I looked at it on my LHBS shelf. But since I don't make a lot of fruit beers or wine, I decided I didn't want to spend $8.75 on a bottle of something that I'd only use a little bit of and then was going to sit around for a year without me ever looking at it again.
Otherwise it would be a good option.
$8???, wow. We sell a 1oz bottle (dry) for $3.25 but having no other use for it I get. I was mostly wondering if there was a reason it couldn't be used in beer. Thanks
"Filled with mingled cream and amber
I will drain that glass again.
Such hilarious visions clamber
Through the chambers of my brain
-- Quaintest thoughts -- Queerest fancies
Come to life and fade away;
Who cares how time advances?
I am drinking ale today."
I might have bought some of the enzyme if it was that price. But I didn't want to go driving for an hour to look at other LHBSs just to track some down. The one close to me is very limited in it's scope, some items are priced ok, others are jacked up. (it's 90% beverage store, 10% LHBS).
Anyways, this is done and bottled at 1.005
Tasted sort of like beer, sort of like cider, sort of spicy, sort of orange/citrusy, sort of dry, sort of English, sort of like something good to eat.
It smells really awesome. Like fresh baked apple pie almost. The Goldings add a lot of sweetness to the aroma, even though the beer itself only has a touch of sweetness. Which is what I was hoping for.
I carbed it like an English bitter.
We will see how it tastes when it's carbed and conditioned for 3-4 weeks.
I think it will be the best fictional English beverage I've ever brewed. (it has to be because I've never brewed one before LOL).
Alright... I popped open one of these. I couldn't resist. Even at 3 weeks in the bottle, it's really good. If you like mulled cider, then you would like this. It's of course less sweet then mulled cider, but it's got that vibe. You can tell - a lot - that there is apple in this. It's like drinking a spicy apple pie. The goldings are awesome in it. If you do it, use the goldings. The are not "wrong". If I do it again (and I think I will - ??!!) I might throw in a whole oz of them. This might be the best use I've ever found for apple cider and amber DME. I'd rather drink this then regular old mulled cider any day. The spices are strong, but not overpowering (at least to me...) That said, I would not increase the amount of cider of that variety, if you wanted to increase the cider, use plain for any increase.
I have no idea what to tell you to use as far as spices/proportions without buying that specific trader joes cider, but it's basically mulling spices with a good bit of orange/lemon peel. So mulling any cider with such a blend should work.
The malt and hefty pitch of ale yeast made this drinkable way faster then any cider/mead I've ever made before. It by no means is a "dry cider" though, if your looking for nothing but tart, this ain't it. But I don't mind the slight sweetness. It has a nice lingering head, and it laces the glass. Which is not cider like. Which is good. EDIT: Has a bit of breadyness as it warms up. That's from the S-04 I'm sure. I like it. It's like the crust of the apple pie.
It is murky though. Some peptic enzyme would probably be a good thing if you want it to be clear. I'll save a bit and try to take a picture in the sun tomorrow if I can. But basically it looks like cider. Maybe it will clear up a bit with age, we will see.
Last edited by mashani on Sat Dec 26, 2015 12:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
We drank a bunch of this today, everyone loved it.
It has aged wonderfully, spices mellowed, and it's delicious. I'm going to do this again next year when Trader Joes has their cider out again. It doesn't *need* any changes, but if I have some Maris Otter LME or Maris Otter grain I will probably use that instead of the Amber DME and throw in some medium English crystal. Just because that would make it even more Englishy. But it's really good with the DME, so I wouldn't hesitate to make it again with that either. And maybe some peptic enzyme if I can find some for a reasonable price.
