Nosh Or Nah: The Call Is Coming From Inside The Lollipop

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Welcome back to Nosh or Nah, a column where The Takeout staff reviews the best, worst, and weirdest new snacks and drinks hitting store shelves near you.

As we get closer to Memorial Day, this edition of Nosh or Nah focuses on items that are both weird and somehow appropriate to bring to a backyard barbecue. First, Heather Clark sees if PBR and Grillo's pickle-flavored beer can make two great tastes taste great together. Next, Michael Palan reviews a candy that promises all the fun of corn on the cob in gummy form as well as a lollipop with built-in tunes to get the crowd at your party moving.

Will these unusual grocery store finds make your backyard the most popular hotspot in the neighborhood this summer? Or will you end up listening to your TastySounds Audio Lollipop alone while trying to choke down the remainder of a 12-pack of salty cucumber PBR? Read on to find out.

The Pabst Blue Ribbon beer company and cult-favorite Grillo's Pickles have teamed up to create a pickle beer (it's really been a year for Grillo's collab — the brand also came out with a Liquid IV flavor and a Burt's Bees lip balm, and it's only May). While the combo of beer and pickle juice works in theory, as anyone who enjoys washing down the ever-popular pickleback shot with a brew knows, do you need whiskey to make sippable magic? Or can we just throw some brine in our brew and call it a day? As a lover of Pabst and Grillo's (I'm a Millennial, sue me), I had to find out.

The PBR x Grillo's pickle beer is light but it works. The flavor starts out a bit sweet but the pickle comes through in the end with a strong dill flavor. The aftertaste of pickle lingers in your mouth post-sip. If you like pickles and you like PBR, you'll like this beer; if you're not a fan of either this is (obviously) a skip. For me, it's a Nosh.

Available at retailers like Walmart, Publix, Albertsons, Safeway, and more, the beer has a 4.7% ABV. The price will vary depending on where you buy your booze, but we found a six-pack of it for $6.99.

I love all things gummie, even once ranking every single flavor of Haribo, but somehow am late to the game on peelable ones. I was all ears ... of corn when trying the Favorite Day Peelable Sweet Corn Gummy Candy that's new on Target shelves.

The bright packaging practically sings the line from the Gorillaz' classic song "Clint Eastwood" — "I got sunshine in a bag." This bag retails for $4 and in it you get approximately 35 pieces. Ripping open the bag, the candy's smell is potent. It reminds me of popcorn jelly beans, which I wouldn't necessarily say have a positive connotation. The gummies themselves are adorable-looking — like a tactile corn emoji, minus the green stalk.

Strangely, you can't really peel this candy by hand. The peeling occurs once it enters the mouth, when your teeth start splitting the gummy into string-cheese like pieces. The taste is certainly interesting, and the more I chew on them, the more I'm drawn to its oddball appeal — the silky, buttery sweetness is fun to gobble up. My Mrs. isn't as fond of them, labeling the candy as straight-up "disgusting." Is it as good as corn ice cream? Not exactly, but it's certainly a better, softer, more summery treat than its fall forerunner — candy corn. This is a Nosh for me, but some people will hate it.

The flashy, embossed box for TastySounds Audio Lollipops promises a treat that let you "listen to music through your mouth." I open the box and within it are four mini boxes containing a lollipop each. Thankfully a small instruction page is included, walking me through the simple steps to get this party started.

I reach for the lemon flavored one. Inside its box is yet another wrapper holding the lollipop and a pair of earplugs. Once the latter is secured in my lobes, I press the magic button on the lollipop twice and place it on my tongue. A  faint noise starts quietly echoing inside my mouth. At first, it sounds like a cacophony of talkative droids trapped inside a Jawa sandcrawler from Star Wars. Then the song starts to take shape, still at what seems like a whisper, but despite the low volume, I can tell the lollipop's Gwen Stefani/Missy Elliot-esque jingle is a total jam. Oh, and the lollipop itself is tasty, in a Ring Pop kind of way. I next reach for the strawberry flavor. The vibrating feeling of this song is similar, but it delivers its own unique experience (and of course, flavor).

These lollipops are a singular experience worthy of experimenting with (that's a Nosh). The lollipop is yum, the vibration is totally fun, and the songs guarantee a hum. They can be found at Five Below for $5 a pop, or in a five-flavor pack on Amazon for $37.99. It's a gimmick for sure, but one with a truly sweet sound.