Shipyard American IPA Beer (Tesco) by @SpectreUK

This Shipyard American India Pale Ale is based on beer from Portland, Maine, in the United States of America. It was actually brewed and bottled just down the road from me by Marston's PLC, in Wolverhampton. I worked there many years ago taking stock orders for booze from different pubs in the local area, to make sure the correct amounts of beer and other beverages were going to the right places. How times have changed, as now it's the distribution of vaccines I'm trying to organise!

Brewed using American hops, this 5% in volume Shipyard American IPA is sported as having a grapefruit citrus hoppy flavour, which means it's likely that Chinook hops were used in the brewing. It's always a treat for me to have a beer like this one, as I do love a good pale ale, and I'm also rather fond of Chinook hops.

There was a citrus fruity smell on opening the bottle with a clear grapefruit kick and a sweetness from the malts at the back of the aroma. This deep golden IPA has a perfect blend of bitter fruity citrus hops followed by that sweetness from the pale and possibly crystal malts. There is a jumble of bitter hops to begin with, with the grapefruit flavoured hops winning through. There is that sweet malty goodness travelling into the aftertaste, making for a moreish lip-smacking treat of a beer. Mmm... perfect after a trying week at work!

Kit Kat Pops - Peanut, Corn and Chia Seed (GB Gifts) By @Cinabar

I picked up this bag of Kit Kat Pops Peanut, Corn and Chia Seed online as it sounded like a strange edition. Abroad there are some odd flavours of Kit Kat but this one just sounded weird. In fact as Kit Kat varieties go this one has an element of pretentiousness; “oh you eat regular Kit Kats I prefer mine with Peanut, Corn and Chia Seed”. I still bought them.

This is a sharing bag of what I would call Kit Kat “Pop Chocs” but are labelled Kit Kat Pops. The bag is in English but I think it is an import, the first language on the back next to the ingredients is ‘NL’ so perhaps they are from the Netherlands.

These little cubes of Kit Kat Pops are milk chocolate coated without any noticeable seeds on them. The flavour is impressive, these might well be the king of sweet and salty savoury snacks. There is a lovely light crunch from the wafer and the ingredients. The texture works well. There is lots of sweet flavour from milk chocolate, then salty nuts and savoury corn and seeds. Such a good mix, I don’t care if it sounds pretentious they are genius. These are addictive, I think I might have a problem. Send help, by help I mean another bag of Kit Kat Pops - Peanut, Corn and Chia Seed please.

Two different varieties of Raspberry and Lemonade Kombucha - no sugar, but all the taste! (@NLi10)

 Kombucha was a big thing a few years ago - but now? It seems no one wants to read about it.  It's become almost commonplace, so hello to the hundred or so people that actually clicked today - you are an elite group!

Today we have two very comparable brands - so much so that I kept checking I'd not just bought two versions of the same can! 

First up - Remedy Kombucha - a little more medicinal in it's approach and even approved by 'I Quit Sugar' which I'd never even heard of!

Look how dark that is! Lovely stuff, very strong smell.

They put the sugar in - then nature eats it all and turns it into lovely fermented goodness. Yum!

Contrast that to the Lo Bro's version - it's practically clear!  I'm sure it's all due to natural Raspberry and not the kombucha itself, but this was much milder and more of a refreshing summer drink than the potent cocktail above.

It's still most definitely kombucha though - don't go getting either of these if you aren't into the whole vinegar tea beer stuff!  Cat loves the smell of the days old can for some reason!

And - I liked both!  Honestly I'd probably grab the remedy one if I'm out and about, but the Lo Bro one at home for with a meal.  And as that's pretty much how I drank them I think I slotted it right.

I have another flavour of each to go from the big drink stack - but it's not a chore at all - in fact I'm making plans to get good old Holland & Barrett to bring the drinks to me for a change.  If you accidentally participate in Dry January without noticing does it still count?

Sun Maid Sour Raisin Snacks Watermelon Flavoured Golden Raisins (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

I remember having golden raisins from Sun Maid as an afternoon snack when I was very young. I used to like opening the box and pretty dumping the lot into my mouth. I'm not a heck of a lot different where my snacks are concerned these days, and have a habit of trying to fit as much of whatever I'm eating into my mouth at a time. I guess it is busyness at work that makes me do it, but also just the joy of feeling young for a short time when snacking.

I'm sure you can see from the photograph that these whole fruit Sour Raisins are Watermelon flavoured. Now I haven't eaten Sun Maid's golden raisins for many years, but I remember that they were plenty flavoursome on their own without adding another flavour to them. So I'm interested to see if watermelon complements the taste of golden raisins, or just battles against it.

The next photograph shows that on opening the bag there was plenty of golden raisins inside. On smell these Sun Maid Sour Raisin Snacks Watermelon Flavoured Golden Raisins are very strong on watermelon with a sharp sour edge. On taste these golden raisins didn't taste like any raisins I've had in the past. They are face-twistingly sour. They taste of watermelon with a faint flavour of bubblegum towards the back of the flavour, and wow are they sour!

They obviously have the texture of golden raisins, but unfortunately don't taste anything like them. Whilst I was eating these Sun Maid Sour Raisin Snacks Watermelon Flavoured Golden Raisins and may face was contorting with their sheer sourness, I couldn't help missing the original Golden Raisins I liked to eat by the box when I was a young lad. I guess I'm a little old fashioned in that respect!

Information on the packet; The 42.5g bag contains 126 calories, with traces of fat, 26.8g of sugar, and 0.03g of salt. Ingredients have no added sugar, no artificial colours or flavours, and included; golden raisins, citric acid, sunflower oil, natural flavours, vegetable juices, and Sulphur Dioxide.