Among the 37 million jelly beans sold every year, Jelly Belly’s Tabasco-flavored candies are popular. This particular flavor reigns as the most popular new taste on the very long roster. But this tangy choice may be passing its crown over to an even newer contender in this sweet contest: The Jelly Belly beer jelly bean.
Officially dubbed Draft Beer, this tiny treat is colored an attractive gold that’s almost iridescent, looking like the beverage that inspired the bean: German Hefeweizen. The reason the Fairfield, Calif. company decided to add this flavor to their packed and oh-so-varied roster is that beer has been a flavor that has been requested by fans of the product for a very long time. And so their wish has become Jelly Belly’s command in 2014.
The jelly bean company debuted the new candy in its most recent press release, comparing the fresh product named after a type of draft beer as having an “effervescent and crisp flavor.”
The report given to the press also says, “Beer connoisseurs will find the flavor profile to be clean with notes of wheat and a touch of sweetness. The aroma is mildly bready.”
The latter aspect of Jelly Belly’s latest invention is important to this particular brand since connoisseurs will often smell a jelly bean before consuming that bean. This is the litmus test for those who want to be on hand to call each flavor a success or a complete failure.
So what’s the word on the Draft Beer entry?
One pundit called the sweet a taste that’s like “sour mash.” This same source, a writer for the Los Angeles Times, also said that “The smell of fermentation might be off-putting enough to make you wonder whether it’s one of Jelly Belly’s ‘BeanBoozled’ flavors (remember canned dog food and skunk spray?). Or maybe it’s a selling point for beer-brewing aficionados?”
So, with that rather negative review in mind, other tasters will likely want to see if the new Jelly Belly’s flavor will become part of the best jelly bean list or the worst jelly bean list. No problem. Draft Beer jelly is available to purchase on the company’s site, so get to ordering so you can get to sniffing. Then wait. Time will tell if this tiny candy will pack the right punch or not. Oh, and bottoms up in a big fat jelly bean way.