Acoustic's Electric BzZz
Bottoms Up
The good folks at Acoustic Tap Room are sensitive to our needs right now. Until the end of May, they are discounting their howlers … deeply: 20 percent off premium cysers, 30 percent off meads, and a staggering 50 percent off ciders. As our current need is for the sweet fruit and floral flavors of honey-made mead, we went for Acoustic’s succulent Electric BzZz, whose orange and apricot zest truly tastes like a mimosa bubbling up in a bottle (minus the champagne headache!).
But then, we learned that their Honey BzZz is “like a baby champagne,” with a lower ABV and “tinier bubbles,” and who the heck are we to turn down baby champagne? So we didn’t. And it was even more adorable than we’d hoped: crisp, rich in its depth of flavor (shout-out to those hardworking honeybees), and like a million tiny dancers over the tongue.
Finally, because the skies were moody, we opted for a darker gamble — the blueberry-pomegranate-and-honey BlueZBeRi BzZz — which, when topped with a Guinness Stout, as Acoustic suggests, floored the die-hard Black and Tan fans among us. Mellow and hearty as a traditional B&T but a far more interesting combo, a Black and Blue is equal parts smooth and effervescent, filling and uplifting, dark and brightly sweet.
Ultimately, we eschewed the howler deal so we could sample the trifecta of flavors shown here, but we will return — and Acoustic is ready. Though its intimate taproom and sweet outdoor patio remain closed, Acoustic is offering bottle and howler pickups four days a week: 4pm–8pm Thursdays and Fridays, 1pm–8pm Saturdays, and 1pm–5pm Sundays. Can’t get there? Remain calm; they also deliver to doors (owned by people age 21 and up) in Benzie, Leelanau, and Grand Traverse counties — and will make concessions for special cases ordered outside of these counties. Like we said … sensitive. Order online at www.drinkacoustic.com or call (231) 714-5028.