Microbeanery

http://www.thechiefly.com/culture/microbeanery-jelly-bellys-draft-beer-jellybean/

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Make way, Strawberry Daiquiri, the beer flavored Jelly Belly jellybean is the new flavor in town, and something tells me it’s here to stay. Our decades of prayers have been answered for those of us who prefer a hoppy, bubbly beverage instead of a fruity cocktail, and there’s plenty of reasons to love that same wheaty flavor that’s now packed into a tiny, bite-sized, chewy, classic candy.

With so many different beer flavors to choose from—milk stout, IPA, aromatic ale—the jellybean company finally settled (probably after much passionate debate behind closed doors) on a Hefeweizen-inspired ale flavor.

After taking reportedly three years to perfect, the final result is a golden jellybean with a glossy metallic outer layer. Although it would be difficult to imagine a complex beer flavor that beer drinkers expect out of a Hefeweizen, the bean at least boasts the flavor “to be clean with notes of wheat and a touch of sweetness.”

The beer-flavored bean, however, is alcohol free—but that doesn’t mean Jelly Belly lovers can’t get creative with their flavors.

Popping a couple of those Hefeweizen in your mouth with a lemon-flavored bean and voilà, a summer shandy! Substitute the lemon with orange and you’ll have a Blue Moon-flavored concoction, and of course, the chocolate pudding or cappuccino Jelly Bean for a rich stout, yes, the possibilities are endless.

This little flavor-packed jellybean is just one of many future flavors that Jelly Belly will inevitably produce; the company has certainly come a long way since the 1800’s.

Jelly Belly owes its creation to Gustav Goelitz, who immigrated to America from Germany in 1866. After a few short years, he owned and operated a candy company with his brother, and four generations later, after a request made to Herman Goelitz Rowland to include more natural ingredients sold in single flavors back in 1976, the Jelly Belly jelly bean was born, and still remains a family owned and operated business today.

To make these chewy bits of sugarcoated goodness, it all starts with plain, uncolored pectin sweetened with sugar. The outer chewy coating is then colored and flavored, when available, with real fruit juices and extracts, and the outer shell is colored and used for flavor-enhancement.

Many of the “Official 50 Flavors,” which now include flavors such as Bubble Gum, Buttered Popcorn and Toasted Marshmallow, were not introduced until the late 1980’s and 1990’s.

The first flavors, sold at $2 per pound at an ice cream parlor in California, were Very Cherry, Tangerine, Lemon, Green Apple, Grape Jelly, Licorice, Root Beer, and Cream Soda.

Cross your fingers that the Hefeweizen bean becomes a regular.

Each little chewy candy takes anywhere from seven to 21 days to make, so they had better start making tons of the Hefeweizen beer-flavored beans, because it’s certain to be flying off candy store shelves as Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day approach.

Fans of the mildly bready aroma the bean gives off can hopefully expect more beer flavors in the future, just as the company has added to their Cocktail Classics collection. It wouldn’t be surprising if bars skipped out on the mixed nuts bowls and instead opted for an assortment of stout, pilsner, IPA and Lager-flavored Jelly Belly jellybeans for their customers. We’ll just have to patiently wait for those alcoholic ones — but we can dream, right?

Audrey Strasenburgh

Audrey Strasenburgh

Associate Editor at The Chiefly
Born and raised in Rochester, NY, a graduate of St. Lawrence University with a passion for the sport of rowing. A current rowing coach, avid hiker and skier with the lifetime goal of sampling every beer ever made.
Audrey Strasenburgh
Audrey Strasenburgh
Audrey Strasenburgh
Audrey Strasenburgh

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