See's Candies - Derby Street Shoppes - Hingham, Massachusetts

Chocolate lovers on Massachusetts' South Shore will be happy to hear of See's Candies newest location: the Derby Street Shoppes in Hingham.

This store is one of the company's seasonal locations, open now through December 26th. Although there is no chocolate counter to choose your favorites, all the prepackaged chocolates are shipped fresh and taste great.

The See's employees were very excited during my visit, handing out free samples and talking about their favorite candies. The location is small and will likely be packed this Christmas season, so be sure to beat the crowds.

94 Derby Street, Hingham Mass.

Flip

The first shots of the American Revolutionary War were fired in the town of Lexington, Massachusetts. On a recent trip, I noticed at the small gift "shoppe" a kitchen towel with a recipe for flip, a hearty beverage we can assume militia members were consuming the night of April 18, 1775, a few hours before English regulars engaged them near the town meeting house.

The recipe called for:

- 14 oz. of ale

- 2 oz. of rum

- 1 tbsp. of molasses

- one whole egg, or two tbsp. of cream

The ingredients were to be mixed together, and a red-hot loggerhead was to be applied to heat the mixture.

In recreating this piece of history, I used one 12 oz. bottle of homebrewed stout and kept the other ingredients the same. I also substituted a small cookpot and the stove for the loggerhead. I mixed all the ingredients and whisked to integrate the egg, before warming the flip over low heat for a few mintues. Alcohol has a lower boiling point than water, so I was careful to not lose the beverage's potency to evaporation.

The flip was warm, sweet, sharp, and thick, with a noticeable alcohol bite from the rum. While the depth of the flavor may be improved with some wintry spices like nutmeg or cinnamon, these four ingredients are enough to keep you warm all winter long.

St. Peter's Sorgham Beer

The latest purchase from the beer and wine store included a bottle of St. Peter's Sorgham Beer. To drive the point home, beneath the name on the label were the words "beer made from sorghum." Years back I did try Redbridge, Anheuser-Busch's attempt at a sorghum beer, and walked away unimpressed. I hoped for better result with St. Peter's.

This beer poured a warm yellow-orange, with very little foam, similar in appearance to a flat ginger ale. The aroma alluded to a hint of apple sweetness.

This beer was not just crisp, but actually dry. Slight fruit and floral tastes accented the cleanliness of the lager. However, the lack of carbonation made for a flat drinking experience -- the accent tastes didn't have a great opportunity to shine.

Overall, this was much better than Redbridge, but still did not live up to its potential. I believe a little more fizziness is key for this beer to show off the strong flavor profile hinted by its aroma.

Coffee Milk

What's the Rhode Island's state beverage? Coffee milk. Never heard of it? Neither have most people that haven't ventured to our nation's smallest state.

Just like adding chocolate syrup to a glass of milk, coffee milk is made by adding a special coffee syrup to milk and stirring. Depending on one's tastes, the amount of syrup added will result in a final coffee milk color between off-white and dark ecru. The drink's mouthfeel is thicker and creamier than adding milk to coffee, thanks to the thickness of the syrup, and there's still a hint of caffeine to provide a little kick.

The leading coffee milk producer is Autocrat, which produces the Coffee Time and Eclipse labels as well as its eponymous brand.

For summertime fun, or to reward yourself after shoveling out after a New England snow storm, try a coffee cabinet. This treat is made by mixing coffee ice cream, milk, and coffee syrup. You might be tempted to call this a "milkshake", but in Rhode Island a milkshake is just flavored milk.

The next time you're on I-95 between Boston and New York, take a minute and stop by Rhode Island for a treat that's hard to find anywhere else.

Mayflower Porter

I saw this at the local bar, its tap handle mingling with other more established brands, hiding the youth of the Mayflower brewery (it started distributing earlier this year) and this particular style.  My pint came with the thinnest amount of fizz on top of a rich, opaque chocolate beer.

A mild coffee and more pronounced toffee aroma arose from its thick body.  Its mouthfeel is as one would expect of a porter of its appearance, filling my mouth with sweet and roasty tastes.

Surprisingly, this porter goes down easy and light.  My mouth wanted more after my first sip, and I feel I could have obliged it a few more pints quite easily.

Miller High Life

To celebrate the first forty games of this year's NCAA tournament, I decided to indulge in a forty ounce bottle of Miller High Life.  The bottle fits nicely in the hand, although the famous cowgirl sitting on the moon was absent from the label.

I opened the top and was hit with a very grainy smell.  The beer poured without much head, and what little foam there was quickly evaporated.  Tiny bubbles rose through the clear, sickly yellow liquid.

The beer has an almost cloyingly sweet taste, although not as sweet as some other macrobrews.  There was absolute no hint of hops, fruity esters, or flavors other than lightly toasted bread.  I usually don't drink beer cold, but I did with this one; I'm not sure I could have lost any taste or aromas.  The mouthfeel was the same as distilled water.

I've often gone to Miller High Life when quantity of beer was more imperative than quality, although the price is slightly higher than Schlitz Ice, Black Label, or other non-BMC macrobrews.  Although not the finest beer in the world, the "Champagne of Beers" comes through once again as a solid macrobrew.

Foster's Lager

Got an oilcan of this to drink while watching some Thursday afternoon March Madness action.  Instead of chugging this like I'm prone to do, I decided to do a proper tasting.

I poured the golden, almost pee-like beer into a glass, and it hissed with a few fingers worth of foam.  After it subsided, leaving nice lace fingers on the glass, I stuck my nose in and took a whiff.  A maize aroma filled my nostrils; it was sweet enough to send my pancreas scrambling to produce insulin.

My palate's first impression is "flat", followed by "sweet".  A dish of bitterness slipped in the middle of the sip, but otherwise the beer was as easy to drink as a not-so-fizzy soda.  There's a distinct mild taste: is it pilsner malt, or is it corn?

While Foster's lacks the depth of a solid lager, and its mouthfeel is very close to water, it is very easy to quaff in large quantities.  The price is the big stumbling block; add $1 to the price of an oilcan and one can buy any of a long list of quality beers.  Given that opportunity cost, it's hard to recommend Foster's over either a fine lager or a cheaper macrobrew.