Black bears don’t have much energy this time of year. They’re snoozing away in their dens, all fattened up, waiting for the first signs of spring.

There are times – especially during winter – we all feel like those sleepy bears and need some kind of pick-me-up to keep from going into hibernation at our desks. Grab a can of Black Bear, an energy drink made in Maine.

The Bethel-based entrepreneurs who developed it call it “real energy,” without the added caffeine or sweeteners found in other energy drinks. It contains only nutritionally correct vitamin B12, as well, they say; it’s a blend of hydroxycobalamin and adenosylcobalamin B12 (so much for not consuming ingredients you can’t pronounce), without any of the cyano-B12 that’s commonly used in vitamin supplements. The company says the forms of B12 it uses are more readily absorbed by the body.

An 8.4-ounce can of Black Bear contains 72 calories and about 42 percent daily value of vitamin B12. I tried a can as any regular person might – not as I was about to jump on a snowboard, but rather jump in my car to run Saturday errands. It was fizzy and tasted just fine, although nothing like the “natural strawberry lemon flavor” advertised on the can. It did have a tang, which could have come from either lemon or the vitamins.

But no one buys this for the flavor. They drink it before they go skateboarding or skiing or snowboarding, hoping to put some extra zip in their step.

Black Bear energy drink is available at the Portland Food Co-op for $2.19, or visit the website for an extensive map of locations that sell it.

— Meredith Goad

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