Counter Culture - Rhubarb + Hibiscus Kombucha [@NLi10]

 We visited a lovely Japanese shop in Shrewsbury recently and I picked up a drink - but it’s actually more local than that!

It’s in one of those fantastic modern textured cans that gets funny looks in public as it looks like you are drinking beer.

But it’s actually made in Bristol so hopefully I can get more of these.  It’s a lot more tame than my usual Kombuchas and very refreshing - you could have a much bigger can of this and not go cross-eyed.

It’s a nice crisp refreshing taste and you can get hints of both the rhubarb and hibiscus, and I’ll certainly hunt for more of these.

Impossibrew (Tesco) By @SpectreUK

I have been selling toys at comic cons and toy fairs as a sole trader for three years now. This weekend I am part the way through trying a market stall for the first time. It's a wood cabin at a local zoo, so I have left all my stock there overnight, after a particularly cold, wet and quiet day.

Tomorrow I seem to have the impossible task of making my money back on the expense of the cabin for two days. After the first day I am almost half the way there. So, I decided to try this 0.5% in volume Impossibrew tonight.

Impossibrew is made from the usual malted barley, wheat and hops, and a blend of weird scientific sounding ingredients shown in the photography below called, Social Blend. What mainly interests me, is that this pale ale is also made with rye. So, I'm looking forward to some spiciness from the rye, and hoping the weirder ingredients don't get in the way of that.

On opening the can I could smell malted barley, a touch of spiciness from the rye, and something a little plant-like. There was a red flag there, and it definitely wasn't the rye.

This hazy pale ale wasn't red enough with rye for my liking. The head disappeared quicker than a jackrabbit on pouring. This pale ale had such a confused jumble of flavours that I couldn't pick a beginning or end. I did pass-by some rye mid mouthful, but it was fleeting and vanished amongst the chaos. I found this beer definitely Impossibrew to enjoy.

Romeo Coconut Hot Chocolate (Aldi) By @Cinabar

Romeo chocolate bars are Aldi’s own take on a coconut-covered chocolate bar. They are not officially linked to Bounty, but they are the go-to option for coconut chocolate in Aldi. Following on from that, we now have Romeo Coconut Hot Chocolate. This is an instant drink, so it is quick and easy to make, with eight sachets in the box.

I boiled the kettle and tried a sachet. The powder dissolved quickly without any lumps, which was a good start. I added a splash of milk to cool it slightly, mainly to avoid burning my tongue.

On the first sip, the flavour was impressive. There was plenty of chocolate, and the coconut did come through. However, the standout element was the sweetness. It is a hot chocolate, so sweetness is expected, but this felt a bit over the top. Even with a sweet tooth, it seemed like the balance was off. It would have been better if the focus had been more on the creamy coconut and chocolate rather than the sugar.

These are pleasant enough, but they do not quite hit the mark if you are looking for a richer, more balanced coconut hot chocolate.

Ferrero Pocket Coffee - Espresso shot in a choc [@NLi10]

 This is a strange one.  My mother got handed these by either a friend or a promotional person while at Crufts - and I was told only that they were 'too strong' so they made it to me.

Weirdly they also showed up in my local Italian Deli this week - at £4.99 a box!

For £1 each you get 5 little shots of Espresso - wrapped in Ferrero chocolate - so you don't have to stand by the counter and drink a lovely real shot anymore!

I'm not sure why the chocolate maker hasn't partnered with a big name coffee place - but I do like Arabica so I gave them a go.

The bit that protects the coffee from escaping inside is a really weird crystally texture, and the coffee doesn't have that much of a richness to it - but otherwise it's fine.  It's like the odd coffee liquor chocolates that I used to be given as presents, but without the alcohol.

And it did perk me up, and put me in a decent mood for the rest of the day, but now it's 6pm and I'm flagging.

Think I'd rather have one of the famous (locally anyway) Italian Deli sandwiches instead, but these will not go to waste.

Adam Henson’s Rare Breed pale Ale (Tesco) By @SpectreUK

Adam Henson Is a sustainable farmer in the Cotswolds. It's his Maris Otter barley that forms the base of this 3.8% in volume session pale ale. Rare Breed is named in homage of Adam, as he lives within a stones throw from Butcombe Brewing Company, in Bristol. 

With Cascade and Amarillo hops added, this Rare Breed pale ale promises citrus fruitiness. With the amber colour of this pale ale, I was hoping for a little spice from some malted rye.

On opening the bottle there was a deep biscuit malted barley aroma. There were spicy notes though, which I found very appealing. Although, that could have been the sheer amount of white pepper I put on my beef and Colman's English Mustard sandwich.

After the sweet biscuit malted barley and touch of spice arrived the fruitiness and a little citrus kick from the combined hops. There were then the sweet malts, wheat and that touch of spice into the aftertaste, which kept me going back for more and more. Gosh, what a lovely brew.