it also sports a robustly tangy and acidic bite to it that most creamy flavored things tend not to have. The mango flavoring was quite noticeable, but it was a bit less sweet than other mango flavored things and it did not interfere heavily with the original taste of the drink. While the drink has a relatively milky taste, it's hard to pin down exactly what the drink tastes like, as the acidity turns it into almost an entirely different drink. 

The dairy taste comes through quite clearly, but it is more like Calpico has captured the "essence" of dairy, rather than having the flavor of a full-bodied milk or dairy product. Additionally, the drink does not have the thick consistency of milk, and is only slightly more viscous than most other non-carbonated soft drinks. I am glad that this is the case, however, as I think that had the drink been much thicker, it may have just been too odd to handle in full servings. 

Overall, I really enjoyed the mango Calpico. It was different and unique, and I found it to be surprisingly light and refreshing, despite its somewhat odd combination of elements. I still haven't worked up the nerve to try the original flavor, but I am sure that it is quite good and that I really have nothing to worry about. Definitely give this one a try.

Verdict: Recommended

Purchased: Asian Market [Greenwood, SC]

Size: 16.9 fl. oz. [500 mL]

Price: $1.99 [If memory serves...]

Taylor's Tonics Holiday Fizz Collection

Although I have had somewhat mixed results with Taylor's Tonic's products in the past, they seem to be a company that I keep coming back to. Their beverages are always interesting and unique, and it's always nice to find companies that are not afraid to take a more experimental approach with their product offerings. I was excited when I found this holiday soda assortment at my local World Market about a month ago, and despite some trepidation about eventually having to drink an egg nog soda, I decided to give it a try. The collection came with four flavors: egg nog, gingerbread, candy cane, and cranberry. Below is a quick overview of what I thought of each flavor.

The egg nog fizz was sure to be my least favorite of the bunch, so I decided to try it first. I really don't like egg nog in it's regular form, so I was not exactly excited about drinking a carbonated version of the flavor. As I expected, I didn't really like this very much. It was heavy and sweet, and the flavor lingered in the back of my throat for a while after each sip. Also, the egg nog flavor really does not go very well with carbonation. I can't say that I would recommend this one.

Having tasted all four of the flavors at this point, I think that the gingerbread flavor was the most interesting. That's not to say that it was the best, as it certainly had its issues (heavy, busy flavor, strong aftertaste, etc.), but it was definitely the most ambitious and different of the bunch. The beverage is supposed to emulate the taste of gingerbread with a combination of ginger, clove, and cinnamon, and it actually does so very well. The only problem with this is that you are...well, for the lack of a better description, you are drinking a gingerbread flavored soda. Again, it's an interesting concept that really just ended up tasting sort of strange in the end.

Given my disappointment with the last two flavors, I was starting to have my doubts about the collection. However, things began to look up a bit with the candy cane shake flavor. As many of you surely know by now, I absolutely love mint. I found Taylor's Tonics' take on candy cane to be a much more suitable flavor for a carbonated beverage, and I enjoyed this one much more than the egg nog and gingerbread sodas. However, the drink was still very heavy and sweet, and I found myself having a hard time finishing the entire serving. 

And last but not least, of course, is the cranberry. This was my favorite of the four sodas that came in the collection. I think that this was largely due to the fact that the flavor seemed a good bit more straightforward than the others, despite it's reasonably lengthy list of ingredients. It pretty much just tasted like cranberry, with a hint of other holiday spices here and there in the background. But still, the cranberry flavoring did suffer a bit from the typical, heavy consistency and sweetness of so many naturally brewed sodas.

I think that the fact that the cranberry was my favorite serves as a great example of my recently adopted philosophy about sodas. It has been my experience (particularly lately) that simpler, more straightforward flavors tend to lend themselves better to a sweetened, carbonated environment. In other words: the simpler the taste, the less likely it will be that elements of the sodas flavor will be lost in the mix. Simpler tastes ultimately leave me feeling more gratified, almost as though the simplicity of the taste offers a more whole and accessible experience.

Anyway, on to my last words about the holiday sampler. Although I did not particularly love any of these sodas, I really enjoyed the process of tasting each of them. Each one was different and unique in its own right, and the sampler was a fun and exciting break from a season of traditional (and often tiresome) beverages. I had some issues with the heaviness of each of these drinks, and I don't know that I'm entirely sold on the "old-fashioned brewed soda" taste just yet, but I still would say that this holiday collection is definitely worth a try if you ever run across one. If nothing else, it was a lot of fun.

Verdict: Worth a try

Purchased: World Market [Columbia, SC]
Size: 12 fl. oz. [355 mL]
Price: $6.99 [4-pack]

Today is my sister's birthday, and I am afraid that I forgot to write today's review up yesterday. I will need to postpone today's review in favor of spending some time with the family. Check back tomorrow afternoon for a review of Taylor's Tonics Holiday Fizz assortment.

- Hayden

The Pop Shoppe Root Beer

For the past several years, I have had a weird aversion to root beer. I always loved the stuff when I was a kid, but for some reason it has held little appeal to me lately. I'll drink the occasional root beer every so often for the sake of trying something new, but I've found that they are usually too sweet for me. I am very rarely able to finish an entire serving in one go, and I've just sort of naturally begun to avoid them altogether.

That being said, I found this little mind-changer at my local Big Lots, and I was so intrigued by the shape of the bottle and the rather adorable label (not to mention the ridiculous price) that I decided that it would be almost silly not to try it. And I am certainly glad that I did. The Pop Shoppe has made a pretty delicious root beer, whether you like root beer or not. The flavors are strong and prominent, and yet are not overwhelming or overly sweet like many other root beers that I've had. Additionally, the drink seems to have a bit of a citrusy aftertaste, almost like eating nothing but the juice vesicles out of an orange slice. It has that sort of light, watery taste of the pulp of the fruit without any of the bitterness of the surrounding septum. I'm not sure if this was intentional or not, but I like it.

Overall, this is a very good root beer. I may still not be the world's biggest root beer fan, but The Pop Shoppe has convinced me to give the beverage another shot. I can't wait to try more of The Pop Shoppe's sodas in the future.

Oh, and be sure to check out The Pop Shoppe's website. The descriptions of their various flavors are genuinely funny.

Verdict: Highly Recommended

Purchased: Big Lots [Greenwood, SC]

Size: 12 fl. oz. [355 mL]

Price: $0.60 [Discounted]