Small Beer IPA (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

I have a long weekend. I had a comic con today, and I have a toy fair tomorrow. Neither are too far away, but loading the car, and unloading, setting up and standing all day is wearing, but usually fun. We get to meet some interesting people, see some interesting cosplay, and make a little money if we’re lucky.

So, I fancy I light beer with my fish fingers and chips tonight. I wrote about the Original Small Beer some time ago and rather enjoyed it. This time I have Small Beer IPA to try. I do like a good India Pale Ale.

London based Small Beer Brewery used home grown hops, and Malted Barley with oats and yeast to create this Small Beer IPA. At 2.3% in volume their IPA is naturally low in alcohol and calories (at 83 calories per can), which means it won’t put me to sleep after a big day and a big dinner, and I probably have a little more chocolate for dessert.

On opening the can there was a fresh crisp herbal hop aroma with pale malts from the deep golden beer inside. On taste those crisp hops gave a refreshing bite, with a hearty body of oats behind it, and sweet pale malted barley into the aftertaste. Very nice indeed.

Mr Kipling Lemon & Raspberry Whirls (Ocado) By @Cinabar

We are definitely starting to see some new summery flavours appearing in the shops, which is always a good thing. I do enjoy fruity flavours, so I knew I had to give these Mr Kipling Lemon & Raspberry Whirls a try. There are only four in the box, but the packaging itself is smaller too, so this wasn’t unexpected.

The Whirls look really appealing, and you can see the yellow and red filling shining through the sides. I’m never quite sure whether these are biscuits or cakes. They are firm, but not crunchy, with a soft and fluffy crumb, so they sit somewhere in between. I did enjoy the texture though. They are fairly large, but still easy to bite through.

The flavours are fresh and vibrant. The zingy lemon comes through first, followed by a sweeter raspberry flavour that still has a slight tang to it. The combination works really well, and they are genuinely lovely to eat. Here’s hoping we see even more summer flavours appearing in the shops soon, along with some matching weather to enjoy them in.

Fake San-Pellegrinos, the good and the mid [@NLi10]

 I do like having a San Pellegrino while out at the Italian restaurant - it feels more authentic even though it's just Orangeade (or lemonade).  So when the opportunity for discount versions at home arose I was happy.

Aldi sells both varieties in their Ridge Valley range - and while I can tell that they aren't the 'real deal' they are both nice enough that I shall continue to have them as long as they exist.

The pub yesterday had very few decent soft drinks - everything they had was just not that sugary. So I opted for a safe, but low cal, Fever Tree.  They are great at tonic, but somehow this just didn't hit the spot.

I had a much nicer grapefruit beer instead as my second - it was only 2.5% but because it's alcohol they can make it as sweet as they like without the Police getting involved.

I wish they'd stop ruining social drinks, otherwise I'll have to go back on the bottled water.

Space Raiders Saucy BBQ Flavour Cosmic Corn Snacks (Londis) By @SpectreUK

I was really excited when I saw these at the local petrol station. I was already pretty excited, as they are not far away and do the cheapest fuel at the moment. I haven’t seen these Space Raiders Saucy BBQ Flavour Cosmic Corn Snacks before.

I have been eating Space Raiders since I was a small child (and that’s a long time). To see a flavour I haven’t tried before blew my mind. Even the fact that the cashier couldn’t understand my excitement, didn’t dull my enthusiasm.

On opening the bag they smelt so good. Juicy smoky barbecue aroma followed through into the crunchy tasting. As you can see from the photograph, these Space Raiders Saucy BBQ Flavour Cosmic Corn Snacks were larger than the usual Space Raiders, and their moreish BBQ flavour just kept on giving. Yum.

Information on the packet; The 70g bag contained 149 calories per 30g, with 6.9g of fat, 1.8g of sugar, and 0.48g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Twix Hazelnut Fingers (Tesco) By @Cinabar

I spotted a big box of these new Twix Hazelnut multipacks by the counter in Tesco and, naturally, popped one straight into my basket. The bright green packaging is a change from the usual gold, so it really stands out. I love chocolate and nuts, and flavoured Twix bars are pretty rare in the UK, so this felt like an easy buy.

Once home, I took a closer look at the packaging. These are labelled as hazelnut flavour rather than containing actual nuts, which is fine by me. I could not see hazelnuts listed in the ingredients, and it only mentioned that they may contain traces of nuts, so it does seem to be flavouring rather than the real thing. Definitely worth double checking if that matters to you.

There are nine individual Twix bars in the pack. I opened one and broke it in half for a closer look. Visually, it is just like a regular Twix, but the hazelnut aroma is immediately noticeable and quite strong. On tasting, the nutty flavour is still prominent, though a bit more balanced with the chocolate. I enjoyed it, as I am a fan of chocolate and nut combinations, but it is not subtle and the caramel gets a bit lost.

Overall, these are still a solid twist on the original. I can see these individual Twix Hazelnut bars ending up in my lunch box as an easy chocolate fix when I need a quick sugary boost during the working day.

Diddly Crisps Sausage and Mustard (Ocado) By @cinabar

These are Diddly crisps, as in Diddly Squat Farm, the farm owned by Jeremy Clarkson and seen in the TV show Clarkson’s Farm. My first confession is that I haven’t actually watched the show yet, though it has been recommended to me a lot and is apparently very funny.

I do, however, love a new food product, and as Ocado has started to list a number of their items on the site, I couldn’t resist picking up this bag of Diddly Crisps Sausage and Mustard to give them a try. These crisps come in a large sharing bag, so we had them at lunchtime. The crisps are a decent thickness, thick, but not overly so. They have a lovely golden colour and plenty of visible seasoning.

I gave one a try and loved the flavour and the crunch. The taste was both lovely and meaty (I do love a meaty crisp!), but there was also a great blast of mustard. It’s a really good flavour with a bit of heat and loads of depth to the taste. These crisps went down really well and were full of flavour.

I will have to keep an eye on Ocado to see what other products come out in the range. I may even finally get round to watching Clarkson’s Farm too! Have you tried any of the Diddly Squat Farm range from Ocado yet?

Counter Culture at Glastonbury Tor for Beltane [@Nli10]

 We accidentally chose to visit Glastonbury Town during one of the years larger festivals - Beltane.  This May 1st festival is all about fertility and Maypoles.

For our trek up the Tor we decided to take some Kombucha from the local ethical supermarket.

We reviewed Counter Culture before but here we picked up some other flavours - previously I had Rhubarb and Hibiscus , but today I had the more normal sounding Raspberry & Elderflower

Here is all the technical info - but all you need to know is that the Kombucha is present but not strong enough to blow you away like some of the brands.  The flavours are interesting and it's easy to tell the difference between the two.

What it's not easy to do is take a picture of it during storm force winds at the top of Glastonbury Tor.  We came down a bit to shelter and have our drinks.

Then we had scones & Coffee back in the town

And a fresh crème Brulé and espresso macchiato in the Italian restaurant in Street in the evening. 

NU Skool - East Coast IPA (Morrisons) By @SpectreUK

I have fish, chips and a battered sausage from the local chippy tonight. I fancy a good IPA to wash it down with whilst I watch The Neverending Story. One of my favourite takeaways with one of my favourite films from when I was a kid. You could say old school takeaway with an old school movie. So, what should I drink with it?

This NU Skool is an East Coast India Pale Ale packed full of malted barley, oats and wheat, with Citra, Mosaic and Galaxy hops. So, this 5% in volume IPA should be a citrusy juicy fruity treat to wash my takeaway dinner down with.

Brewed in Scotland by Williams Bros. this NU Skool beer definitely packs a citrus punch in its aroma. On taste this slightly hazy golden IPA had a crisp citrus tropical fruitiness, with a fulsome body of oats, and sweetness from the malted barley and wheat into the aftertaste. This NU Skool India Pale Ale went perfectly with my old school fish and chips and 80s movie.

Joe & Seph’s Baileys Popcorn (Ocado) By @Cinabar

There are some really fun Baileys products appearing at the moment, from biscuits to chocolate buttons and even squirty cream. It feels like everything is getting a Baileys twist, and I am absolutely here for it. This time it is popcorn, with Joe & Seph’s Baileys Popcorn.

This comes in a proper resealable bag, which is always a win when you are trying not to eat the whole thing in one sitting, although let’s be honest that is still a risk.

Joe & Seph’s are known for their gourmet popcorn. The pieces are big, fluffy and crisp, with that proper indulgent feel rather than anything light or boring.

Flavour wise, it is sweet and buttery with a really clear Baileys kick running through it. There is no mistaking what this is meant to be. It is rich, creamy and very much leaning into that dessert-style popcorn vibe.

It is honestly a gorgeous product. If you like Baileys, you will recognise it straight away, and if you like indulgent popcorn, this is right in that zone.

Perfect for a Friday night film night, although I would strongly suggest some self-control, because that resealable bag is a bit optimistic.