Experiments

Experiments
Originally uploaded by xadrian.

I was told by my contacts numbering in the low single digits that I have not LIVED until I've had a Shandy or another concoction of sparkling citrus or fruit juice combined with beer.

To me the two are stand alone refreshments and frankly I'd pick a fruit juice over a beer any day. I love orange juice like most people love chocolate. It makes my knees weak and every time I drink it I finish with one of those post coital sighs.

So the thought of mixing my nectar of the gods with the hoppy nectar of man was not pleasant at all. I'd instantly imagined a worst-case-scenario in which the taste would be something akin to three day old warm OJ + a beer you left out from a party last weekend. The mental image alone triggered my gag reflex.

But, being the open minded idiot that I am, and realizing I'd been putting lime juice in beers for a while, I thought I'd give it a go.

My first experiment was straight OJ + Modello. It was just half and half over about 4 cubes of ice. It wasn't bad. I can see the draw as it was refreshing at least. I've tasted worse and were I to mix in a shot of amaretto, it might work out. There was just nothing special about it and I found myself wishing I had just drank the beer or the OJ instead.

Next came what you see in this photo. Bass plus Jarritos Mango Soda and Stone IPA Ruination plus Jones Berry Lemonade.

The Bass and Jarritos was nice and I found the more soda you put in the better. It started to taste like a hard cider (of which I am a huge fan) and less like a soda beer hybrid. I didn't have enough left to try the other way of more beer and less soda, but I can safely say that a third of Bass and two thirds of Jarritos Mango was actually tasty.

This does not hold for the other combination. I would go as far as to say the other mix was the foulest mix of liquids never before seen on this Earth. Given this back snapping gag of a drink, it was decided to try them individually; maybe the choices of mix were poor. Turns out the Jones soda was fine. It was a Jones soda that tasted a little like a citrus cotton candy - possibly a little too sweet.

However, the IPA was the most horrendous thing I've voluntarily drank. It was liquid mothballs. Put some insulation, butane and a Coors in a blender and then drink it. The label actually says it's there to ruin your palette and they are not lying. Avoid this beer at all costs.

That's STONE RUINATION IPA (Indian Pale Ale.) I don't care what your hipster friends say, it's fucking disgusting.

Which meant the experiment was 1 for 2. The Jones with the Bass wasn't too bad, but that Jones soda was a little sugary and not enough fruit taste. I hope to do some more of these, but as with this test, I always follow up with a known good quantity of Hardcore or Woodchuck.

Cheers!