Over the weekend at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, massive Fairfield, California-based jelly bean purveyor Jelly Belly tapped into a new market of people who like candy that tastes like other non-candy foods. The same confectionary minds that brought you the questionably accurate and contentious buttered popcorn flavor are now selling "Draft Beer" flavored jelly beans, meant to taste like a German Hefeweizen.
According to Jelly Belly's bubbling press release, the flavor took nearly three years to perfect, but has been requested by jelly bean fans for decades more. It contains "top secret ingredients," but disappointingly for fans looking to get more than a sugar buzz, it has exactly zero alcohol in it. The flavor reportedly tastes wheaty and "mildly bready" with a touch of sweetness.
Over at Foodbeast, the site compared the Fancy Food Show to a Saturday morning at Costco, "if Costco took Alex Rodriguez levels of HGH and found a way to rain down samples from the heavens," and had a chance to give an independent tasting of the beer beans. They reportedly "do actually taste like beer," and the Jelly Belly flavor guy probably deserves a promotion, but they're a far cry from being your favorite flavor. Imagine reaching for a Tutti Fruitti but getting a Hefeweizen while snacking in the dark.
Anyhow, beer nuts and/or jelly bean aficionados can try the new flavor in San Francisco tomorrow at 21st Amendment on 2nd Street in SoMa. For those playing at home, you can also make a tony, sugar-based Michelada with two draft beer, one lemon-lime and one Tabasco flavored jelly bean.
Meanwhile, Jelly Belly CEO Herman Rowland Sr. isn't cool with Trans Rights, which might be a good enough reason to skip the candy and go for a real beer.
Previously: Jelly Belly CEO Doesn't Like Trans Rights
[Foodbeast]