Cocktail Review - Swine Brine

"Swine Brine"

The 2025 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival is in full swing, and I’ve got no real must-drink beers. So let’s try a returning cocktail that I have skipped in the past.

“Swine Brine,” a name that I think may be a little scary to some, is a mix of Jim Beam Kentucky Straight Bourbon, Apple-Cinnamon Cider, Lemon Juice, and…Dijon Mustard! Yep mustard! I think that is another thing that may turn off some sippers. But should it? Oh, don’t forget it’s accompanied by a bone-in piece of smoked pork!

A Drink and a Snack

I found the “Swine Brine to start as a very pleasant apple cider, with cider and not juice being the keyword. Then the booze and the cider started to meld into a nice boozy combo that balanced whiskey tones with apple. It was a sweet boozieness. Finally, it finished with a nice tanginess from the mustard. I didn’t get the Dijon till the very end, but by gosh, it was there. It was weird to get a layered experience in a premixed cocktail. The pork was nice. It was not overly moist and could use some sauce. I did dip it into the cocktail a few times, and found the spices from the cider and lemon did give me a sauce substitute that improved the flavor.

I accompanied “Swine Brine” with the Smoked Corn Beef with house made chips. I like corned beef and the cheese mixed nicely with the chips and the beef. However, some of my chips were a bit bland and had a cardboard-like texture. So I don’t know if I would grab this again.

Smoked Corn Beef with Chip

Who Drinks This? Those who like their ribs smoked and seasoned! It is much more pleasant and less swiney than I thought it would be, with me imagining the cocktail as a solid marinade. My saucy fears were worries only, with the “Swine Brine” being a pleasant sweet spicy cocktail that felt fallish. I would drink it again, and I urge you not to be scared off by the mustard.

Beer Review - Xingu Black Beer

Epcot’s 2024 International Food & Winter Festival, what are you looking out for?


Griddled Cheese? It’s so yummy, I need to grill cheese more! 

Griddled Cheese

Unnecessarily Spicy Yet Extremely Tasty Carolina Reaper Pepper Curry Wings? So tasty, and yeah spicy enough to make my face numb!

Unnecessarily Spicy Yet Extremely Tasty Carolina Reaper Pepper Curry Wings

Fried Pickled Spears? Juicy and crispy!


Cheddar Cheese and Bacon Soup? It’s just so delicious!


Me, I was going in wanting a pint of “Xingu Black Beer” due to my love of dark beers. At this festival, there are several IPAs, lagers, and wheat beers. But a dark beer is something that got my attention. My research told me that there were flavors of black licorice, in this dark lager or Schwarbier. I love me some black licorice. Also, I found out that the Beverage Institute Tasting of Chicago named it the best dark beer in the world. I don’t know who they are…but I’m guessing they’ve sampled a lot of beers! I am in, and it’s a nice specialty beer to see offered in a festival. The Brazil booth was my personal goal for this event.

"Xingu Black Beer"

“Xingu Black Beer” is a drinkable 4.5% ABV beer with 20 IBUs. I found the beer to be smooth but very malty, almost giving me coffee notes as I drank. The IBUs didn’t give me bitterness. While not the same style as Guinness, that is the beer it reminded me in color, taste, and creaminess, but the dark black liquid may have tricked my mind a bit as it’s a really malt-flavored lager.


I will admit, especially this with festival, it’s fun drinking new beers from new places…with interesting histories. “Xingu Black Beer” is brewed by Cervejarias Kaiser Brasil SA (Kaiser), a Brazilian brewery. However, they do not own “Xingu Black Beer” because Xingu is a beer brand that contracts with Kaiser to brew their liquid. Xingu brand was created to celebrate the history of female brewing in the Amazon, where they make a dark beer-like liquid from the manioc root! While this beverage is not an exact clone, Xingu offers Schwarbier as a close equivalent. The brand itself is named after a tributary of the Amazon River, can we get this on the Jungle Cruise. When founded, it was started by 5 female friends in…Vermont! So we have a beer brand owned in the United States, honoring Brazil, and sold primarily in South America. In 2001, around 15 years after starting, the brand was sold to Brazilian interests. It is not uncommon for a beer company to contract brew, with Sam Adams originally using contract brewing to start up their enterprise. 

Schwarzbier as a style is a German dark lager. It can exhibit flavors of chocolate, or as in this case coffee. It gets its color from the dark malt used in the brew.


Who Drinks This?  If you are a beer fan and you want to taste a model Schwarbier per the industry, this is for you. Those who want to fill out their scorecard for beers of the world, this is why the International Food and Wine Festival exists. Those who want a licorice beer, can pass on by. I am personally glad I grabbed a pint, but it also is probably a one-and-done for this beer fan currently between pints.

Beer Review - Schöfferhofer Lemon Zest Hefeweizen

As I raised my cup of “Schöfferhofer Lemon Zest Hefeweizen” to my face and the bouquet of lemony aroma struck my nose, I had questions.

Is it Pledge (all rights reserved) or is it beer?

If you know what Pledge tastes like, you’ve got bigger concerns than is it beer! Call another adult, call Poison Control, call a medical professional…NOW!

Is it beer or is it a kid’s lemonade?

Also, if you are considering giving a kid a substance that may or may not be beer, I need you to slow down and ask the question again in your head, only say it out loud if alone!

And finally, does it really need a umlat? Yes, it needs an umlat…umlats are cool. They make your words sound fancy as you touch your tongue to your teeth… umlats are cool!

“Schöfferhofer Lemon Zest Hefeweizen”, see umlats are fun, is the 2024 Food and Wine Festival's new Schöfferhofer offering at the Germany booth found oddly in the Germany pavilion. You may know and love “Schöfferhofer Grapefruit Hefeweizen” which you can also find in Germany (and everywhere in the world including beer fridges in Antarctica) with this being a festival variant. Think of it as old man Loki using tons of Ricola cough drops, when “Schöfferhofer Prickly Pear Hefeweizen” was fun-loving Alligator Loki with all his sweetness! It is the official position of Between Pints one should not cuddle alligators. 

“Schöfferhofer Lemon Zest Hefeweizen”

Stop it Between Pints, and get back to business. “Schöfferhofer Lemon Zest Hefeweizen” is a yellowish cloudly wheat beer with a clear but not overly strong lemon flavor. It is not Pledgy-like, or at least what I imagine it would taste like. It’s sweet but not so sweet that it comes off as lemonade to me. Instead, it was a lightly sweet lemon bread, thanks to the wheat style. It carries no IBUs, just the citrus of the added lemon. Untapped is dishonest or confused and says it has a 0 ABV, which would make it wheaty juice! But let’s safely assume it should never be placed in a tippy cup and carries the same 2.5% ABV that other Schöfferhofer hefe’s carry. Yes, at that ABV, you likely could give it and should give it to a young one, young adults trying to drink around the world! Though it may make their reels and TikTok’s less embarrassing or funny as they hit drink number four.

“Schöfferhofer Lemon Zest Hefeweizen”, has also caused a great tragedy for this household! I place all the blame on you sir, assuming this beer’s gender! “Schöfferhofer Prickly Pear Hefeweizen” is gone. While it may not have been my favorite, those I cared about found this sweet yet odd is it a fruit, flower, or cactus creation highly beloved! I received many a dirty look when I said it was gone…at least for this moment in time. 

Who Drinks This?   “Schöfferhofer Lemon Zest Hefeweizen” is for those who enjoy lemon-flavored muffins and breads. It’s also for those who need to collect them all, drinking every Schöfferhofer flavor they can, keeping those variety packs moving off the shelf of their local grocery store. Finally, for those who want a light beer or beer that does not taste like beer, this is a pint for you.