You could say cider and I haven’t really been the best of friends.
My first exposure to strong cider was in Ireland when, amidst many pints of Guinness at a small pub in Galway, I was challenged to a drinking competition by a local who thought a kid from Minnesota couldn’t outdrink a seafaring Irishman in a test of chugging ability. Well, he was right, as I proceeded to quickly down an entire glass of hard cider (I’ve suppressed which brand) in less than five seconds, narrowly being beaten by my nearly incomprehensible competitor (real Irish accents are tough enough to discern, let alone after a dozen drinks). I then proceeded to stumble to the back of the pub in search of the restroom so I could discretely get sick, only to discover that the door marked “Lads” actually opened up to the alley behind the establishment where several other drinking compatriots were relieving themselves on a stone wall. Classy.
Fast forward about 10 years. My palate has improved, while my tolerance has not. So I thought it was time to give this category another go to see what the world of strong cider, at least locally in the Twin Cities, had to offer. If it was good enough in 14th century Ireland to baptize babies in (weird, but true), then I guess it deserves another look.
Crispin Natural Hard Apple Cider Crispin is a local company, in the sense that they’re headquartered here in Minneapolis. They don’t use Minnesota apples, but rather produce their cider out in northern California. According to the company, they take the high road compared to competitors by refusing to use any malt, spirits, grape alcohols or additives like sugar or colorants. Just pure, wholesome apple juice blends. They naturally ferment with classic red wine yeasts to give it its unique flavor. And wine is a pretty apt descriptor, as it reminded me much more of a fine white wine than what I’d assumed would be a cloying, sappy cider. Crispin comes in three varietals, the original, brut and a light version. I went with the original for this taste test.
Poured with a very quickly dissipating head, almost like champagne. Light golden coloring, reminiscent of a very light lager. Beautiful bouquet of apple, pear and other delicate fruit in the nose. I found it interesting that the aroma actually reminded me of a mellow apple flavored Jolley Rancher candy. Not a knock, just what I associated it with. The taste is unique, a nice tang up front with soft apple that gently fades into a smooth finish. Not overly tart or aggressive in the least. I did notice a slightly perceptible bit of alcohol in the finish.Comes in at just 5% ABV, so you could certainly sit down with a few of these on a warm summer evening. I enjoyed this one, and look forward to trying their other two offerings.
Rating: A-
Magners Irish Cider
This is Great Britian’s number one selling hard cider. Made in County Tipperary, Ireland, the company uses 17 different apple varieties to make their unique blend, and are in fact one of the largest purchasers of apple crops in the country (both Republic and Northern Ireland).
Poured a comparatively darker color than Crispin, more like a ruddy orange. As a beer guy, the aroma of Magners was surprisingly more pleasing to my sensibilities, having a very woody, almost hop-like character. Definitely not as much of the overt apple smell. Taste was relatively sweet, not as delicate as Crispin. More of the earthy, woody character as well. I notice the ingredient listing on the side of the bottle rattles off sugar, malic acid, preservatives and added coloring. Hmm, I guess Crispin wasn’t kidding. Magners is 6% ABV, which wasn’t very noticeable. Not bad overall, reminded me more of a beer in some ways. A very different cider than the first one in the line-up.
Rating: B-
Original Sin Hard Cider
This one comes out of New York, although it appears to be contract brewed down in Florida by Indian River Brewing. They use Granny Smith apples and champagne yeast, which is very evident in the pour. Very light and effervescent, with a watered down lemonade coloring. They also claim no additives, and I’d buy that as the apple aroma comes off much better than Magners. I can definitely tell they use Granny Smith, as you get some of that biting ester in the nose. The taste is surprisingly not that bitter, but what is there tends to linger throughout the finish. Another one that comes in at 6% ABV.
Rating: B+
White Winter Hard Apple Cider
Brewed up in the Bayfield Peninsula of Wisconsin, White Winter is apparently more of a winery and mead maker. Poured very light, just the slightest tinge of straw coloring. A bit of that woodiness in the aroma mixed with apple, but not as evident as Magners. I was a little disappointed with the taste, as there really didn’t seem to be much to it. Fairly watery, not much apple, but you do get a definite bite in the finish. They use a touch of honey to brew this cider, and you can tell in the distinctly dry quality throughout. Only 4.5% ABV, so the lightest of the bunch.
Long holiday weekends call for ambitious brewing plans.
It’s been quite a while since I was out in the garage brewing, so I decided on Saturday to go with an India Brown Ale, which is more or less just a slight grain variation on the last IPA I brewed, adding some chocolate malt, roasted barley and biscuit malt into the mix. I know, I know…I’ve been talking a big game recently about how eager I was to brew up a Victory Wild Devil clone using brett, but I made a game-time decision to go with this one. But don’t worry, you’ll hear more about brett in just a minute…
The color after the boil came out just right, Newcastle-ish. But this had a a hell of alot more hops, as in about 6 ounces worth in the boil (for a 5 gallon batch — take that Miller Lite). I plan to dry hop with a couple more ounces to give it that beautiful IPA aroma, balanced (hopefully) by a nice biscuit and toffee maltiness. Very excited for this one.
After I got done cleaning up after the brew day, I sat down to relax and enjoy a beer, and out of nowhere was hit with the brewing bug again. I thought I’d gotten it out of my system for a while, but I was fortunately mistaken. I figured I’d take advantage of the energy burst, so on the spot I decided I would brew a lambic the following day, which is a style I’ve never done before. I did some research and reading, and formulated what seemed to be a pretty standard all-grain recipe…half malted and flaked wheat with the other half pilsner malt. One ounce of Saaz in the beginning of the boil.
The real trick with lambics, of course, is the fermentation. So in primary I went with a standard Belgian abbey strain from Wyeast, and in secondary I’ll add a big helping of brettanomyces to give it that funky “wild” quality, along with some bacteria including pediococcus and lactobacillus. I may also drop in some oak chips to impart a little barrel-aged characteristic. After 6 months or so, once the brett has had time to do its magic, I’ll add my fruit (haven’t decided what to go with yet, maybe cherry or peach). I was shooting for a target OG of 1.050, but ended up coming in a little short at 1.036. I’m not worried about it, since the fruit will help add quite a bit more sugar in secondary fermentation. I won’t be bottling this for some time to come, and won’t even taste it until about a year from now.
Recipes below, both for 5 gallon batches. Oh, and a short video update on my mini hop yard at the bottom.
The Captain’s India Brown Ale
Mash at 152 for 60 minutes
Target OG 1.066
8 lb. Golden Promise
1.5 lb. Caramunich I
1 lb. Biscuit malt
10 oz. Crystal 60L
8 oz. Chocolate malt
2 oz. Roasted barley
1 oz. Warrior (in boil at 60 min.)
1 oz. Magnum (in boil at 60 min.)
0.3 oz. Amarillo (in boil at 20 min.)
0.3 oz. Simcoe (in boil at 20 min.)
0.3 oz. Amarillo (in boil at 15 min.)
0.3 oz. Simcoe (in boil at 15 min.)
0.3 oz. Amarillo (in boil at 10 min.)
0.3 oz. Simcoe (in boil at 10 min.)
0.3 oz. Amarillo (in boil at 5 min.)
0.3 oz. Simcoe (in boil at 5 min.)
0.3 oz. Amarillo (in boil at flame out)
0.3 oz. Simcoe (in boil at flame out)
2 oz. Simcoe (dry hop)
1 oz. Amarillo (dry hop)
After 2-3 weeks, rack to secondary and pitch Wyeast 5526 Brettanomyces Lambicus to introduce souring characteristic
Let age in secondary at least 6 months, then rack beer onto 6-8 lb. of tart fruit (sour cherry, peach, raspberry, etc.)
Let age another 6 months, then bottle
* You can artificially age the hops by throwing them in the oven for a few hours at a low temp, about 200 degrees F, until the pungent aroma is muted. Not as good as using old, cheesy hops, but it works.
I know Tomme Arthur, brewmaster at Lost Abbey, has gotten knocked around the blogosphere a fair amount for what many in the beer community see as a lapse in quality and customer care related to the release of their 2008 Brandy Barrel-Aged Angel’s Share that apparently lacked sufficient carbonation. More on that saga here.
I don’t really have a horse in this race, as I wasn’t one of the folks that signed up to be part of the “Patron Saints and Sinners Club,” because frankly $235 plus shipping costs for what amounted to six bombers of beer (two 375 ml bottles every other month, to be exact) seemed a tad steep for my blood. But I can see both sides of the coin on this issue…from a customer’s perspective, when you pay about $40 for the equivalent of a bomber, there’s a reasonable expectation that everything about that bottle better be in pristine condition, even down to the wiring on the cork cage. On the otherhand, reading Tomme’s explanation, I absolutely understand the pressures that must be associated with getting product out the door in a timely manner to meet customer demand. Because as a homebrewer, I know firsthand that variables involved in bottle conditioning (yeast population, available fermentables, temperature) can greatly impact the speed in which the beer inside is ready to be properly served. Sometimes you get a batch that carbonates in a week, and sometimes it takes a month. Sometimes it’s even overcarbonated. It can be a crap shoot, which is why I generally prefer kegging. But I think what some people might forget, as much as they have a reasonable expectation to getting what they pay for, is that beer — and more specifically HIGH QUALITY craft beer — is a living and breathing organism. And consequently, there is a possibility for variation in product, especially in small handcrafted batches as Lost Abbey was dealing with. I’d expect these bottles in question would have eventually carbonated just fine, given some time in the cellar. But if some of these folks are like me, patience is in short supply, especially when you have a fantastic beer package sitting on your doorstep.
In the end, I think the Angel’s Share thing was an unfortunate incident that probably put a small black eye on what is otherwise, at least in my opinion, a high quality brewery. Their reputation will surely recover.
Thankfully, none of these issues presented themselves when I popped a bottle of their Carnevale, a saison-style ale that uses a healthy dose of brettanomyces to set it apart from many others in its category. I don’t know what it is, but I am completely enamored with wild yeast, I just love it.
Poured a hazy golden color, with a nice foamy head. Very cloudy with yeast, and a definite funky aroma from the brett. A bit spicy and some citrus notes, but it’s largely overshadowed by the musty yeast. The flavor was OK, some sweet maltiness, but not as crisp, clean and effervescent as I tend to prefer in saisons. It seemed kind of “muddy.” I suppose some of this could be from the brett’s overall dominance. Mouthfeel was good, full and smooth.
A unique saison. But a little one-dimensional, even for a guy that really enjoys brett.
